Design, Environment and the Arts (History, Theory, and Criticism), PhD

The PhD in Design, Environment and the Arts Program in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts has an explicit mission: to prepare students to become public intellectuals and transformative practitioners in shaping the environment at all scales – from the design of cities, buildings, and landscapes, to interiors, products and graphics, to the arts all the while placing emphases on sustainability, innovation, community building, cultural and contextual awareness.

Despite its breadth, the implicit mandate of the mission is possible for several reasons. First, the PhD Program is interdisciplinary and involves facets of the Herberger Institute's academic units. Students are currently enrolled from the disciplines within – The Design School, the School of Art, and the School of Arts, Media, and Engineering. Second, the PhD Program has access to a pool of experts from the Institute's faculty and faculty throughout the university, including, but not limited to, the Department of Applied Biological Sciences, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and the School of Sustainability. Third, the PhD Program has access to some of the best facilities found in any college of its kind. Lastly, the PhD Program is evolving in one of the most progressive and transformative educational environments in the country, commonly referred to as the New American University.

In the end, however, it is our students and graduates who reflect the quality of the PhD Program. They are all succeeding. From the first day that they enter the program, our students begin to embed themselves in research and academic endeavours outside of the Institute through active participation in lectures and presentations at various national and international workshops and conferences. As graduates of the program, they climb to the top of their careers, pursue academic paths, and assume leadership roles in professional planning and design practices, the corporate sector, the public sector, and the nonprofit sector.

If your concern is more about what you want to do than rather what you want to be, then join us in the PhD in Design, Environment, and the Arts in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

The Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is the largest comprehensive design and arts school in the nation, located within a dynamic 21st-century research university.

The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts offers more than 70 graduate degrees and concentrations in our five schools Art, Arts, Media and Engineering, Design, Film, Dance and Theatre and Music. Whether you practice music, architecture, dance, theatre, design, visual art, or film, creative excellence requires both a mastery of your discipline and the development of your creative expression. At ASU's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, you will excel, innovate and thrive.

With 5,000+ students, nearly 400 faculty members, 130 program options, and a tradition of top-ranked programs, we are committed to redefining the 21st-century design and art school. Our college is built on a combination of disciplines unlike any other program in the nation, comprising the Schools of Art; Arts, Media, and Engineering; Music, Dance, and Theatre; The Design School, The New American Film School; and The Arizona State University Art Museum.

Our graduates develop the ability to be generative and enterprising, work collaboratively within and across artistic fields, and generate non-routine solutions to complex problems. With this broad exposure to creative thinking and problem-solving, our graduates are well prepared to lead in every arena of our economy, society, and culture.