Dr. Mark Breitenberg wrote:
> I would very much appreciate
> your thoughts on the distinctions among undergraduate, master's and PhD
> level research.
Hi Mark,
I tend to distinguish between the three levels thus:
Undergraduates should acquire an understanding of the canon of knowledge
in the subject
Masters students should "own" their knowledge - they should construct a
personal position that puts them in the lead of their profession. I tend
to follow Phil Agre's line on that
(http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/leader.html)
PhD students should create new knowledge. There is a fashion for saying
that new knowledge is too much to expect from a PhD student who is only
learning their trade as a researcher but if the aim of advanced research
is to create new knowledge, then you can only learn that trade by having
the experience of creating some for yourself. I feel that one of the
most important points in a PhD experience is when the student is
confronted with the need to define their contribution to knowledge.
Of course that brings us to the question of what is knowledge in design :o)
And that leads in to your supplementary questions, which I won't attempt
to answer, but I did a paper for the Tsukuba doctoral education
conference which might be relevant
(http://www.chrisrust.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/academic/abstracts/tsukuba.htm)
best wishes from Sheffield
Chris
*********************************
Prof Chris Rust
Chair of Design Research Society Council
Head of Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University
Psalter Lane, Sheffield S11 8UZ, UK
+44 114 225 2706/2682
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www.chrisrust.net
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