A study in sustainable design can involve individuals in the creative and innovate path for long-term resource conservation across a range of industries and products. Students may be encouraged to improve existing methods to promote sustainability or to engineer and design new approaches that utilize natural resources more efficiently.

Requirements for the PhD program often involve the student having already obtained a Master’s degree. Additionally, a thesis or dissertation primarily consisting of original academic research must be submitted. In some countries, this work may even need to be defended in front of a panel.