Frequently Asked Questions

1.1. How is submission carried out?
The candidate must complete an online form containing personal information. He/she must also write a motivational text and pay the registration fee.

1.2. How much is the submission fee?
The submission fee is 50 €.

1.3. What are the submission requirements?
There are no particular conditions to submit and pass the admission. No diploma is required, not even the baccalaureate. There is no age requirement.

1.4. What is the submission period?
Application to ENDA is done in a continuous flow between the beginning of January and November 25th of the year for the Paris session. For sessions taking place elsewhere than in Paris, the calls for applications indicate on a case-by-case basis the deadlines for applications. After November 25th of the enrollment year, applications are no longer possible. The candidate may apply the following year.

1.5. When to apply?
Even if the date for submitting your application may seem very far away, we strongly advise you to apply as soon as possible. Applications are studied on a continuous basis according to their arrival and the group.

2.1. How to join the school?
Admission is only by competitive examination before the beginning of each academic year.

2.2. How many steps are there to being admitted?
The letter of motivation is one step toward admitted. In some cases, the candidate may be offered an interview with the admission jury.

2.3. What are the admission criteria?
Admission is based on the candidate’s motivation. Porfolios and CVs are not allowed. Secondary criteria come into play, but motivation remains the determining factor. The past of the candidates is less important than the path ahead. Other admission criteria are: personality, availability, originality, potentiality of the proposed work, ability to adapt and evolve in international and multicultural environments, versatility, openness, curiosity, capacity for collective work, taste for experimentation and risk.

2.4. Does the candidate have to be present at the interview with the admission panel if called?
Yes, the candidate’s presence is compulsory if he/she is summoned. It is in the candidate’s interest to be present at the interview with the jury. However, on a case-by-case basis, ENDA offers video interviews. Telephone meetings may also be arranged with certain candidates.

2.5. How many candidates are admitted per year?
The number of admissions varies from year to year depending on the number of applications in relation to the admission criteria set.

2.6. What is the date of admission results?
Candidates will be informed of the admission results approximately one week after the closing date for submission.

2.7. Can I join ENDA several times?
Yes, it is possible to be admitted several times. A letter explaining this intention is required. If you submitted an application file last year, you cannot use the same file again. You must start a new application and submit it within the application period.

3.1. Are studies funded?
Tuition fees are €3000. In some cases these fees can be waived, depending on your situation.

3.2. Does the school provide scholarships?
The school does not award scholarships, however, there are different possibilities for financing your studies depending on your situation.

3.3. Can I receive financial aid or a scholarship?
Depending on your situation, you have the possibility of obtaining financial aid. You can find more information on this under the “Aid” section.

3.4. When should I seek financial assistance or a scholarship?
If you are looking for funding or a scholarship, we encourage you to apply for existing scholarships and financial aid adapted to your situation before you even know whether or not you are admitted.

4.1. What is the diploma awarded?
ENDA awards a DNREA diploma (National Diploma of Research and Experimentation).

4.2. Why does ENDA award a diploma?
ENDA’s primary objective is not to prepare for artistic careers or to award a diploma, but to offer conditions for development that are favorable to approaches that are free of stereotypes. The diploma awarded by ENDA is a formal document which, if obtained, attests to this experience.

4.3. What are the criteria for obtaining the DNREA diploma?
The assessment is not graded. It is done at the end of the course and will be carried out according to original procedures, which differ from year to year. Evaluation criteria: diligence, quality of the work done, ability to put it into context and identify its stakes, working method, perseverance, coherence, a certain state of mind freed from the normative constraints of the art, structure of one’s approach, self-awareness, risk-taking, commitment and curiosity.

4.4. Is there an equivalent diploma in France or abroad?
It is equivalent to a post-graduate degree in art. This type of diploma is generally awarded following higher art studies carried out in France. There is no equivalence to this type of diploma; it depends on your nationality and status. This diploma is a kind of witness to the demanding research carried out, as with scientists in a research laboratory.

4.5. What are the opportunities and advantages of the DNREA?
To develop an autonomous approach, independent of the art market. To have the opportunity to take part in the writing of art history. To possess a post-graduate level of study and acquire the foundation of a certain free state of mind, which will make it possible to reformulate oneself and one’s occupation. To master new approaches to the practice of art. Participants can be fully operational at the end of the session.

5.1. In what language are the working sessions held?
In French. A fairly good level of French is required.

5.2. What is the duration of studies?
The duration of the ENDA course is one academic year, from the end of November to the beginning of May.

5.3. How is the session conducted?
The year is intense and consists of four practical and/or theoretical work modules per week. At the end of the session, a thirty-page activity report, detailing the practitioner’s research progress, is required.

5.4. Are the programs identical from one year to another?
Yes and no; the program is never the same from one year to the next, but it has a common core. The program can evolve according to the research of practitioners and stakeholders.

5.5. What is the timetable?
The calendar is published annually on the ENDA website.

5.6. Is it possible to study at ENDA and have another occupation at the same time?
Yes, in order to enable practitioners to have a professional occupation, the teachings have been organized to two days per week: Thursday and Friday.

5.7. What is a module?
It is a three-hour working session, theoretical or practical, on a specific topic. Modules can be lectures or workshops.

5.8. Where do the modules take place?
The modules take place in Paris, in different types of places: schools, art centres, car parks, museums, apartments, gardens, cafés, supermarkets, galleries, basements, cultural centres, embassies,… Some of these places are chosen according to the subject or the nature of the module. This general indifferentiation is not arbitrary and allows a stimulating fluidity, a freshness of reception, an increase in attention and offers practitioners possible connections and synergies with these places.

5.9. Is attendance at the modules compulsory?
Yes, attendance at the modules is mandatory. Attendance and punctuality are crucial for the practitioner and for the smooth running of the modules, all the more so because the modules are linked to each other in an evolving dynamic. Any absence must be justified to the school in writing.

5.10. Can I study by correspondence?
It is not possible to study by correspondence. Attendance at the modules must be concrete.

5.11. What is the activity report?
The activity report is a document that the practitioner must write as part of his studies. The document describes the practitioner’s project and research and must include the current year’s project. It is prepared with an in-depth evaluation.

5.12. When must it be submitted?
The activity report must be submitted before the end of the year.

6.1. In what language are the working sessions held?
In French. A fairly good level of French is required.

7.1. Why be a partner of ENDA?
By choosing to partner with ENDA you commit yourself to making an active contribution to arts education, to supporting research and the production of knowledge and experience. By becoming a partner of an establishment of excellence steeped in the contemporary history of Paris, you are associating yourself with the future of the city of Paris and its status as a leading cultural city.

7.2. What does it mean to be a partner?
To be a partner you can finance a scholarship, host one or more modules, support the school’s operations, finance a study trip, or support an external project. To find out more about the different partnership options we invite you to contact the school’s administrative office.

8.1 What are the admission requirements for foreign applicants?
The admission conditions for foreign candidates are identical to those for French candidates.

8.2. How do I have to organise my arrival in France if I come from a country outside the Shengen area?
Before coming to France you must apply for a long-stay visa for studies at the French Consulate in your place of residence.

9.1. Are interns accepted?
Yes, provided that the intern has a project that he/she is developing during his/her internship. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

10.1. Can I attend and participate in the private modules?
Anyone can apply to participate in a private module. This request must be made in writing to the administrative office and must be approved.

10.2. Can I attend and participate in the public modules?
Yes, anyone can attend the public modules. Requests must be made to the administrative office of the school or the institution hosting the module in question.

10.3. Can I be a free auditor?
It is not possible to be a free auditor, except for the public modules.

10.4. How can I keep up to date with the schools activities?
It is not possible to keep informed about the progress of the modules and other activities of the school. From time to time, brief information about the school’s activities is published on the school’s website. However, it is possible to subscribe to the ENDA newsletter, allowing you to keep up to date with external activities, calls for applications, publications of your own…

10.5. Are there night classes or free workshops?
There are no evening classes or free workshops.

11.1. When will I get the practitioner card?
The card is issued at the end of the year and is valid for one year.

11.2. When does the final project have to be completed?
The project must be completed before the end of the session.

11.3. Does the ENDA have accommodation for participants?
ENDA does not have accommodation for practitioners.

11.4. Is the research program open to doctoral students from other institutions?
ENDA’s research policy allows doctoral students from other institutions to participate and carry out their thesis project in one of ENDA’s lines of research and experimentation.