Hi list
I have a small contribution to the debate by way of personal experience that is not particularly common. My route to working on a design phd included both 'classical' and design practise training.
I have a humanties undergraduate degree and an equivalent graphic design degree, as well as several years of design practise experience. I never did an honours year or a masters degree, so my entire preparation for research comes from these degrees and my work experience.
On reflection, the Bachelor of Arts has stood me in much better stead for the phd than the design degree. It has given me research preparation - in terms of writing, investigation and self-directed learning - that put me at a distinct advantage in terms of general research skills compared to my fellow grad students. I study in a design-specific research environment, where most of the students have completed practise based degrees. Many of the struggles I see other students face during their PhDs, I was lucky enough to have addressed while still an undergraduate majoring in political science.
On the other hand, I could only do the research I am doing because of the technical design knowledge and visual literacy I have acquired through design training and practise. Nevertheless, I find it daunting to think of the possibility of doing research in my field without the classical humanities training. I'm sure the humanities degree makes my research better than it could ever be from traditional graphic design training alone.
Best
Katherine Hepworth
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Katherine Hepworth
Research Assistant
National Institute of Design Research
Swinburne University of Technology
144 High Street Prahran
Victoria 3181 Australia
Telephone 0401 408 804
Facsimilie 03 9521 2665
www.swinburne.edu.au/design
>>> Don Norman 14/10/11 2:43 PM >>>
Stefanie asked: do "non-designers" make better design PhD students
than research students with a design background? One would
assume that being taught by a design *practitioner* would better
inform a future design PhD student
uh-oh. The answer is, "it all depends."
A problem with a student who has only a design background going into a
PhD program is that they lack the broad general knowledge from other
fields. For example, a solid background in social science (e.g.,
psychology), including statistics and experimental methods. Worse,
they may have a mindset that makes it difficult for them to acquire
these skills.
In Business, people with MBA degrees often have great difficulty if
they enter a PhD program in business for these reasons. Most business
schools prefer PhD students who do NOT have an MBA.
I think the answer is that it all depends upon the student.
Now I will reverse the question. Can there be good PhDs in design who
do not have a background in design practice?
I would like to believe that all researchers should have a solid
background in practice. I would also like all university professors to
have some real, practical business experience so that they would
actually know what their students will be facing. But these are
simply wild dreams.
I know really god theorists in numerous fields who never had a firm
foundation in the field in which they work. Computer Scientists who
can't program, for example. (Computer science is no more about
programming than design is about drawing.)
I, myself, consider myself working in the area of design
theory/research and I never got the proper grounding; I never took a
design course. And although I have considerable experience in
industry, I didn;t get that until after I was a very senior full
professor who had been teaching product design (HCI) for many years.
When I moved to industry, wow, I learned a lot. I now teach it
differently.
(Although I have no formal training, I have tried hard to self-educate
myself. Reading, practicing, visiting design firms and schools, and
taking seminar courses on various aspects of design. Teaching too,
which is a really good way to learn.)
So, it all depends.
Don
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