Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW · Education
Call for the MAKE/SENSE PhD Programme 2026
Degree and continuing education programmes for society - we are effective
Call for the MAKE/SENSE PhD Programme 2026
Academy of Art and Design Basel FHNW, hgk_institutexperimentelledesignmedienkulturen
The Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW, in collaboration with the University of Arts Linz, invites applications to the three-year practice-based PhD programme MAKE/SENSE.
Rooted in infrastructural critique, situated artistic research, and critical media approaches, MAKE/SENSE supports doctoral projects that engage with practice-based forms of reading and writing and explore what research can be, whom it serves, and how it may contribute to new publics and social imaginaries.
The PhD is carried out in partnership between Basel and Linz and hosted by the Critical Media Lab at the Institute Experimental Design and Media Culture in Basel. Supervision is provided jointly by faculty from both institutions. The programme combines individualized mentoring with monthly colloquia and an annual assembly.
- Situated Artistic Research: Supports practices that challenge dominant epistemologies through embodied, affective, and experimental modes of inquiry.
- Infrastructural Critique:Engages with institutional, technological and research infrastructures as sites of critique, abolitionist intervention, collective reimagining, and world-making.
- Critical Media:Explores how knowledges are read, written, mediated, and circulated through practice-based approaches to reading and writing, publishing, and expanded formats.
The current list of PhD supervisor can be found in this link:
Public events and collaborations with external partners complement the programme.
Please note that doctoral positions in the programme are not funded.
Applications are welcome from artists, curators, publishers, designers, and culturalorganisers holding an MA degree (120 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification.
This call is for the pre-proposal submission, which must include:
- Motivation letter listing 2 preferred supervisors and rationale, plans for financing the PhD (need for support to external funding applications or grants you plan to apply for) (2 p. A4)
- Project outline (2–3 p. A4, excl. references) including: research question, short state of the art, relevance and topicality regarding areas of concern (at least one), proposed methods and proposed outcomes
- Curriculum Vitae
- Portfolio (art/design/curatorial/writing samples)
- MA and BA diplomas (incl. transcripts)
Selection process and key dates:
1st Round (Pre-Proposals)
Deadline September 27, 2026
Notification of results: Mid-November2026
2nd Round (Full Proposal)
Deadline: December 18, 2026
Interviews: Mid-January 2027 (Week 2/3)
Notification of Results: End of January 2027
www.fhnw.ch/en/about-fhnw/schools/academy-of-art-and-design