Program Overview

Studies in the Arts (SINTA)

The Studies in the Arts (SINTA) program is a unique artistic-creative and scientific doctoral program offered by the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the University of Bern and the Bern Academy of the Arts HKB. This interdisciplinary and practice-oriented program focuses on research and reflection on artistic practices, design, and aesthetic issues.

PhD Program

The SINTA PhD program promotes innovative dissertation projects at the interface between art and science. It offers doctoral students access to the networks of both universities, providing a lively environment for academic and artistic growth.

Research Areas

The program concentrates on the discipline of design research and its social potential, enabling new insights through artistic practice. Research areas include:

• Artistic practice as an instrument of knowledge
• Design research and its social potential
• Art meets science, reconstructing medieval instruments or staging everyday objects in landscapes
• Discipline of design research

Publications

SINTA has published several works, including:

Studies in the Arts II (2023)

This publication showcases how artistic practice enables new insights, whether reconstructing medieval instruments or staging everyday objects in landscapes.

Studies in the Arts (2021)

This publication combines theory and practice, addressing the change in artistic practice becoming an instrument of knowledge.

Sterben gestalten (2024)

A collection of works on the dying process and the perspectives behind it, contributed by SINTA doctoral candidates.

Imaginary Ecologies (2024)

A photo collection of natural objects and landscapes, inspired by the spirit of a cabinet of curiosities, published by SINTA PhD candidate Martin Tscholl.

The Prize of Success (2024)

An analysis of the links between the Swiss Design Awards and the emergence of a new Swiss design culture, published by SINTA alumni Jonas Berthod.

Kunstfiguren (2024)

A collection of works on aesthetic strategies and performative practices of artistically designed identities, published by SINTA doctoral candidate Mira Kandathil.