Same issues apply to digital ICs as well. The design is much more than just the rules encoded into the logic. What size node are you targeting? Is there an integrated clock? What frequency? What I/O does the IC have? What are the electrical and thermal specifications for the IC? Does it need to be low Iq? What about the pinout? What package? How do you want to structure the die? There are a lot of factors involved with determining the answers to these questions and they are highly interdependent.
The advanced degree is not meant to teach you how to grok complexity. It's to teach you what problems you can expect to encounter and how to go about solving them.
I suggest you won't learn those things in college. You RTFM and get some experience on real life design projects.
Now, if you are in CMOS process design or responsible for the CAD software itself and its design rules, it helps (a lot!) to be a physicist. For that you need the MS and PhD training.
The advanced degree is not meant to teach you how to grok complexity. It's to teach you what problems you can expect to encounter and how to go about solving them.