Privilege and practice – challenges for doctoral education in art and design

Increasingly, doctoral education is being challenged to reflect and act on issues of access and equity. I argue that in art and design the expanding doctoral expectations and emphasis on doctoral community impact the multiple and intersectional concerns around diversity, equity and belonging that urgently need to be acknowledged and addressed. The benefits of community are widely acknowledged in the literature on doctoral education, and it is increasingly recognised that there are specific nuances to the needs of practice research doctoral communities. Prompted by insights from interviews with art and design doctoral researchers, I examine available data on participation in doctoral research in art and design in the United Kingdom in conjunction with literature on doctoral education and practice research. My aim is to highlight concerns relating to privilege and belonging in art and design doctorates that should make us increasingly uncomfortable. I believe that as a community art and design in higher education urgently needs to actively consider these issues. As well as indicating the necessity for further research, I argue that conversations are needed to devise and advocate for more inclusive and culturally responsive doctoral education specific to the needs of practice research in art and design.