This paper examines the relative paucity of curriculum offerings in design history and design education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in South Africa. The neglect of design history suggests a wholesale under-appreciation of the role of history and design development in industrial and economic production within the country in recent decades, as well as a disconnect between the relevant policy makers and the tertiary institutions in the country. The inexplicable lack of realisation of and response by business, state and society to the closure of the National Design Institute of South Africa in the early 2020s is an example of this disjunction. It shows that this relative neglect is at odds with the nature, scope and thrust of national design promotion policies in advanced and higher performing economies globally and the accompanying integration of education programmes and institutions in the enhanced integration of design with industrial and economic strategies in such settings/contexts. This study is a literature-based review and draws widely on publicly available reports, contemporary popular reports and formal academic articles. The study draws methodologically from development and economic history, design history, curriculum research and development perspectives, and practitioner theory. This paper explores the growing emphasis on history, place and culture in industrial and economic policy formulation internationally. It argues Higher Education Institutions should provide an explicit and substantive role for design education, the design disciplines, design thinking and the history of the applied arts in industrial and economic development policy in South Africa. The paper is also informed by the recommendation in a recent DSAC report on a National Design Council for South Africa (SACO 2025 forthcoming) of the need for an historically grounded approach to national design promotion and associated institution building. Taking heed of new international developments in cultural policy; cultural and creative leadership; and the increased emphasis on inter-institutional partnerships, the rationale and model for a prestigious inter-disciplinary coursework Master of Design History is outlined. The curriculum would reflect international trends in terms of the composition of such degrees; inculcating a historical and contemporary understanding of the multi-faceted nature of design and the design disciplines, and their role in national industrial, economic and social policy. The paper is a contribution to the field of design education. It responds to a need to develop and offer design history courses and curricula in South African universities and to reinforce linkages with national design policy work and comparative international developments.