The Ph. D. in Comparative Studies’ new track in Design, Aesthetics and the Arts is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary course of study that enables doctoral students to develop expertise in traditional disciplines and across disciplinary and cultural boundaries. At the heart of our program is the recognition and belief that design, the fine arts, and the philosophy of aesthetics are most fruitfully understood through comparative modes of analysis that include an ever-changing landscape of theories and methodologies.

The program is both interdisciplinary, integrating various fields, and multidisciplinary, comparing across fields. Areas of strength include the philosophy of aesthetics (and particularly somaesthetics, a term coined by FAU Eminent Scholar and DAA Academic Program Head Richard Shusterman), the philosophy and theory of design (a strength bolstered by our partnership with the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design, and Art in Ramat Gan, Israel), visual art, visual culture, art history (including digital games), multimedia, and architecture. Musicology and theatrology are also possible paths for prospective students.

This program promotes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work through a cohesive course of study. All students follow an interdisciplinary core curriculum before developing, in consultation with their advisory committees, areas of specialization that might themselves be multidisciplinary. We encourage students to address issues in design, aesthetics, and the arts from multiple perspectives and to seek the convergence of these perspectives through the insights of interdisciplinary approaches.