Issues for initiating interdisciplinary doctoral programmes

The initiation of a new Ph.D. programme in the twentyfirst-century university requires foresight, strategic planning and, often, a commitment to an interdisciplinary format which capitalizes on shared resources across related disciplines. This paper documents the challenges of initiating and starting an interdisciplinary doctoral programme in environmental planning and design. Differences exist between the classic US doctorate and the UK model. A case study example is presented, based on the author's experiences in launching an interdisciplinary doctorate at Arizona State University. This paper may be of value to multi-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, or interdisciplinary colleges or schools that are developing, or considering developing, research-based interdisciplinary doctoral programmes in art and design.