Doctor in Dungeons and Dragons

Expand your horizons as a tabletop storyteller

Pacific's new Ph.D. in Dungeons and Dragons critically engages dungeon masters and players in contemporary issues that impact the Forgotten Realms. Built on Pacific's long-standing reputation for both dragons and dungeons, the Ph.D.DD. is an innovative program designed for people looking to take their skills to the next level.

Students will have two concentration options in the program—the dungeon master track and player character track.

Applications for this program are currently not open and never will be because this is just an April Fools joke. Enjoy!

Major Requirements

The Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) requires a minimum of 56 units with a Pacific cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Students must complete the doctoral core courses as well as a dissertation proposal and defense.

Topics include:

Advanced dungeon mastering
Game Theory - D20 statistics
Worldbuilding and character arcs
NPC survival
Psychology of monsters
Architecture and design of dungeons

Visit the General Catalog for detailed information

Learning Outcomes

Students should develop a desire for loot
Students should be able to detect traps
Students should know, understand and be able to meet the compliance standards of Wizards of the Coast’s D&D 5E
Students should be able to create a story and character arc off of the top of their heads
Students should know that this degree is an April Fools joke

Have a question about the major? Sorry, since this degree is fake, we can't offer you more information, because there is none! Feel free to keep scrolling and see what we came up with, though. You can also find some real degrees we offer that might pique your interest too.

Four-year in-game program

Hybrid VTT model

Small party size

Practice Campaigns and One-Shots

Experiential Learning

Many students are able to use their time in this fake degree program to actually create campaigns and play with their cohort and with other candidates. Our students prepare for their dissertations by planning out different games, gaining hands-on insight into the workings of a campaign.

Specialize and tailor your degree

In this fake degree program, we offer two different concentrations. These concentrations allow students to further specialize in a track and learn the skills they need to excel in a campaign.

Dungeon Master Track

This track focuses on worldbuilding and voice acting. Advance your storytelling and develop your diction, syntax, and semantics skills. Bring your game to the next level with innovative homebrewing tactics.

Specific courses will also focus on detailing encounters, monster builds, and other essential storytelling features.

Party Character Track

Refine your puzzle solving skills in this track, which focuses on being a player of D&D. Learns the ins and outs of game strategy and character immersion. Advance ethics, morals and alignments. Understand complex battle mechanics and make the most of your turns, maximizing action economy.

This was a joke

April Fools!

Unfortunately, this isn’t a real major or degree that we offer at Pacific, but you can take some of the skills you would have learned in this major and apply them to some degrees we do offer! Check out some real related degrees below.