Since the founding of the College in 1963, the faculty has based their relationships on the mutually held realization that the practice of any one of the design professions benefits from the interaction of their varied approaches to (re)shaping the built environment. 

The interdisciplinary doctoral program takes advantage of the diverse but interrelated nature of the college’s design and planning disciplines. This program represents the comprehensive nature of our professional community and reflects the manner by which our faculty and the profession actually interact in practice.

A central aim of this doctoral program is to support advanced graduate research utilizing a comprehensive interdisciplinary view of design and planning to better contribute to a more livable and ecologically sustainable society. This program provides an advanced, interdisciplinary doctoral degree supported by faculty members from the Departments of Architecture, Interior Architecture and Product Design, and Landscape Architecture / Regional and Community Planning.

The major academic objective of this doctoral program is to prepare professionals and researchers who wish to teach at the graduate level or conduct research, design, and/or policy for private or public institutions, including governmental agencies, design and planning firms, and corporations. In various ways, student research will examine how the various aspects of design and planning knowledge and skills contributing to a more livable and sustainable environment and society for Kansas, the United States, and the world at large.