Introducing Rowan University’s Ph.D. in Creativity: A Revolutionary Doctoral Program for Innovative Thinkers Across Disciplines

Rowan University’s Ph.D. in Creativity is redefining the path to a doctoral degree by offering a low-residency, three-year, dissertation-only program designed to teach practitioners from diverse fields—such as science, medicine, engineering, business, and the social sciences—to think more creatively and innovate within their professions.

The  Ph.D. in Creativity serves students who have already achieved a professional mastery in some discipline and prepares leaders to develop industry-altering projects and transform their fields. Designed for those with graduate-level experience, the program enables students to pursue dissertations that don’t necessarily fit the mold elsewhere—allowing them to develop an individualized project over the course of three years.

This low-residency program kicks off with a two-week Creativity Immersion. Held in collaboration with the Barnes Foundation research center, students participate in a series of intense, curated arts experiences that serve as the basis for transformative creative thinking.

“During the Creativity Immersion, the students’ habits of thought are deliberately challenged, allowing the students to re-envision their ideas,” explained renowned art historian Jonathan Fineberg, Ph.D., the new program’s director. “This initial experience sets the tone for the entire dissertation process, helping each student refine and expand their research in truly original ways.”

In addition to Fineberg, Audrey Ellis, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and is an expert in phenomenology and creative modalities, serves as associate director. They are supported by an international roster of dissertation advisors selected uniquely with and for each student.

Advisors for the program, which originated in 2019 at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, have ranged from college presidents, provosts, and professors to physicians, public relations directors and museum curators. UArts closed in June.

“Our goal with the Ph.D. in Creativity is to transform the students in ways of thinking in any field,” said Sanford Tweedie, dean of the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, where the degree is housed. “Creative thinking is not limited to the arts. The arts provide a fundamental tool for nurturing innovation in every industry and walk of life.”

In the two years since the first cohort of nine graduated, they have published five books, numerous articles and book chapters, and have received multiple awards for their innovative research. Among them, Susan H. Gordon’s The Story of Prosecco Superiore is a finalist for the 30th Gourmand Drink Awards book category, and Patricia E. Salkin’s May It Please the Campus is a groundbreaking study on the important and little-known role that lawyers have played as leaders in higher education.

The current seven Ph.D. students are completing the program at Rowan after beginning it at UArts and will graduate in May.

Letters of intent for the Summer 2025 cohort are being accepted now. Pending approval by the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, Rowan will be authorized to confer the degree and anticipates accepting new students in early 2025.

For more information on the Ph.D. in Creativity at Rowan, please visit https://ccca.rowan.edu/phdincreativity/.