Abstract: This paper introduces the Programme for Design-Based Doctorates (PEP) at the Technische Universität Berlin. It describes the gap that the PEP Programme seeks to fill in the field of research in landscape architecture and architecture. To this end, the Programme proposes a narrow concept of design, focusing on concrete and precise design projects that differ from a broader concept of design, which can be defined as planning. A brief history of the development of design-based research clarifies the epistemological bases for the Programme. Additionally, the special methodology for design-based research projects and the procedure for joining the Programme are also described.