Language

Italian, English

Start date

January 2026

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

3 Years

Credits

180

The PhD is aimed at researchers who want to deal with the complexity of ongoing transitions to design positive changes and imagine more equitable, supportive and sustainable futures starting from a post disciplinary perspective, open to hybridizations between knowledge and the experimentation of new and unexpected connections.

The PhD programme aims to investigate new interpretative paradigms of Design and the Arts, and their roles, in a fluid, rapidly evolving context, through the experimentation of systemic research methodologies, based on multiple connections and hybridizations, the sublimation of linear disciplinary approaches, in favour of relational and critical, abductive and transdisciplinary readings, which look not only at applications, but also at the implications and impacts of design and creative action.

In this scenario, Design and Art stand as a transformative platform capable of enabling the interconnection between different forms of knowledge, the relationships between different forms of intelligence (human, non-human, other-than-human) and multiple application possibilities, generated by the intersection between design, art, technologies, sciences (human, social, environmental, economic), in a reference value framework based on principles of equity, inclusiveness, responsibility, sustainability and solidarity.

An open and collaborative research environment, an ecosystem in which experiment new hybrid, generative and regenerative methodologies, and apply emerging technologies consciously and responsibly, with a critical, ethical and non-conformist outlook, to go beyond conventional approaches and orient research action towards the common good, care for the planet and shared resources.

The research fields concern the following thematic areas:

  • Collective intelligence and Human - non human creativity
  • Design, Arts and the creative industries in new socio-economic circular environments
  • Cultural Heritage through digital and phygital technologies
  • Smart technologies and bio-materials: unconventional and circular application
  • Data design and information ecology: awareness and knowledge
  • Decolonization, commoning and social good in design and art practices

 

PhD Programme Committee

 

Final admission ranking for the PhD programme – Academic Year 25/26

News

27 July 2026

IED community stands out at the 2026 Delta Awards with five accolades and 21 selected projects

Aaron Gonzalo, an alumnus of IED Kunsthal Bilbao, has been awarded a Silver Delta Medal for his project X-plorer, while, in the professional category, four projects developed by faculty members from IED Barcelona have received Delta Awards.

27 July 2026

IED Barcelona Graduation Day – Master's Degrees and Postgraduate Programmes 2026

Held on 23 July, the graduation ceremony marked the successful completion of this stage of academic study at the school for 67 students.

24 July 2026

Fashion For Future Contest 2026 x Eurasian Fashion Week

In collaboration with Eurasian Fashion Week, IED launches the Fashion For Future Contest 2026, an international competition dedicated to students, graduates, and emerging fashion designers from around the world.

Wooden speaker placed on a table covered with a plaid blanket

22 July 2026

Design at the Intersection of Craftsmanship and Digital Manufacturing

In collaboration with the Government of Catalonia, through the Consorci de Comerç, Artesania i Moda (CCAM) of the Department of Business and Labour, and the Ateneu de Fabricació de Gràcia, third-year Product Design students from IED Barcelona have taken part in a new edition of 'New Crafts. Digital Revolution'.

20 July 2026

Career Days 2026: more than 60 companies meet IED Torino's emerging talent

From 14 to 16 July, IED Torino's Marconi campus hosted the Career Days 2026, bringing together more than 60 companies for one-to-one interviews and networking opportunities designed to help students and recent graduates take their first steps into the professional world.

17 July 2026

Priscilla Fois brings her art to Urban Break Korea

IED Roma alumna Priscilla Fois has been selected to participate in Urban Break Korea, one of the leading international festivals dedicated to urban art.

17 July 2026

IED Madrid Celebrates the Talent Shaping the Future of Design at its Graduation Day 2026

The Gran Teatro CaixaBank Príncipe Pío once again hosted the Graduation Ceremony, bringing together Master's, Bachelor's, Diploma, Vocational Training and Total Design students alongside their families, faculty and the wider IED community.

16 July 2026

This Is What the Future of Visual Arts Looks Like

Recent graduates from the IED Barcelona's Graphic Design, Advertising, and Motion Graphics and Video programmes presented their final projects at Barcelona XR Lab. Data, text, image and sound come together to explore the global order and reframe systems for navigating the world.

13 July 2026

IED Barcelona Takes to the Runway at 080 x Cruïlla

Three recently graduated Fashion Design alumni showcased four looks each at the festival’s fashion runway, demonstrating how the new creative voices of the future dress.

Don't miss it

Exhibitions and Festival

28 April 2026 - 30 September 2026

Barcelona

“Caliu” in “Matter Matters. Designing with the World”

The project “Caliu”, by IED Barcelona alumnus Judith Aubà, has been selected to form part of this exhibition, which reflects on the major challenges facing design today and in the future at a critical time marked by the scarcity of raw materials.

Open Day

07 September 2026 - 10 September 2026

Multiple

IED OPEN - THE FUTURE IS LOOKING FOR YOU

Online 7 - 9 September. In person (Italian campuses) -10 September.