There are no prerequisites for this course.

The student has a degree of bachelor in the arts. Having passed for one or more courses that teach research competencies such as research methodology is recommended. The student feels addressed to express his/her artistic ideas in text.

- The student can use formally correct language (formulation, grammar, spelling, punctuation), structure a a text (organisation, logic, cohesion), and design it (lay-out of the text, bibliography, use of foot- or endnotes, illustrations).

- The student can elaborate a relevant research question/issue, put that question into a theorectical context, and formulate the aim of his/her research in a clear way.

- The student can construct a high-quality argumentation, write a high-quality text and draw a high-quality conclusion.

- The student testifies to creative and original thinking in the choice of his/her subject and in the interpretation of the material and the arguments used.

- The student testifies to a critical ability in the way the research material has been used and a personal meaning has been taken.

The student has been able to define a realistic question and/or issue, conduct an focused (literature)research about this, report on this in writing and defend him/herself orally for an examination committee.

The student chooses him/herself a supervisor according to the conditions of the thesis regulations (see website academy).

An introduction lecture organised by the thesis coordinator informs about the progress and organisation of the thesis. After some more information sessions to refresh or teach research, writing and presentation- skills and techniques will be organised by the coordinator depending on the needs. These sessions will also serve to inquire about the state of the research and to exchange tips mutually.

Under the guidance of his/her supervisor, the student has to define the artistic research field wherein he/she will develop an achievable research question or issue. This will be investigated based on relevant literature, interviews and/or other sources, in addition has to be tested on personal interpretations and meanings. Reports to the supervisor has to be prepared at regular intervals, on the student's own initiative. The final product has to be a written account of the research track (i.e. the thesis), possibly in combination with other forms.

PowerPoint presentations with text and visual material used to document the classes.

The AP-styleguide.

Each student has to compile a targeted list of sources.

The assessment of the thesis will happen, after the oral presentation, by a reading committee with at least the supervisor, the co-supervisor and one theory professor of the academy. The committee awards a grade by mutual consultation.

The following criteria will be taken into consideration for the assessment:

+ Form: - use of language/style: formulation, grammar, spelling, punctuation

             - structure: organisation, logic, cohesion

             - design: lay-out of the text, bibliography, use of foot- or endnotes, illustrations

+ Research question/issue (attention is paid to: the relevancy of the research question, the contextualisation of the question into a theoretical background, the aim of the research)

+ Research as such (attention is paid to: relevancy, up-to-date and completeness of the collected material)

+ Argumentation (attention is paid to: the quality of the arguments, the writing style and the conclusion)

+ Creativity and originality (attention is paid to: the degree of originality of the subject, the creativity in interpretation of the material and of the argumentation)

+ Critical ability (attention is paid to: the way in which the research material has been used and the degree to which a personal meaning has been taken)