Design Education | Research Degrees

England

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.

If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.

Accessibility statement

Award Award	Duration Duration	Start dates Start dates	Application Application
PhD (MPhil also available) PhD (MPhil also available)	Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years	February and October February and October	January to April January to April

The Design Group at The Open University has led innovation in distance and online design education since its inception in the early 1970s. Educating designers at a distance requires a completely different starting point and approach to traditional studio models. even though both modes share many properties and features. These different frames ‘make visible aspects’ of learning and teaching in design, meaning the OU is a unique place to undertake design education research.

The Design Group have ongoing interests in the following areas of design education scholarship and research:

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

With over 3000 students studying design, the Design School at the OU is a unique place to undertake scholarship and research in design education.

We have current research interests in:

UK fee UK fee	International fee International fee
Full-time: £5,006 per year Full-time: £5,006 per year	Full-time: £16,420 per year Full-time: £16,420 per year
Part-time: £2,503 per year Part-time: £2,503 per year	Part-time: £8,210 per year Part-time: £8,210 per year

Some of our research students are funded via the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

An image to illustrate the Design education research topic