Cultural Preservation, DDes

(PDDCP)

The 60-credit-hour program encompasses six semesters of study and 45 hours of new course offerings specific to the curriculum and its advanced nature, mostly devoted to individual, supervised research, requiring students to work one-on-one with faculty. Students will share a common core of seminars on cultural preservation and research methods, while the curriculum for each specialization includes allied subjects and special requirements to ensure cross-disciplinary study.

The degree includes four areas for specialization:

1. History and Theory of Material Culture: studies in the production and history of art, architecture, cultural landscapes, interiors, and representation, with explorations through different lenses of environmental consideration, geographical location, national/international movement, and corresponding examples from related cultures.
2. Environmental Policy: investigations of policy and technical expertise arising from environmental and social sciences, law, and public policy to build on previous academic training and professional practice experience in the design and planning disciplines (architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, regional planning).
3. Fabricative Materials & Technology: inquiry and exploration through digital design as a research tool contributing to the analysis, understanding, and improvement of the built environment at new levels of scale and complexity, with an experimental design project that develops new methods, material systems, or technologies in digital design and fabrication through production of a large-scale artifact and a critical thesis.
4. Museum Studies: combined academic study of art history and other cultural resources with training in administration, conservation, interpretation, and exhibition through a blend of managerial, presentation, and technical skills.

As an advanced academic degree, the DDes will generate graduates prepared to fill leadership positions in numerous professional and academic fields related to the cultural economy and thereby make significant contributions to the advancement of cultural preservation in Louisiana and throughout the country.