Problems of practice-based Doctorates in Art and Design: a viewpoint from Finland

Although the development of practice-based art and design research in Finland can be clearly recognised in an outstanding number of edited books, the number of completed doctorates and researchers who utilise this approach seems to gradually diminish and the approach itself is not well accepted within academic research communities. This paper aims to identify problems that hinder the progress of practice-based doctorates in art and design, by examining the forms of practice-based doctoral dissertations accepted in five Finnish art universities. A major problem of practice-based doctorates in art and design is the unconvincing argument that practice as such is a form of research inquiry without need for further validation and explanation. This ought to be solved in order to establish practice-based doctorates in art and design in a larger academic context.