The program integrates design and research as transdisciplinary fields at the crossroads of material studies, social sciences, design anthropology, cultural studies, curating, architecture and design history, and theory, engaging with the Bauhaus' multifold legacies as well as with current concerns in design research.

In 2025/26, the study program runs in exchange with numerous events curated to mark the centenaries of the arrival of the Bauhauslers in Dessau and the opening of the Bauhaus building. Artists and researchers will get "to the substance" of the Bauhaus – focusing modern and contemporary material cultures in exhibitions, conferences and festivals in the historic workshops and at various locations in the city.

The course combines different formats of learning and teaching, including hands-on workshops and excursions, in order to initiate an exchange of disciplines and methods – offering a theoretical enrichment for applied design research and practice as well as a preparation for doctoral studies. The degree opens professional perspectives in the fields of research and teaching of design, cultural studies, as well as curatorial practice.

coopdesignresearch.de/
bauhaus-dessau.de/an-die-substanz/
www.hs-anhalt.de/en/study/paths-to-university/your-application.html