Dear Alfredo,

Your questions about doctoral programs and doctoral students are interesting. These involve several different answers. The answers depend on your precise definitions of the terms. There is no way to answer your question without three clear definitions. It is necessary to define 1) what you mean by the term “design,” 2) what you mean by the term “Ph.D.” and 3) what you mean by a “Ph.D. in design.”

There are a number of Ph.D. degrees in various fields of design practice and design studies. But the first Ph.D. degrees in design predate most of these because several design fields do not award a Ph.D. within a program labeled “design.” One of the oldest design fields for doctoral research is organisation design. You can earn a Ph.D. in organisation design in management, business, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, and in some of the social sciences. The Ph.D. in engineering design is awarded in engineering. The Ph.D. in curriculum design is awarded in education, or it may be awarded as an Ed.D. 

There are also Ph.D. awards  outside design in different fields of design studies or fields allied to design. These include Ph.D. degrees in design history that may be awarded as art history or architecture history, Ph.D. in philosophy of design or philosophy of science that may be awarded in philosophy, and other degrees that may be awarded in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, neuroscience, or others. There is also the case that people have considered general design, design process, and design thinking in degrees from all these kinds of programs. For examples of the scope and differences in Ph.D. awards in thesis titles between 1999 and 2001, see the proposal for a School of Design at the University of California Irvine (2002: 85-106. A copy of the full report appears in the Teaching Documents section of my Academia.edu page:

https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman

The degree designation for a doctorate may vary. Laws in some nations regulate the award designation according to the discipline of the university. In some nations, therefore, there may be no Ph.D. in design. Instead, the comparable degree may be awarded as Dr.Tech, D.A., D.Arch., D.Eng, D.B.A., or another degree, depending on the design field involved.

Another question is the issue of what it means to award or to earn a Ph.D. Standards differ extensively by nation and by field. In nations where major accrediting agencies govern the right to award a Ph.D., standards tend to be similar across all fields. This is the case in North America, where similar basic requirements cover all Ph.D. awards regardless of field. 

In nations that permit universities to self-accredit, standards may vary extensively from field to field. A university with strong research programs in medicine and physics will have one standard in those fields, while the Ph.D. in design may be weak. This is especially the situation in nations where the government pays universities for the number of students who complete a Ph.D. degree within a three-year time limit without evaluating program quality or standards as the North American accreditation bodies do. For a discussion of some specific differences, see my paper on “Writing for the Ph.D. in Art and Design” (Friedman 2014: pp. 4-8). A copy appears on my Academia.edu page in the PhD training, skills, and supervision section:

https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman

There are many differences between different Ph.D. programs around the world. Explaining these differences and considering quality is a very different question than simply asking about the degree title and the name of the department that awarded it. 

To answer your question, therefore, you must: 1) Define what you mean by design and the design fields you intend to cover in your questions. 2) Define what you mean by a Ph.D. You must also decide whether to include similar degrees with other designated titles. You must also 3) define what you mean by “Ph.D. in design.”

Yours,   

Ken

Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Elsevier in Cooperation with Tongji University Press | Launching in 2015

Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| University Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia

Email [log in to unmask] | Academia http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman | D&I http://tjdi.tongji.edu.cn 


—

References

Friedman, Ken. 2014. Writing for the PhD in Art and Design. Issues for Research Supervisors and Research Students. A Research Skills Working Paper. Melbourne, Australia: Centre for Design Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology. Available at URL:

https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman

University of California, Irvine. 2002. Proposal for a School of Design at the University of California, Irvine. Irvine, California: University of California, Irvine. Available at URL:

https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman

--

Alfredo Guttierrez Borrero wrote:

—snip—

Hi, perhaps some of you could have information on this subject: what was
the first doctoral program in the field of design specifically that opened
in the world? And in which institution, city and country? Which is the one
with more years today? Which are the oldest ones yet functioning by
country? I've been reviewing some documents and proceedings of the meetings
on Doctoral Education in Design (Ohio, La Clusaz, Tsukuba) but shame on me!
I can't find some accurate assumptions in such a point... by the way, here

http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll/services/lhsc/ead/006-04-20-01b.html

is stated that: "In 1981, Margolin (Victor) earned his PhD in design
history at the Union Institute in Cincinnati, OH. According to Margolin,
this was the first doctorate in the history of design ever conferred in the
United States" this made me ask to myself, who was the first person in the
world on receiving a doctoral degree title on a program specifically
dedicated to the design's field? And in which program, university, city and
country were enrolled the first doctoral students in design?

I suppose that this issues has been previously discussed here and perhaps
Keith, or Ken, or David, or Klaus, amongst many others. could have some
refreshing answers on the matter (I have tried to look for that on this
list archives but alas in vain too)... Methinks there will surely be
different views and title contenders, many nuances and accents, but having
some kind of idea of this fate mapping and of the very early first programs
and pioneer students and PhD degree title receivers in each region of the
world (from the beginning and the earliest ones), at least for me as a PhD
student in design and creation, and sure for many, present and future
colleagues in the field and world could be very useful.

—snip—


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