Ph.D. Program
About the Ph.D. program
The Environmental Design & Planning Ph.D. at the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University is, an interdisciplinary degree program. Our doctoral students are members of the College at-large, rather than a particular department, allowing students to draw from the sizeable and wide-ranging knowledge of faculty from all three of our departments: Architecture, Interior Architecture & Product Design, and Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning.
Each Ph.D. student chooses an area of emphasis, but the program allows for, and even requires, learning in several areas. The four concentrations of the doctoral program – Design, Planning, Sustainability, and Place Making – are expansive, and they encompass and embrace the interconnected and complex nature of the design and planning professions.
When practicing in any of the design and planning professions, the practitioner benefits from an understanding of different approaches to the imagining and augmenting of the built environment. Our program takes advantage of the diverse but interrelated nature of the College’s design and planning disciplines to give our PhD students a well-rounded education.
The doctoral program supports advanced graduate research utilizing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view of design and planning to better contribute to a more livable and ecologically sustainable society.
Program goal
This program is designed to prepare professionals and researchers to teach at the graduate level or conduct research. In addition to teaching, our graduates also are well equipped to design and/or create policy for: governmental, environmental and planning agencies, developers, professional design firms, and international corporations that focus on environmental stewardship. The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows students to develop conceptual and problem-solving skills that have application in numerous and varied practical design and planning situations. Examples include: designing more livable communities, planning for more efficient energy and resource use, or restoring natural environments.
Generally, student research examines how different aspects of design and planning might contribute to a more functional, sustainable environment and society for Kansas, the United States, and the world. Conducting such research allows students to gain experience and insight into a variety of design and planning professions.
Want to learn more?
For more information, or to schedule a College visit or informational tour, please contact the Director of the Ph.D. program:
Professor David Sachs, DArch, AIA
College of Architecture, Planning & Design
Kansas State University
215 Seaton Hall
Manhattan, Kansas 66506
785-532-1183
sachs@ksu.edu
apdesign.k-state.edu
