HDR in Creative Practice
UNE offers Higher Degree Research (HDR) in the Creative Practice thesis format for the Master of Philosophy and the Doctor of Philosophy. Like other research programs at UNE, the HDR degrees in Creative Practice have the objective of qualifying candidates who can independently apply a substantial body of knowledge and skills/techniques to research and develop and communicate new knowledge. UNE does not provide film, video and music production facilities, so projects in this area would require access to independent resources.
Creative Practice candidates must also have a demonstrated track record of creative practice in their discipline, evidencing the knowledge and techniques needed to embark on advanced research and to relate creative practice to academic scholarship in their chosen field.
Primary supervision is normally based in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) in the disciplinary areas of English, Media and Communications, Writing, Music, and Theatre and Performance. Co-supervision may be drawn from other Schools.
A Higher Degree by Research in Creative Practice provides the opportunity to undertake practice-based or practice-led research in in specialised areas.
Projects for this course must include two components: a creative work and a critical exegesis. Both the creative work and critical exegesis components are submitted and examined together. The types of creative work that may be considered are indicated below.
Creative Work
The appropriate scale of the creative work may vary according to the nature of the artefact or performance, its medium, genre or style. The creative work should demonstrate substantial knowledge of the expressive form and fields of research and creative practice in which it is situated.
The types of creative project that may be considered include, but are not limited to:
| English, Media and Communications Writing | Theatre | Music |
|---|---|---|
Fiction | Theatre Performance (which might include acting, directing, devised work, physical theatre, documentary theatre, multi/intermedial performance, puppetry) | Music Performance |
Non-Fiction (e.g., life writing) | Playwriting and/or adaptation | Exhibition |
| Creative Non-Fiction | Design and/or scenography | Notated and graphic score |
| Adaptation | Drama pedagogy | Video recording Audio recording Other new media technologies and modes of presentation |
Critical Exegesis
The exegesis is a scholarly critical essay that demonstrates expert understanding of the discipline, reflects critically on creative practice, and locates the work in relation to current theory and criticism. For a PhD in Creative Practice, the exegesis is approximately 30,000 words, exclusive of preliminary and end matter such as acknowledgements, reference lists, etc. The length of the critical exegesis may vary according to particular discipline contexts and modes of creative practice. Where the creative project is substantially shorter than is typical for this degree (e.g., a collection of poetry), a longer critical exegesis may be required. Likewise, where the creative work contains substantial scholarship and research (such as in a biography, history, or research-based creative non-fiction), the requirements for the critical essay may be modified.
An exegesis should articulate an argument growing out of the practice-based inquiry, or otherwise show how the thesis project contributes new knowledge, understanding or perspectives within a disciplinary field. For this purpose, an exegesis can do many or all of the following:
- Analysis of a scholarly issue of aesthetic style, genre, theory, representation, or themes in other creative works of relevance to the HDR candidate's creative project;
- Explain the subject, objectives, rationale and context of the creative work, which should normally include articulating a central research question or problem that both components of the thesis investigate;
- Situate the project in its field of creative practice and in relation to pertinent disciplinary concerns, problems, or aspects of scholarship;
- Critically articulate the principles, methods and processes of the research and inquiry into the subject;
- Critically articulate the structure and themes of the creative work, or decisions involved in finding its form; and
- Comment on ethical considerations where relevant, and cite or present material (e.g., ethical clearance, interview questions) that helps to understand the research framework.
