Curiosity, experimentation and reflection are essential to learning. They are also indispensable to doing research, through which a better understanding of the artistic practice is gained and new possibilities can be explored and tested. We feel it is important that artistic practice is central to this research and therefore refer to it as artistic research. This form of research yields knowledge that cannot be captured in text alone, but is also expressed in a composition or a performance.
The Bachelor’s and Master’s curricula both contain a substantial research component, while our teachers also carry out their own research projects. Master students perform research in their own area of interest in the context of their Master Project and present their research at the annual Research Symposium. Students who wish to continue their research after completing the Master’s programme can enrol in a doctoral programme geared to their artistic practice. The Royal Conservatoire’s doctoral programme is offered in association with the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) at Leiden University and the docARTES programme. In order to deepen their knowledge of a specific subject and at an academic level, both Bachelor and Master students can enrol in elective courses at Leiden University.
The lectorate ‘Music, Education and Society’ plays a crucial role in developing and carrying out practice-based research. The lectorate focuses on the changing role and meaning of musical expertise in contemporary culture and society, and on the consequences of these changes in the higher music education curriculum.
More information about research at the Royal Conservatoire can be found on this page.