Australian "Doctor of Creative Arts" degree

As background I have a B.A. and an M.A. in History from RA schools. I am now hunting for an appropriate doctorate.

I have followed the advice mentioned in the forums and in John Bear's books and am currentely investigating various research based doctorates (Wales, South Africa, etc).

In the last couple of days I have come across the "Doctor of Creative Arts" degree available at several Australian Universities.
http://www.uts.edu.au/div/publications/hss/pg/ho60.html http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/handbook/courses/hum/300889.HTM

The Curtin program in particular is appealing to me. I really like the idea of producing something that people might acutally look at (like a film, interactive CD-ROM, etc.) rather then a dissertation that will likely be ignored.

Does anyone have experience with this degree or is anyone enrolled in one of these programs that could provide some insights or advice? In particular I am wondering how a D.C.A. compares to a more traditional Ph.D. Would it be considered equivalent or is it a "lesser" doctorate?

Any advice would be very welcome. I already feel as though I have received an education through the forums, so all of your help is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jeff

 

Jeff,

Disclaimer: I am not even remotely close to enrolling in a Doctorate program; the following is what I've ascertained from this group's discussions.

The dissertationless 'Doctor of {subject}' degree is a professional degree, verses the academic Ph.D. with its attendant dissertation. If you're pursuing a career in academia, a professional Doctor might be considered a research lightweight compared to the rest of the faculty.

This is not to say that you wouldn't obtain a position, lecture worldwide, publish frequently and make an engaging instructor. It just a fact that any difference in one's education - low residency or distance education, research versus dissertation program, alternative degree title - tends to get the hairy eyeball at a university.

Mark A. Sykes

 

My disclosure is that I have never heard of this degree until now. But that doesn't stop me from having opinions!

You suggest that these programs require creative works rather than dissertations. To me that sounds like an MFA.

Which raises a question concerning the intention of this degree. In the United States, the MFA is considered to be a terminal degree in studio and performing arts. University faculty in studio and performing arts are normally MFAs.

So what niche would this DCA fit one for? Perhaps in Australia there is an expectation that arts faculty have doctorates, I don't know. Is the DCA really anything more than an imposing new name for the familiar MFA?

I do think that an arts doctorate that includes a creative project instead of a dissertation will not receive the same acceptance as a PhD in the more scholarly areas of art like art history.

 

Howdy!

The Doctor of Creative Arts is a professional doctorate designed primarily, I think, for students who hold a Master of Creative Arts/Master of Visual Arts/MFA and would like to proceed to doctoral work.

In Australia, departments that offer an MFA generally also offer a Ph.D. -- so its status as a terminal degree is not as much of a cinch over there as it is here. Curtin, et. al. are clearly filling this niche by allowing folks to do a creative project doctorate rather than a research-oriented one.

I second Bill's concerns about it not being as widely accepted as a Ph.D.; you will no doubt be able to call yourself "Dr.," it will be much more marketable for teaching purposes than an M.A. alone would be (since you can be part of the "74% of our faculty members hold terminal degrees in their field"), and, from what I know of Australian schools in general, the standards are likely to be very high. On the flip side, it's not a doctorate that most people in the U.S. have probably ever heard of, so you'll have to explain it whenever you cite it. (The same goes for Spertus College's "Doctor of Jewish Studies," Phoenix's "Doctor of Management," etc.) But this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Good luck!


Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Only a few weeks ago we (at my company) had a presentation given by someone from London School of Industrial Design. Of course the question of Doctor of Industrial Design vs PhD, Industrial Design came up and cause fairly animated discussion, but seems like everyone came to the agreement that PhD implies certain breadth in dealing with the issues of industrial design including its history, social implications, etc, etc where as Doctor, Industrial Design implies extremely high level of creativity, distinct style, 'creating his/her own rules' if you wish. I guess this is something like Sc. Degree or M.D.. Interestingly enough I've noticed some folks with Sc.D. - always from Europe by the way - having professorships at my Alma Mater. Seems like professional doctorate is more common in Europe than in U.S.

 

I probably should clarify that, since it is ambiguous. I meant to say:

"I do think that an arts doctorate that includes a creative project instead of a dissertation will not receive the same acceptance that a PhD would receive in the more scholarly areas of art like art history."

So I am not expressing any skepticism about practitioner-oriented degrees. I was just suggesting that a dissertation and a PhD is probably more appropriate when one is majoring in, and contemplating employment in, scholarly areas like art history. That's probably why some art departments offer both studio MFAs and scholarly PhDs. The latter are for art historians, critics, theorists etc, the former for practicing artists.

And I was wondering if a doctorate is really necessary at all in the studio or performing areas. I'm not sure what a DCA would add to an MFA. (Do you produce larger artworks for your culminating show, or what?)

 

I appreciate all of your responses. I have found that the regulars on this board know a great deal about distance learning/non-traditional education.

To follow up on a few of the points that were mentioned.

-I was a bit concerned myself that this was just an M.F.A. by another name. Although it does require a Masters, which makes me tend to think of it as something more than an M.F.A. Also the degree is more broad then simply the arts. It also includes museum display designs, oral history, local history, and more. Which are the items that I am most interested in pursuing.

-In a quick search of the internet, the only American I could find who had a D.C.A. was Steven Spielberg, although his was honorary (from Rutgers I think). All other holders of this degree that I found were Australian artists, writers, or whatever. The very same crowd who might hold an M.F.A. in the states.

-I also agree that this appears to be a professional degree. What are your impressions on the ups and downs to a professional degree in comparison to a Ph.D.?

Any more comments would be appreciated. I am still undecided as to the merits of this program, but I am intrigued.

Regards,
Jeff