Recruitment and admission procedures

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     Deutsche Übersetzung

     The recruitment procedure for candidates requires the submission of a pre-application declaration, a preliminary scientific proposal (PhD thesis project) and artistic proposal together with an application file. This is followed by an assessment of artistic proficiency (by the Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin or the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg), and finally, if the candidate is selected, by a review of the candidate's application documents (by the Université de Strasbourg or the HfM Freiburg) during the admission and enrolment procedure.

• February 2nd 2025: submission deadline for the pre-application declaration (specifying the artistic discipline, the preliminary research topic and the designated scientific and artistic supervisors);
• from February 2nd 2025 to April 2nd 2025: preparation of the scientific and artistic proposal with the scientific and artistic supervisors;
• April 2nd 2025: submission deadline for the application file;
• April 18th 2025: jury decision on the shortlist of eligible candidates for the assessment of artistic proficiency;
• May 21st 2025: assessment of artistic proficiency at the HfM Freiburg;
• May 28th 2025: notification of the jury decision to the candidates;
• from May 28th 2025: in case of a positive decision, start of the admission and enrolment procedure at Unistra and/or HfM Freiburg and/or HEAR.

     The pre-application declaration is to be submitted before the actual application. It must be sent to Mathieu Schneider, Director of the College GLAREAN, at the following e-mail address by Sunday, February 2, 2025 at midnight (at the lastest): doctorat-icm@accra-recherche.unistra.fr.

     The declaration must include the following information:

• the artistic discipline;
• the preliminary research topic;
• the names of the proposed scientific and artistic supervisors.

     Early on, potential candidates should contact one or more scientific supervisors from the Unistra and/or the HfM Freiburg and one or more artistic supervisors from the HEAR and/or the HfM Freiburg who are likely to supervise their thesis and their artistic project. It is recommended they are contacted before Sunday, February 2nd 2025 at the latest, as the drafting of a scientific and artistic proposal takes several weeks.

     (If the thesis is expected to be co-supervised by Unistra or HfM Freiburg and another university outside of these two institutions, the candidate should contact the administration of the College GLAREAN at the following e-mail address doctorat-icm@accra-recherche.unistra.fr.)

    With the help of the scientific and artistic supervisor(s), candidates should complete the preliminary scientific and artistic proposal before Wednesday April 2nd 2025 at midnight (at the latest) and send it along with the application file to Mathieu Schneider, Director of the College GLAREAN, at the following e-mail address: doctorat-icm@accra-recherche.unistra.fr.

     The preliminary scientific proposal

     The preliminary scientific proposal should:

• be written in French or English if the candidate intends to register for the PhD at the Unistra, in German or English if the candidate intends to register for the PhD at the HfM Freiburg;
• comprise a maximum of 10 pages (A4 format; Times New Roman font; size 12) excluding bibliography;
• give an idea of the current situation of the research topic (unpublished material, material that has already been dealt with by theoretical/empirical approaches, etc. but that are not suitable, or that can be improved upon, etc., what are these approaches, what are their limitations, etc.);
• give an idea of the added value for the research topic (new issues, new points of view, new solutions, relevant confirmation of current knowledge, methodological contributions, new resources, etc.);
• present a substantial and updated bibliography (in addition to the 10-pages proposal);
• specify the preliminary theoretical orientations and explain the reasons for them;
• include a time chart (or a schedule) that shows the PhD students' ability to think ahead and plan their PhD project over the course of three years (included in the 10-pages proposal).

     The preliminary artistic proposal

      The preliminary artistic proposal should relate to the scientific research topic and include the following:

• for performers: a 20-minutes programme of pieces for the assessment of artistic proficiency;
• for composers: a portfolio of compositions;
• for choir, ensemble and orchestra directors: one or more recordings (or links to recordings) of performances (20 minutes).

     The preliminary scientific and artistic proposal will be submitted to and discussed with the jury during the assessment of artistic proficiency.

     In order to participate in the assessment of artistic proficiency, candidates should also send their application file, in addition to their preliminary scientific and artistic proposal, before Wednesday April 2nd 2025 at midnight (at the latest) to Mathieu Schneider, Director of the College GLAREAN, at the following e-mail address: doctorat-icm@accra-recherche.unistra.fr. The application file can be submitted in French, German or English.

     The application file should include the following documents:

• the research topic, together with the name of the scientific supervisor(s) (and co-supervisors in case of co-supervision for the thesis) and the name of the artistic supervisor(s);
• an audio-visual recording of an artistic performance of about 10 minutes;
• an cover/application letter (1 A4 page maximum);
• a confirmation letter from the scientific supervisor(s) to supervise the PhD student;
• a confirmation letter from the artistic supervisor(s) to supervise the PhD student;
• a CV (3 A4 pages maximum) specifying education, professional experience, artistic experience, etc;
• the certificate of completion of the Master's degree (or a copy of the Master's degree) and the transcript of records for the Master's degree;
• an electronic copy of the Master's thesis;
• the specific technical requirements for the assessment of the artistic proficiency and what the examined performance will involve.

     After the submission deadline for the application files, a jury will review the applications files in order to shortlist eligible candidates for the assessment of artistic proficiency. Candidates will be notified of the decision on April 18th 2025.

     The assessment will take place at the HfM Freiburg on Wednesday May 21st 2025. Candidates will receive prior notification of the time of their audition. The audition must take place in person; auditions via video conference cannot be accepted.

     The assessment will last 45 minutes and will take place as follows:

• 20 minutes assessment of artistic skills ;
• 10 minutes presentation of the scientific and artistic project by the candidate (a powerpoint may be used but is not compulsory);
• 15 minutes for an interview with the jury.

     The 20 minutes of assessment of artistic skills will differ depending on the discipline, as follows:

• for performance (vocal and instrumental disciplines), the jury will listen to the pieces from the 20-minute programme;
• for composition (instrumental, vocal, mixed or electroacoustic), the jury will discuss with the candidate the composition portfolio he or she has submitted, and will listen (in whole or in part) to at least two contrasting works;
• for choral, ensemble and orchestral conducting, the jury will discuss with the candidate the recordings he or she has submitted.

     The language of the interview is normally the language of the country in which the candidate's university for the scientific part of the doctorate is located. For convenience, English may also be used at times.

     The jury consists of the members of the directorate. At each candidate’s audition, the candidate’s scientific and artistic supervisor(s) are invited to listen to the assessment and to ask the candidate questions during the interview; in addition, the supervisors may themselves be asked questions after the assessment of the candidate’s artistic proficiency, without the candidate being present.

     The jury will make its decision by assessing the PhD proposal as a whole and not just the artistic performance. Applicants will be notified of the jury’s decision on Wednesday May 28th 2025 (at the latest).

     After the assessment of artistic proficiency, the candidates selected for the PhD programme should follow the guidelines of either the Doctoral School 520 "Humanities" (ED 520) within the Doctoral College (Université de Strasbourg) or of the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg for the review of their application documents during the admission and enrolment procedure.

     At the Université de Strasbourg

     If the successful candidate enrols at the Université de Strasbourg, the review of the application documens is carried out by the Doctoral School of Humanities (ED 520). The file must meet all the criteria required for any PhD admission to the ED 520, and the schedule given by the ED 520. To know these criteria and the schedule, please visit the ACCRA website (section “Inscription en 1ère année de doctorat”).

     The application file comprises the usual administrative documents, information on which can be found on the ACCRA website (section “Inscription en 1ère année de doctorat”). Please note that the documents should be provided in French.

     The jury for the assessment of artistic proficiency will send its detailed opinion to the director of ED 520 who will grant admission to the PhD programme based on this opinion, the scientific proposal submitted by the candidate and the other required documents.

     Once the file accepted, the candidate should then register at the institutions where the scientific and artistic supervisors are located and pay the corresponding registration fees.

     At the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg

     If the successful candidate enrols at the HfM Freiburg, the review of the application documents is carried out by the Promotionsausschuss of the HfM Freiburg. The file must meet all the criteria required for any PhD admission to the HfM Freiburg, and the schedule given by the HfM Freiburg. To know these criteria and the schedule, please visit the HfM Freiburg website (section “Details zur Zulassung und Verfahren”).

     The application file comprises the usual administrative documents, information on which can be found on the HfM Freiburg website (section “Details zur Zulassung und Verfahren”). Please note that the documents should be provided in German.

     The jury for the assessment of artistic proficiency will send its detailed opinion to the Promotionsausschuss of the HfM Freiburg who will grant admission to the PhD programme based on this opinion, the scientific proposal submitted by the candidate and the other required documents.

     Once the file accepted, the candidate should then register at the institutions where the scientific and artistic supervisors are located and pay the corresponding registration fees.

     The PhD students have to pay registration fees at the institution where their thesis is supervised, as well as registration fees at the institution where their artistic practice is supervised.

     The registration fees for institutions offering scientific supervision are as follows:

• €380 per year payable to the Université de Strasbourg at the time of the administrative (re-)registration before September 30th of each year;
• €190 per semester payable to the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg at the time of the administrative (re-)registration between June 1st and July 1st of each year for the winter semester and between January 1st and February 1st of each year for the summer semester.

     The registration fees for institutions offering artistic supervision are as follows:

• €155 per year payable to the HEAR in Strasbourg at the time of the administrative (re-)registration before September 30th of each year;
• €190 per semester payable to the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg at the time of the administrative (re-)registration between June 1st and July 1st of each year for the winter semester and between January 1st and February 1st of each year for the summer semester.

Special cases:

• if the PhD students are registered for the supervision of both the thesis and the artistic practice at the HfM Freiburg, they pay the registration fees at the HfM Freiburg only once;
• if the PhD students are registered for the supervision of the thesis at the HfM Freiburg and for the supervision of the artistic practice at both the HfM Freiburg and the HEAR in Strasbourg, they should pay the registration fees at the HfM Freiburg (once) and at the HEAR in Strasbourg;
• if the PhD students are registered for the supervision of the thesis at the Université de Strasbourg and for supervision of the artistic practice at both the HEAR in Strasbourg and the HfM Freiburg, they should pay the registration fees at all three institutions.