PhD Design, Environment and the Arts at Arizona State University

Programme overview

In the Doctor of Philosophy program in design, environment and the arts, you work through an individualized, institute-wide, transdisciplinary degree program that integrates graduate courses and faculty research with expertise in design; health care and healing environments; history, theory and criticism; and digital culture in design. Broad in scope, the program is at the cutting edge of creating new knowledge in architecture, design and the arts.

Faculty: Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts | Department: Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts | Duration: 84 credit hours | Study mode: full-time | Location: Tempe, AZ, United States

What you will study

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation Up to 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree can count toward the requirements of the doctoral program. Of the 54 credit hours remaining after the master's degree, 12 must be dissertation credit and 12 may be research.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a master's degree in the field of architecture, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture or fine arts from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,327 a year (2026-27). Arizona resident tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads Source

International applicants: USD 24,780 a year (2026-27). International tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads ar Source

Entry terms: Fall, Spring and Summer; the terms available for each programme are listed in Degree Search.

Graduate application deadlines are set by each programme office and listed in Degree Search. The nonrefundable application fee is $75 for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, DACA and international online students outside the U.S., and $120 for international students on a nonimmigrant visa studying in the U.S.

Apply through the official page: https://admission.asu.edu/apply/graduate/admission

Explore more study programmes

Engineering