Reframing the Conversation about Doctoral Education: Professionalization and the Critical Role of Abstract Knowledge

Abstract

Within the community of visual communication design, there is debate concerning the utility of doctoral education to the profession. The outcomes of doctoral education as well as the academics themselves are frequently measured by their ability to directly affect practice. This theoretical paper reframes the conversation through the application of sociologist Andrew Abbott’s (1988) model of the system of professions. Abbott’s model of professionalization is explored and applied to the current state of visual communication design practice and education. In particular, the functions Abbott describes as abstract knowledge—contrary to practical professional knowledge—are used to explain the need for a tandem development of the professional doctorate (Doctorate of Design, D.Des.) and doctorate of philosophy in design (Ph.D. in design) degrees. Abstract knowledge and its counterparts—the academics—help contribute to the profession’s power and prestige, which in turn support practice and thus allow the profession to maintain professional jurisdiction and control over its work. Using this theoretical framework, the nature, structure, and roles of professional and philosophical doctorates are described within the context of visual communication design, using examples of published research to illustrate the differences between knowledge created through practice (D.Des. study) and abstract knowledge created through philosophical enquiry (Ph.D. study). In applying Abbott’s theory, it is evident that without the continued development of both types of doctoral degrees, especially increased support for the Ph.D. in design, visual communication design’s abstract knowledge will suffer, putting the profession’s status and control over its work in jeopardy.