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Ph.D. in Architecture

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The PHD in Architecture addresses the development of modern architectural form and ideas as they have been affected by social, economic, and technological change. In broad terms, it encompasses the relations between the profession, practice, civil institutions, and the society at large.

As a doctoral program, it is oriented toward the training of scholars in the field of architectural history and theory. Its structure reflects a dual understanding of the scholar’s role in the discipline at large: as a teacher and as a researcher making an original contribution to the field, with an emphasis on expanding and reinterpreting disciplinary knowledge in a broad intellectual arena. Course requirements are therefore designed to give entering students a solid foundation in historical knowledge and theoretical discourse, with sufficient flexibility to spark and support individual research agendas. The program’s focus is on the history and theory of modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism in an international and cross-cultural context, from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Within this, a wide range of research is supported through the varied expertise of the faculty and through strong relationships with other departments throughout the university and beyond.

The Ph.D. in Architecture is a program within the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) while the actual degree is granted by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

Admission for 2024

• The application deadline for 2024 admissions was January 4, 2024 and is now closed.
• For additional information on the application process and requirements, please see the GSAS website.

Lucia Allais Barry Bergdoll (Art History) Ateya Khorakiwala Reinhold Martin Mary McLeod Felicity Scott Mark Wigley Mabel Wilson

Affiliated Faculty

Zeynep Celik Alexander Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi

All students entering the PhD program in Architecture receive two Residence Units of Advanced Standing, having entered with a master’s degree in architecture, architectural history, or a related field. As such, students must complete the M.Phil. degree within three years from initial registration and the Ph.D. within eight years from initial registration.

Year 1: Students begin required coursework, including language proficiencies Year 2: Students complete required coursework and language proficiencies; begin required teaching apprenticeship Year 3: Students complete required teaching apprenticeship; complete M.Phil. Examination (by mid-February); and defend the Dissertation Prospectus (by early May) Year 4+: Students research, write, and defend the doctoral dissertation

At least once each semester, students should meet individually with the director of the program or with their program or dissertation adviser. Students are assigned a program advisor in the first year, the duties of which are assumed by their dissertation advisor in the third year. Students must have acquired a dissertation advisor by the seventh week of their sixth semester. Students are allowed to change both their program and dissertation advisers during the course of their studies.

All students are expected to meet the requirements of Satisfactory Academic Progress as stipulated by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Renewal of student funding packages each year is dependent upon their maintaining good academic and administrative standing .

Students are required to spend four semesters in residence during which time they are expected to take thirteen courses (39 credit points), of which at least eight must be taken for a letter grade. The remaining five courses can be taken for R credit. The required academic course work breaks down into the four sections described below. In addition to the doctoral colloquia and doctoral seminars, five further classes should be seminars (not lecture courses). At least six of the thirteen courses should be taken with faculty from the Ph.D. in Architecture committee. It is assumed that these thirteen courses will be spread out approximately evenly over the first four semesters of study, although students can complete a larger number of courses in the first year to accommodate teaching requirements in the second year.

For any course in which a student receives an incomplete, the student must complete all outstanding coursework before the beginning of the next academic year. To remain in good standing with the program, students cannot hold more than one incomplete at any time. Students must complete all incomplete coursework prior to taking their M.Phil. examination.

Section 1: Doctoral Colloquia All students are required to take two doctoral colloquia in the fall semester and at least two doctoral seminars in the spring semester over the four-semester sequence. Three of these must be taken for a letter grade.

Section 2: Architectural History/Theory To complete distribution requirements, students will be required to take graduate-level courses from the following areas of study:

• One pre-1750 (Western or non-Western)
• Two courses either in Eighteenth-Century Architecture and Theory or Nineteenth-Century Architecture and Theory

At least half of the syllabus must address these time frames for a course to satisfy the requirement. At the discretion of the program director, these requirements may be modified for students who have had previous, relevant graduate-level courses.

Section 3: Social and Critical Studies Students should take at least one course outside of Architecture and Art History. Representative departments in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with an emphasis on comparative historical and critical studies include: African American and African Diaspora Studies, Anthropology, East Asian Languages and Cultures, English and Comparative Literature, Germanic Language and Literature, History, Latin American and Iberian Cultures, Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies, Philosophy, and Political Science, or within relevant University Centers and Institutes. The specific topic and the choice of faculty will be decided in consultation with the student’s program adviser or the director of the program.

Section 4: Electives Remaining coursework is completed through elective courses in students’ areas of interest, the selection of which should be decided in consultation with the student’s program adviser or the director of the program.

The four-semester program has been designed to give doctoral candidates sufficient training for the M.Phil. examination, with a special emphasis on the ability to teach classes in modern architectural and urban development and its relationship to parallel developments in material history and contemporary thought. Students must complete their M.Phil. (generals) examination no later than their sixth semester in the program.

The M.Phil. qualifying examination is divided into three interrelated sections:

Three revised coursework papers, chosen to reflect the student’s research interests and abilities

Two essays written in response to specific questions formulated by the examining committee, one essay pertaining to the major field and one to the minor field. Students will receive two questions pertaining to the major field but only answer one of them.

The oral examination

The qualifying exam will be divided into major and minor fields. These fields are to be determined in consultation with the program faculty supervising the exam. The major field should be fairly broad and involve cross-cultural comparisons and/or cover at least a century in time. The minor field should focus on another topic, historical or theoretical in character, distinct from the major field. Students must consult the relevant supervising faculty in deciding on their major and minor fields.

The examining committee will be comprised of three members, two covering the major field and one covering the minor field. At least two members of the examining committee should be drawn from the Ph.D. committee or from the program’s associated faculty. Each student prepares the two bibliographies in consultation with these faculty and distributes final versions of the bibliographies one month prior to the oral examination. Each member of the committee will be responsible for one question, which the student receives a week after submitting the bibliographies. The papers are to be completed in a two-week period and submitted at least one week prior to the oral examination. The oral exam consists of discussion of the submitted essays, the coursework papers, and the bibliographies.

To receive the degree of M.Phil. students must complete the required coursework, the M.Phil. exam, the required four semesters of teacher training, and must have demonstrated proficiency in two languages other than English.

After successfully completing the qualifying examination, each student defends his or her dissertation proposal before a faculty committee, composed of the student’s dissertation adviser, who must be on the list of approved Architecture Doctoral Dissertation Advisors , and two other readers, at least one of whom should be from the list of Architecture dissertation advisors or associated faculty. Defense of the dissertation prospectus must take place before the end of the sixth semester.

The student will then be free to pursue the research topic independently, in ongoing consultation with the dissertation adviser. It is expected that the dissertation be completed approximately two to three years after approval of the topic. Since all students come into the program with Advanced Standing, students must complete the dissertation within eight years of entering the program, approved Leaves of Absence notwithstanding.

The dissertation must be submitted four weeks before the dissertation defense. A copy is to be provided for each member of the examining committee. This committee consists of five people, at least three of whom are approved as a dissertation advisor in Architecture or the associated faculty. At least one member of the committee must be from outside GSAPP. The student is granted the Ph.D. upon defending the dissertation successfully and depositing the final copy in accordance with University regulations.

For more information on the Ph.D. dissertation, refer to the GSAS Dissertation Toolkit .

• For information on Ph.D. student employee compensation and benefits, click here .
• For information on available resources for parents, click here .
• For more information on the GSAPP PhD Travel, Conference, and Exhibition Participation Support program, click here .

Related Events

Other architecture programs at gsapp.

Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture and Design Research, Architecture Track

Ph.D., based at Main Campus + WAAC

Degree Tracks within the Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research program

There are two major tracks within the Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research degree program, each of which has topical areas. The requirements for the tracks vary slightly, but both provide significant flexibility for each student to develop a plan of study consistent with his or her academic goals. The two tracks are Architecture and Design Research.

Architecture Track

The Architecture track within the Ph.D program in Architecture and Design Research includes research topics in Architectural Representation and Education, Architectural History and Theory, Historic Preservation, and Computing and Representation.

The Architecture track will share resources on the Blacksburg Campus and the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center in the National Capital Region (NCR). At the latter location, students can make use of the many research libraries available in the Washington, DC area, including the Library of Congress, National Building Museum library, American Institute of Architects Library, CASVA, Smithsonian Institution, the Dumbarton Oaks Library and many privately-owned architectural archives to develop their topics in architectural representation.

Design Research Track

The Design Research track within the Ph.D. program in Architecture and Design Research primarily operates on the Blacksburg campus. Principal focus areas within the Design Research track are Building Science, Interior Design, Industrial Design, and Landscape Architecture. Other areas of study include those outlined in the  MS degree , History/Theory/Criticism, Health and Wellness Design, Social Impact Design, Biodesign, and Design Technology. Over the past fifteen years, the number of students and diversity of research activities in the Design Research track has steadily grown resulting in an internationally recognized program. Admission to the program is highly competitive with only a few admissions offered each year.

Architectural Acoustics focus

The Architectural Acoustics focus within the architecture program at Virginia Tech engages acoustics under the umbrella of design. The program encourages students to bring issues of room acoustics, speech privacy, and noise control into their design studios and into their careers, and involves students in individually-tailored rigorous research in the field.

Architectural Acoustics students are encouraged to integrate their class work with their design studio work. Academic study centers around understanding the relationship between the built world and sound, calculating and predicting acoustic performance of spaces, and executing acoustic measurements (impulse response, reverberation time, background noise, and sound transmission loss). The College’s Architectural Acoustics Laboratory houses equipment capable of taking acoustic measurements in rooms, simulating acoustic environments and analyzing the acoustic character of computer-modeled and scale-modeled rooms.

Those interested in learning more about the curriculum, discussing the body of research investigated, or speaking with students who have completed their study in architectural acoustics are encouraged to contact Prof. Michael Ermann by email or at 540.231.1225.

The faculty are seeking to admit a highly selective group of students who have master’s degrees in closely allied fields, such as Architecture, Environmental Design, Building Science, Landscape Architecture, Architecture History and Theory, Interior Design, and Industrial Design. In addition to the application requirements of the Virginia Tech Graduate School and those pertaining to all graduate programs within the School of Architecture and School of Design, applicants to the Ph.D. degree in Architecture and Design Research must submit a portfolio and a 2,500-word statement of research focus. Students are encouraged to contact members of the faculty with whom their interests and research focus area align.

Degree Requirements for the Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research:

The Graduate School requires each Ph.D. student to complete 90 semester hours of graduate study and dissertation.

All students, regardless of area of specialization, are required to complete a sequence of specific Architecture and Design Seminars. A two-semester sequence seminar will focus primarily on epistemology and the nature of discipline and practice of architecture, viewed in the context of architecture and the allied fields. Students will also enroll in a continuing seminar course required every semester of residence. In these seminars, Ph.D. students, the School faculty involved with the graduate program, and possible guests present their own research for critical review and feedback. The Ph.D. students in the Architecture track must also pass a test of reading ability in a foreign language related to their selected topics (native languages and English do not fulfill this requirement).

In addition, all students must complete a special Research Methods course organized by area of specialization. At the approval of the student’s advisory committee, the course may be also taken in the other area of specialization or outside of the school.

Related links

Information regarding admission to Graduate Programs in Architecture

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PhD in Architecture

The Ph.D. in Architecture offers candidates opportunities to develop and deepen their education in 3 important ways:

• Enhancing research and analytical skills with rigorous methods of inquiry and synthesis;
• Acquiring advanced knowledge specific to their area(s) of inquiry through comprehensive scholarly investigations and distinguished documentation; and
• Developing the ability to communicate knowledge in a clear and eloquent manner.

To realize this goal, the faculty has made a commitment to create, along with doctoral students, a climate in which scholarship and creativity can flourish. Underlying the advanced study of architecture at KU is an ethic regarding architectural inquiry and architectural practice; one that sustains the question, “What ought we do as architects and researchers to enhance the quality of life on this planet?” Examples of inquiry at KU that exemplify this underlying question are

• Progressive models of practice embracing evidence-based design and design-build practices;
• Affordable housing with a sensitive aesthetic;
• Material investigations to create more affordable and sustainable building practices;
• Rigorous evaluations of built artifacts to inform better design practice;
• Translation of empirical findings of person-place interaction research into design guidelines; and
• Critical perspectives on human settlement patterns.

Our research is founded on an ethical position. We are not involved in research simply to generate knowledge for its own sake but rather to improve the human condition through more thoughtful built form. The overall focus is on developing understanding that may inform the critical delivery processes by which humane architecture is created.

Note : Contact your department or program for more information about the Research and Skills and Responsible Scholarship requirement for doctoral students.

This degree requires a minimum of 49 credits and is for students seeking to enhance the body of knowledge in the discipline of architecture. Because of this desire, Ph.D. students at KU are viewed as colleagues and collaborators with our faculty and as such, as valuable resources. The degree prepares students for careers in academia, consulting, practice-based research, or work in the public sector.

Concentration Areas

The Architecture, Culture, and Behavior concentration investigates the social, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of designed environments within a broad interdisciplinary framework, using a range of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Within this concentration, students could inquire into a variety of research questions related to diverse types of architectural, urban, and geographical settings. Research topics may include, among others, issues related to: architectural education; housing and community designs; social justice in design; psychological aspects in designed environments ; programming and post-occupancy evaluation of designed environments; nexus between organizational culture and space; architectural and urban morphology; social aspects in sustainable design; cultural heritage preservation and management; traditional settlement studies; urban design and development; and international development and globalization.

Students are highly encouraged to pursue advanced theory and methodology courses offered in the fields of humanities and social sciences, in addition to those offered in the School of Architecture & Design in order to develop an interdisciplinary intellectual context for their research inquiries. 

The faculty members serving on the committees of our students in this area are:

• Dr. Hui Cai
• Dr. Nisha Fernando
• Dr. Farhan Karim
• Dr. Marie-Alice L’Heureux
• Dr. Mahbub Rashid
• Dr. Kapila Silva
• Prof. Kent Spreckelmeyer, D. Arch., FAIA

A list of recommended courses for our students in Architecture, Culture, & Behavior:

• ABSC 798: Conceptual Foundations of Behavior Analysis
• ABSC 831: Science of Human Behavior
• ABSC 935: Experimental Foundations of Applied Behavior Analysis
• ANTH 695: Cultural Ecology
• ANTH 732: Discourse Analysis
• ANTH 775: Seminar in Cultural Anthropology
• ANTH 783: Doing Ethnography
• ANTH 788: Symbol Systems
• ANTH 794: Material Culture
• C&T 907: Critical Pedagogies
• ELPS 777: Problems in Contemporary Educational Theory
• ELPS 831: Sociology of Education
• ELPS 871: Introduction to Qualitative Research
• ELPS 948: Research in Education Policy and Leadership
• EVRN 620: Environmental Politics and Policy
• EVRN 656: Ecosystem Ecology
• EVRN 701: Climate Change, Ecological Change, and Social Change
• EVRN 720: Topics in Environmental Studies
• GEOG 670: Cultural Ecology
• GEOG 751: Analysis of Regional Development
• GEOG 772: Problems in Political Geography
• GEOG 773: Humanistic Geography
• GIST 701: Approaches to International Studies
• GIST 702: Globalization
• HIST 898: Colloquium in Material Culture and History
• HIST 901: Research Seminar in Global History
• HWC 775: Advanced Study in the Body and Senses
• ISP 814: Decolonizing Narratives
• PHIL 622: Philosophy of Social Science
• PHIL 850: Topics in Recent Philosophy
• POLS 961: The Politics of Culturally Plural Societies
• POLS 978: Advanced Topics in International Relations Theory
• POLS 981: Global Development
• PSYC 693: Multivariate Analysis
• PSYC 790: Statistical Methods in Psychology I
• PSYC 791: Statistical Methods in Psychology II
• PSYC 818: Experimental Research Methods in Social Psychology
• PSYC 882: Theory and Method for Research of Human Environments
• PUAD 836: Introduction to Quantitative Methods
• PUAD 937: Qualitative Methods in Public Administration
• SOC 803: Issues in Contemporary Theory
• SOC 804: Sociology of Knowledge
• SOC 812: Analytic Methods in Sociology
• SOC 813: Field Methods and Participant Observation
• SOC 875: The Political Economy of Globalization
• SW 730: Human Behavior in the Social Environment
• SW 847: Grant Writing and Fundraising
• SW 979: Methods of Qualitative Inquiry
• SW 981: Advance Quantitative Research Methods
• SW 988: Mixing Methods in Social science Research
• WGSS 600: Contemporary Feminist Political Theory
• WGSS 801: Feminist Theory
• WGSS 802: Feminist Methodologies

Growing evidence has demonstrated strong links between the built environment and human health and wellness. The Health & Wellness program at the school of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas, including both the professional program and the PhD concentration, is one of the strongest programs in the nation that is dedicated to research and design education about environments for health and wellness. It is built on close collaborations between an interdisciplinary team of faculty, affiliated professionals, and several academic and research programs (including the University of Kansas Center for Sustainability, Gerontology Center at the Life Span Institute, Health Policy and Management at the School of Medicine and School of Nursing, and Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at School of Engineering).

The goal of the concentration is to use evidence-based design approaches to study the impacts of design on human health and wellness. The scope varies at multiple scales, from object, to room, to building and site, to entire communities.

This concentration provides students with the theoretical, technical and applied knowledge and skills to prepare them for academic and professional careers to promote human wellness in a variety of building types (e.g. healthcare, senior care, office, education, recreation). The curriculum focuses on developing skills in quantitative and qualitative research on health-related design. In addition, PhD students may also consider participating in the seven-month health and wellness professional internship, which is currently offered in the professional program.

Some topics that students may investigate in this program are:

• Inpatient and ambulatory healthcare facilities
• Environments for special populations
• Natural or built environments that enhance human wellness
• Environments that support healthy and productive workplaces
• Neighborhoods that improve the physical, social and cultural health of the community
• Prof. Kent Spreckelmeyer, D.Arch, Emeritus FAIA
• Frank Zilm, D.Arch, FAIA
• Dr. Herminia Machry

Recommended Health and Wellness courses include:

• ARCH 600: Evidence-based Design in Healthcare Facilities
• ARCH 731: Architecture of Health

Some other courses currently offered to health and wellness professional program may be available to PhD students:

• ARCH 807: Healthy and Sustainable Environments Internship
• ARCH 692: Documentation (in conjunction with ARCH 807)
• ARCH 808: Healthy and Sustainable Environments Capstone Studio

The Building Performance & Design Computation concentration examines the crossroads of building science (lighting, acoustics, thermal, energy conservation, air quality) and design. Studies in this area seek to advance knowledge improving building occupant well-being and environmental sustainability through optimized building design. Research may require both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, often involving both physical testing and numerical simulation of the built environment.

Courses within the department are augmented by courses offered in other university units such as engineering, psychology, planning, and computer science. 

• Dr. Dilshan Remaz Ossen 
• Dr. Francesco Carota
• Dr. Gustavo Garcia do Amaral 
• Dr. Jae Chang
• Dr. Hongyi Cai
• Dr. Hugo Sheward
• Dr. Keith Van de Riet
• Dr. Tzu-Chieh Kurt Hong
• Dr. Xiaobo Quan

A list of recommended courses for our students in Building Performance & Design Computation:

• ARCE 650: Illumination Engineering
• ARCE 660: Building Thermal Science
• ARCE 750: Daylighting
• ARCE 751: Advanced Lighting Design
• ARCE 752: Lighting Measurement and Design
• ARCE 760: Automatic Controls for Building Mechanical Systems
• ARCE 764: Advanced Thermal Analysis of Buildings
• SW 847: Grant-writing and Fundraising
• UBPL 738: Environmental Planning Techniques

The aim of History Theory and Criticism concentration is to produce cutting-edge scholarship in the field of architectural history, philosophy and theory. The courses in this concentration offers a wide ranges of topics that includes architectural historiography, discourse analysis, analytical methodology, critical survey of architectural history around the globe, and the emerging issues that set the current philosophical and disciplinary debates. Allied faculty members and research students investigates the socio, political, philosophical and material context of architecture to understand the broader shifts of the discipline and its impact on society, and vice versa over time. The main goal of this research cluster is to identify and use novel research methods in architectural history and theory to understand the relationship among changing social dynamics, evolving technology, and built environment. 

Students are highly encouraged to pursue advanced theory and methodology courses offered in the fields of humanities and social sciences, in addition to those offered in the School of Architecture, Design, and Planning, in order to develop an interdisciplinary intellectual context for their research inquiries.

A list of recommended courses for our students in History, Theory, & Criticism in Architecture

• ARCH 540: Global History of Architecture I
• ARCH 541: Global History of Architecture II
• ARCH 542: History of Architecture III
• ARCH 600: Spaces of Poverty
• ARCH 600: Postcolonial Architecture
• ARCH 600: HyperHistory: Digital technology and architectural historiography
• ARCH 600: History of American Architecture
• ARCH 600: Global Cities
• ARCH 600: Theory of Vernacular Architecture
• ARCH 630: Theory and Context of Architecture
• ARCH 665: History of Urban Design.
• UBPL 522: History of the American City I
• UBPL 722: History of the American City II
• HIST 302/303: The Historian's Craft
• HIST 303: Sin Cities
• HIST 660: Biography of a City
• HA 305/505: Introduction to Islamic Art and Architecture
• HA 536: Islamic Art and Architecture in Africa
• HA 310: The Art and Architecture of Florence and Paris
• HA 311: The Art and Architecture of the British Isles
• HA 508: The Italian Renaissance Home

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Introduction

Past dissertations, forms and resources.

The doctoral program in Architecture currently offers two tracks of study: History and Theory of Architecture, and Ecosystems in Architectural Sciences. Both tracks aim to educate teachers capable of effectively instructing future architects in their own field and its manifold connections with the culture at large. The program forges a unique combination of professional knowledge with a historical and analytical grasp of architecture, deepening awareness of the field’s current state and the critical issues it faces.

The History and Theory track provides sound training in historical study and historiography, and cultivates understanding of intellectual trends that inform the reception and role of architecture in the world at large. It prepares candidates for careers in university teaching, cultural advocacy and administration, museum curatorship, and publishing, among others. Students draw on a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to, the history of science and technology, social and political history, media theory, as well as the fine arts, literature, and popular culture.

The Ecosystems in Architectural Sciences track provides preparation in interdisciplinary scientific inquiry, qualifying students to incorporate scientific methods into experimental design frameworks in order to research and develop novel material and informational ecosystems. Students in this track engage in research related to the behaviors of living ecosystems, emphasizing their interconnection with the built environment.

Joan Ockman, Director of Doctoral Studies

Ateya Khorakiwala Granularities: Concrete and the “Gray Architecture” of Grain Storage in 1960s and 70s India

Albena yaneva the craft of architectural archiving, eeva-liisa pelkonen in conversation with nicola suthor untimely moderns: how 20th century architecture reimagined the past, current candidates and students, publications by current and graduated phd students.

Echo’s Chambers: Architecture and the Idea of Acoustic Space

University of pittsburgh press.

Avant-Garde as Method: Vkhutemas and the Pedagogy of Space, 1920-1930

Babel’s Present

Standpunkte dokumente.

Perspecta 46

Aaron tobey and jia weng win 2023 carter manny awards for writing and research, cea phd student phoebe mankiewicz wins lafargeholcim award for indoor plant module, tim altenhof (ph.d. ‘18) wins theron rockwell field prize for his dissertation “breathing space: the architecture of pneumatic beings”, david turturo.

Caryatid: Architecture and the Framing of Bodies (2022). View dissertation.

Theodossios Issaias

Architectures of the Humanitarian Front, 1915-1930: The American Red Cross and the Refugee Settlement Commission of the League of Nations (2021). View dissertation.

A Theory of Common Form in Aesthetic Perception (2019). Abstract.

Skender Luarasi

Where Do You Stop? A Critical Inquiry into Style, Geometry, and Parametricism in History (2018). Abstract.

Tim Altenhof

Breathing Space: The Architecture of Pneumatic Beings (2018). Abstract.

Teaching Architecture to the Masses: Vkhutemas and the Pedagogy of Space, 1920-1930 (2017). Abstract

Surry Schlabs

Waiting for Architecture: John Dewey and the Limits of Modern Art (2017). Abstract.

Kyle Dugdale

Architecture After the Death of God: Uriel Birnbaum’s Der Kaiser und derArchitekt (2015). Abstract.

Joseph Clarke

The Architectural Discourse of Reverberation, 1750-1900 (2014). Abstract.

• Request to Take Course at Architecture School ((Non-YSoA Grad & Professional Students))
• Graduate School Forms

Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Fellow Experience

Master’s degree, required courses, history and theory track.

551a, Ph.D. Seminar I 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. first year, fall term.) This seminar centers on a thorough examination of fundamental ideas of historiography, centering on Rome and exploring aspects of geology, culture, mapping, site development, the establishment of institutions, and the construction of buildings across several millennia, as well as a study of literature on the urbs and its worldwide impact. Faculty

552b, Ph.D. Seminar II 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. first year, spring term.) This seminar centers on concepts of history and their application to architecture from Jacob Burckhardt to the present and a close reading of historiographic theories, including ethnography, modernity, and the emergence of the profession of architecture in the light of present-day critique. Faculty

553a, Ph.D. Seminar III 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. second year, fall term.) Seminar content to be announced. Faculty

554b, Ph.D. Dissertation Preparation 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. second year, spring term.) Ph.D. tutoring in preparation for oral examinations and formulation of a thesis topic. Faculty

Required Courses, Ecosystems in Architectural Sciences Track

558a, Ph.D. Seminar: Ecosystems in Architecture I 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. first year, fall term.)

559b, Ph.D. Seminar: Ecosystems in Architecture II 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. first year, spring term.)

568a, Ph.D. Seminar: Ecosystems in Architecture III 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. second year, fall term.)

569b, Ph.D. Seminar: Ecosystems in Architecture IV 1 credit. (Required in, and limited to, Ph.D. second year, spring term.)

Ph.D. in Architecture

The PhD in Architecture (PhD-Arch) program at Carnegie Mellon advances interpretive, critical and contextual perspectives on the built environment and spatial design. The program offers students an interdisciplinary platform to investigate built environment cultures, practices and politics across a range of historical and geographical contexts.

Nida Rehman

Assistant Professor & PhD-Arch Track Chair

Program Overview

The PhD in Architecture (PhD-Arch) program at Carnegie Mellon advances interpretive, critical and contextual perspectives on the built environment and spatial design. Bringing together methods in history of architecture, urban studies, critical spatial practices, environmental humanities, digital humanities, environmental justice and community-oriented research, the program offers students an interdisciplinary platform to investigate built environment cultures, practices and politics across a range of historical and geographical contexts.

The intellectual foundation of the program is informed by Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s commitments to racial and spatial justice in architectural epistemology, pedagogy and practice. The program builds on and extends the foundational work in the school in the area of community-oriented urban design and research and is supported by the wide-ranging expertise and resources in the school and across the university, particularly in the arts and humanities.

Admission Information

Program Curriculum

Learn more about the PhD-Arch curriculum below.

PhD-Arch Curriculum

Program Faculty

For more information about the PhD-Arch program, please contact track chair Nida Rehman .

Erica Cochran Hameen

Assistant Professor, DEI Director & DDes Track Chair

Stefan Gruber

Associate Professor, MUD Track Chair & RCI Director

Kai Gutschow

Associate Professor & Associate Head for Design Ethics

Associate Professor

Francesca Torello

Special Faculty

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Ph.D. in Architecture

• About Architecture
• Building Science, Technology, and Sustainability

History, Theory, and Society

The Ph.D. in architecture is a research degree appropriate for those seeking careers in teaching and scholarship in architecture and its related areas, or in roles in government or professional consultation that require depth in specialization and experience in research.

The Program

Berkeley’s Ph.D. program in architecture is interdisciplinary in outlook, reaching into the various disciplines related to architecture and incorporating substantial knowledge from outside fields. Students admitted to this program carry out a program of advanced study and research, both on the basis of formal class work and of individual investigation. Work centers on three related fields of study, the major field (the basis for the dissertation), and one-to-two minor fields, at least one of which must be from a discipline outside architecture.

Fields of Study

The Ph.D. degree emphasizes course work and supervised independent research in one of the following areas of study:

• Building Science, Technology and Sustainability (BSTS)
• History, Theory and Society (HTS)

Major fields outside these fields or combinations thereof may also be proposed at the time of admission.

Course work is individually developed through consultation with an academic adviser. Outside fields of study may take advantage of the University’s varied resources. Recent graduates have completed outside fields in anthropology, art history, business administration, city and regional planning, computer science, various engineering fields, psychology, women’s studies, geography and sociology.

The following are members of the Ph.D faculty, broken into one of two offered areas of study. Please also review the current list of all faculty in the Architecture Department for other faculty and specialities. A sampling of faculty research is described on the faculty research projects page.

Building Science, Technology and Sustainability

Requirements

The Ph.D. program in architecture is governed by the regulations of the University Graduate Division and administered by the departmental Ph.D. committee. Specific degree requirements include:

• A minimum of two years in residence.
• Completion of a one-semester course in research methods.
• Satisfaction of a foreign language requirement for those in the History, Theory and Society.
• Completion of one-to-two outside fields of study.
• A written qualifying examination, followed by an oral qualifying examination.
• A dissertation.

Course requirements for the degree include:

BSTS Master of Science and PhD Handbook for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025

For previous years' handbooks, please contact graduate advising .

Ph.D. Alumni List

• Ph.D. Alumni — Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
• Ph.D. Alumni — History, Theory, and Society

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Phd / ms in architecture.

Welcome to the PENN Ph.D. and MS Programs in Architecture. Our graduate group faculty, candidates, students, and alumni welcome you to our website, eager to share with you their commitment to advanced research in architecture. Each in their own way seeks to cultivate knowledge, awareness, and invention in one of the oldest academic disciplines. Dedicated to thinking and making, as well as to critical questions and inventive solutions, the PENN Ph.D. and MS Architecture community invites you to join us. 

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Degree Requirements  |  Required Courses  | Sample Curriculum Outline  | PhD Handbook

Degree Overview

Building upon more than 40 years of excellence in environmental design teaching and research at the UO, the PhD program in architecture focuses on sustainable architecture and integrated design. Home to professional education in architecture and related environmental design fields since 1914, the program is an advanced research degree that engages students in multidisciplinary investigations that create new knowledge in compelling and time-sensitive research topics.

With this exclusive focus, the program addresses the needs of the profession as society faces the environmental impact of buildings and cities. Students examine research topics that typically encompass an array of spatial, environmental, historical, social, political, technical, and economic factors. In addition to the rigorous understanding of building performance, aspects of sustainable community development, and broader social processes and policies, each student is also expected to demonstrate an understanding of the literature, theory, and research in a related focus area. Learn more about what our faculty members are researching by reading their  profiles  or browsing the  Guide to Research + Creative Practice .

The PhD program prepares students for careers at universities, and at other entities engaged in research related to sustainable design such as national research laboratories, industries, public agencies, and non-government organizations. Students admitted to this program will carry out a program of advanced study and research in sustainable design.

The PhD in Architecture is a STEM-designated degree .

PhD students join a community of inquiring architects, engineers, and designers who are committed to solving multifaceted problems and furthering knowledge by researching issues and processes that give form to the environment. We seek candidates with keen interests, career goals, and a clear capacity for research that are interested in topics that may include:

• sustainable cities and livable communities design and policy
• design for climate change and adaptation
• cultural, social and economic sustainability
• net-zero buildings and eco-districts design
• resource forecasting and simulation of place and building performance
• energy-efficient, adaptive re-use of existing buildings
• indoor environmental quality and occupants’ health
• high-performance envelopes and green technologies
• life-cycle analysis design and modeling

Graduate funding information can be found on the SAE Graduate Funding website and the SAE Graduate Employee (GE) website.

Degree Requirements (84 Credits)

• Research and Investigation : 24 credits
• Primary (Inside) Focus Area : 22 credits
• Secondary (Outside) Focus Area : 16 credits
• Supervised Teaching : 4 credits
• Dissertation: 18 credits

The usual program for the PhD consists of a minimum of 66 credits, including at least 50 graduate-level credits in the Department of Architecture, through a four- to six-year course of study. The PhD program in architecture is governed by the regulations of the University of Oregon Graduate School and administered by the Department of Architecture’s PhD program committee. Specific degree requirements include:

• the first year of study needs to be at the Eugene campus
• a minimum of two years in residence
• completion of three terms of courses in research methodology
• completion of two courses in design theory and history of sustainable design
• completion of two focus areas (one within and one outside the Department)
• completion of a written qualifying examination, followed by an oral qualifying examination
• completion of a dissertation

For additional reference, see the  PhD Handbook .

Required Courses

Research and investigation requirements (minimum 24 credits).

ARCH 601 Research

ARCH 620 Sustainable Design: Research Methods I

ARCH 678 Advanced Research Methods in Sustainable Design

ARCH 695 Proposal Development

PPPM 656 Quantitative Methods for Planning, Public Policy and Management or Equivalent

Primary (Inside) Focus Area Requirements (minimum 22 credits)

Students will select courses that are aligned with their research interests. Students may focus on sustainable building design, preservation and sustainability, sustainable communities, or other related areas.

All students will be required to take the following two courses:

ARCH 617 Design and Planning Theory

ARCH 633 History and Theory of Sustainable Design

Secondary (Outside) Focus Area Requirements (minimum 16 credits)

These courses will be selected in consultation with the faculty advisor to provide sufficient depth in the student’s area of research. The courses are typically taken outside of architecture and are intended to develop knowledge of a second discipline that supports the student’s research.

Supervised Teaching Requirements (minimum 4 credits)

Students should take one of the following courses:

ARCH 602 Supervised College Teaching

ARCH 661 Teaching Technical Subjects in Architecture

ARCH 690 Teaching Technology in Architectural Design

Architecture PhD students may choose to add one of the following optional Specializations or Graduate Certificates to their degree:

• Architectural Technology (Eugene campus only)
• Housing (Eugene campus only)
• Interior Architecture (Eugene campus only)
• Historic Preservation (Portland campus only)
• Urban Architecture and Urban Design (Portland campus only)
• Ecological Design Certificate
• Technical Teaching Certificate

Further details on completing these specializations and certificates are available with the departmental academic advisor.

Sample Curriculum Outline

ARCH 620 Research Methods in Sustainable Design

ARCH 633 History of Sustainable Design

WINTER TERM

ARCH 617 Built Environment Design and Theory

SPRING TERM

ARCH 678 Advanced Research in Sustainable Design

ARCH 695 Advanced Dissertation Proposal Development

ARCH 605 Reading and Conference

ARCH 608 Colloquium

ARCH 603 Dissertation (as required)

ARCH 603: Dissertation (as required)

PhD in Architecture Degree Requirements

PhD Handbook

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• Fatma Beyza Celebi: Cosmopolitan Nostalgia: Examining local memory in contemporary Istanbul focusing on spatial and visual representations of the city’s cosmopolitanism in the 1920s and 1930s
• Michael Collins: The transformative potential of urban agriculture: Re-framing architectural theory and practice
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• Vendela Gambill: Land use planning and applied urban modelling: natural limits to growth in London
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• I-Dec Goh: Bias mitigated data-driven façade design of social housing in Singapore using thermal and imaging information
• Elizabeth Baldwin Gray: Conceptions of the Gothic: Romantic Medievalism in Early Modern German Architecture
• Charlie Hamilton (FCILT): Mass Transit in Small to Medium Sized Cities
• Juliet Harrison-Egan: Spaces of Education: the role of schools in the post-apartheid city
• Yu Hu: The Evolution of Urban Office Space in The Age of Information and Communication Technology
• Sean Hughes: The 21st Century Suburb: A Method for Transit Driven Redevelopment in North American Suburbia
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• Yufei Li: Atlas in Motion: Visualising Manchuria through Moving Images
• Mariana Llano Valencia: Challenging the influence of coloniality, whiteness and patriarchy in urban planning in Cartagena, Colombia
• Yusi Luo: Housing Choices of Young graduates in the UK
• Fatma Mhmood: Social Narratives and Women’s Spatial Experiences of Parks and Desert Landscapes in the UAE
• Heather Mitcheltree: Geographies of gendered and domestic violence in Australia
• Ekaterina Mizrokhi: Life in Anachronistic Space: Awaiting Demolition in Moscow's Soviet-era Standardised Housing
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• Georgia Politi: The life and work of Sir Horace Jones, PRIBA (1819-1887)
• Natcha Ruamsanitwong: Modernising Britain: Sir Leslie Martin (1908-2000) and his role in shaping the Architectural Education in Britain
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• Michael Salka: The Role of Geospatial Data in Developing Nature-Based Value Chains for the Built Environment
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• Lei Song: Fountains, Baths, and Urban Water Supply in England, 1400 - 1800
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• Cleo Valentine: Architectural Neuroimmunology: Assessing the Impact of Architectural Form on Human Neuroinflammation
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• Eimar Watson: The British Marble Industry 1748-1905
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The Bartlett School of Architecture

Architectural Design MPhil/PhD

The first programme of its kind in the UK, Architectural Design MPhil/PhD invites candidates to combine designing and writing to develop their architectural research.

This doctoral programme encourages the development of architectural research through the creative combination of designing and writing. The Architectural Design thesis consists of projects and texts that share a research theme and have a productive relationship. The projects may be drawn, written, filmed, constructed, or make use of whatever media is appropriate to the research subject. Integrating varied research methods, the thesis emphasises the creative interdependence of drawing, writing, and building in the development of innovative practices and theories of architecture.

The first architectural design programme in the UK, this programme was established in 1995, with the first candidate graduated in 2000. Since then, there have been over 80 further graduates. Candidates can study full-time or part-time, depending upon individual circumstances.

View the UCL Prospectus page for this programme

Developed through individual research investigations and supported by regular tutorials with a principal and a secondary supervisor, an Architectural Design thesis integrates design projects and a text of around 60,000 words. Stimulated by the 500-year history of the architectural book and the many forms it has taken globally, over 30 graduates have had their thesis published as an authored book.

In their first year, candidates are registered as MPhil students, but are then expected at the end of that year (or second year if part-time) to upgrade to PhD status. A full-time candidate is expected to complete the PhD in three to four years, whilst a part-time candidate completes theirs in five to seven years.

Within The Bartlett School of Architecture, the Architectural Design MPhil/PhD programme has a longstanding, fruitful association with the Architectural and Urban History and Theory MPhil/PhD programme. Every year the programme collectively organise a series of regular seminars and events:

Research Introductions

Initial presentations by new MPhil students.

Research Conversations

In-depth seminars to meet the criteria for upgrade from MPhil to PhD status.

Research Projects

An annual PhD conference and exhibition with international critics as respondents, so that students can present and discuss work-in-progress.  Read the PhD Research Projects publications on Issuu

Candidates also have the option of auditing taught modules from the Architectural History MA , led by Professor Peg Rawes, or the Landscape Architecture MA/MLA , led by Professor Laura Allen and Professor Mark Smout.

Supervisors

The programme draws upon the wide range of research expertise offered at The Bartlett School of Architecture. Supervisors are selected depending on the student’s specific research area. The principal doctoral supervisor is within The Bartlett School of Architecture, while the subsidiary supervisor can be from The Bartlett or another UCL department, including anthropology, medicine, or fine art, for example. The intention is for doctoral subjects and supervisions to be as broad as the discipline of architecture and to connect research to related disciplines to foster productive and rewarding collaborations. The school also has a fruitful association with the doctoral programme at the Royal Academy of Music. 

To discuss a potential Architectural Design MPhil/PhD, it is recommended that you read the profile of the principal supervisor with whom you would like to work and email them a research proposal. Alternatively, you may contact the Programme Director.

Current supervisors

Dr Paul Bavister Sound, architecture, technology and the body. Auditoria and performance spaces, fixed, temporary and virtual. Architectural acoustics, sonic propagation and perception, biometric sensing and evolutionary processes. Interaction and performance.

Professor Peter Bishop Application of urban design and urban planning theory; incremental urbanism; temporary uses and installations; role of conservation in distorting urban change; role of other stakeholders and political forces outside the design process in the construction of the built environment.            Professor Iain Borden History of modern architecture; urbanism and urban culture; skateboarding, graffiti and urban arts; public space; experiences of architecture; film, photography and other urban representations; critical theory and cultural studies.

Roberto Bottazzi The aesthetic, spatial and philosophical impact of digital technologies on architecture and urbanism.

Professor Eva Branscome Architecture as evidence of contested histories; Historic urban environments and their tangible and intangible heritage; Modern architecture in Europe; Migration of ideas and people and how this is readable within the urban fabric; Cities as complex cultural constructions; Gender as it affects the subdivision and use of built spaces; Domesticity; Museums, exhibition design and curatorial practice; Avant-garde art and renegade urban art forms such as street art; Performance spaces; Photography as a medium between architecture and culture.

Professor Barbara Campbell-Lange Projects that imaginatively unfold notions of event, object and unbuilt environment; that think otherly about discipline and category, politics, technologies and philosophies; that evolve verbal with non-verbal methodologies; that explore ancient and contemporary (minimalist) composition in the arts and humanities.   Professor Ben Campkin Histories, theories and practices of urbanism and urbanisation. Transdisciplinary urbanism and experimental methods of urban research, publication and public engagement. Urban night spaces, cultures and governance. London’s history and built environment; contemporary urban policy and practice in London. Queer space, architecture and architectural histories; heritage associated with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer populations.

Professor Mario Carpo  History of architectural theory and history of cultural technologies, with focus on the early modern period (the Vitruvian tradition and the Italian Renaissance, from Alberti to Vignola) and on contemporary digital design theory (1990 to the present).

Dr Megha Chand Inglis  History and theory of architectural practices in and from the Indian subcontinent, and more broadly the Global South; the play of relations between 'the west' and the 'non-west;' the colonial encounter; Indian temple building communities; the 'non-modern' in global architectural modernity; epistemological vantages in design and production; the politics of technology; subaltern building communities; knowledge production; relations between texts and contemporary architecture; diasporic cultures of building and place making; migrant labour in the global diaspora; postcolonial theory and approaches.    Professor Nat Chard Architecture and indeterminacy; relationship between ideas and technique in architectural representation and manufacture; experimental practices in architecture; developing methods of drawing and making as a means of architectural research.             Professor Marjan Colletti   Digital design and digital theory; experimental building and urban design; innovative CAD/CAM fabrication technologies; neo-baroque and exuberant synthetic and syncretic design techniques.             Professor Marcos Cruz Innovative environments, utilization of bacteria and algae, computation, bio-technology and synthetic biology.

Dr Edward Denison Histories and theories of modernism and modernity outside ’The West'. Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, especially China and Chinese encounters with modernity domestically and/or globally. Colonialism, post-colonialism, and globalisation. Cultural heritage and critical approaches to urban heritage. Community engagement/campaigning and neighbourhood planning.    Professor Murray Fraser Architectural design; design research; architectural history and theory; cultural studies; architecture and globalisation; cross-cultural influences; cultural identity; urbanism.   Professor Stephen Gage Time-based architecture; architecture that interacts with people and the external environment; architecture and performance.

Dr Sam Griffiths Theories and methods for researching and writing the historical relationship between urban populations and their built environments; the spatial cultures of industrial cities, suburbs and high streets; urban manufacturing; architecture as chronotope in realist fiction and historical writing; space syntax as an interdisciplinary approach to research in the humanities and social sciences. 

Dr Kostas Grigoriadis Multi-material / functionally graded material design and fabrication; advanced computational design and computational fluid dynamics simulations in architecture; generative design (topology optimisation); embodied energy of multi-material building parts; digital theory; epistemology of computer simulations in architectural design (EOCS); cognitive theory (Material Engagement Theory and conceptual blending).

Peter Guillery London's buildings and topography of the 16th to 21st centuries, especially housing, industrial buildings and vernacular architecture.

Dr Sean Hanna   Spatial cognition; mathematical and computational modelling of spatial and social relationships; individual and collective creativity; machine learning and intelligence; complexity and big data.   Dr Penelope Haralambidou Practice-led research; spatial culture; cinematic architecture; architectural essay film; digital animation and craft; immersive technologies; fine art; music; allegory, narrative and storytelling; histories and theories of perception, memory, imagination and spatial representation; optics, linear perspective, stereoscopy and the politics of visuality; architecture and play; feminist utopias; female spatial imagination; medieval illuminated manuscripts; Christine de Pizan; Marcel Duchamp.

Dr Jan Kattein

Dr Chris Leung   Prototyping through digital modelling, simulation, fabrication and instrumented testing as a modus operandi for design research; timber construction and sustainable approaches to the design of timber buildings; passive low-energy actuator technologies (phase-transitioning waxes, thermo-bimetals, shape memory alloys) for environmental control in buildings; digital and hybrid digital-analogue control systems for facade systems; solar energy; passive cooling with optically selective radiators; embodied mechanical logic; advanced manufacturing processes e.g. design for multi-material polymer printing.   Professor Yeoryia Manolopoulou Architectural design and theory; design research methods; architecture and experience; collaborative, aleatoric and performative design; dialogic architecture; place, material practices and building; pedagogic settings; theories of embodied mind, action and environment; the architectural score; practices of drawing; architecture’s intersection with art, anthropology and neuroscience.

Dr Clare Melhuish Anthropology of architecture, the built environment and urban processes; ethnography of architectural practice; urban and architectural visual and material culture; postcolonial urbanism; critical urban heritage; modern(ist) architecture and planning in London; French modern(ist) architecture and planning; Arab cities; Caribbean urbanism; universities and urban regeneration; education spaces and the city;  participatory and community-led planning; anthropology of home and domestic space; ethnographic methodologies.

Dr Shaun Murray Architectural research through design. Agency of architectural drawing in process and result, ecological thinking, and field theory relations. Histories, theories, and futures of communicating architecture through the inter-relations of designing ecologies. Ecology, landscape, geology, and material dynamics in relation to site through mappings and choreographies. Surrealism and Correalism in architecture. Adapting buildings to occupants through reflexive design in architecture and technology. Hybrid methods of communicating architecture, transdisciplinary approaches, non-linear and non-reductionist modes.

Dr Luke Pearson Architecture and videogames; the design of virtual worlds; worldbuilding practices; digital pop culture; game design and game aesthetics; game engine technologies; digital animation; speculative and utopian architectural design; immersive technologies; new media art; imaginative drawing; comics, science fiction and anime.

Professor Alan Penn Urban research at the scale between the building and the city; design of complex buildings and their relations to organisations (i.e. hospitals, laboratories and offices); development of computing for architecture; urban pollution dispersal; virtual reality applications for the built environment; simulation of social phenomena and urban growth and change.        Professor Barbara Penner Tourism; American hotels, resorts, and commercial architecture; gender and space; domesticity; consumerism; bathrooms and infrastructure; inclusive urbanism; appropriate technology.             Professor Sophia Psarra Architecture narrative and fiction, geometry of architecture and urban space; conceptual order, spatial morphology and spatial experience; the formation of spatial meaning in architecture and symbolic languages across different media; architectural theory; the morphology of cities in relation to processes of industrialisation, de-industrialisation and innovation; spatial design of complex buildings and its relation to society and organisations; computer modelling and visualisation.        Professor Peg Rawes Climatic, planetary and ecological practices; environmental aesthetics, poetics theory and practices; feminist, intersectional and decolonial theory and practices; histories and theories of vulnerability, wellbeing and care; political and ecological critiques of computation.

Professor Jane Rendell Gender/feminist theory and architecture; art, architecture and urban interventions; critical spatial theory and practice; creative/critical subjectivity and positionality in writing or site-writing; psychoanalysis and space; public space, cultural identity and narrative.     

Harriet Richardson Architectural history and heritage; medical buildings; development of hospital planning and design; post-war hospital architecture in Scotland; National Health Service; urban history; Scottish Architecture

Dr David Roberts Mobilising histories and futures of social housing in London; developing action research with community groups under threat from urban policy; empowering ethical built environment pedagogy and practice; devising socially engaged site-specific performance; nurturing forms of collaboration and collectivity; extending architectural history and design education to young people.

Dr Tania Sengupta Postcolonial and transcultural studies; colonial, post-colonial/contemporary architecture and urban history (non-western worlds, especially South Asia); postcolonial identities in western contexts. For non-western contexts: architectures of governance; provincial identity and rural-urban relationships; spatial cultures of domesticity; material and spatial cultures; global, local and scalar relationships in architecture/ urbanism; everyday spaces and practices.  

Professor Bob Sheil Architecture and design through production, experimental design, prototyping, making, fabrication, craft, innovative technology, digital practice, digital manufacturing, assembly, materials, modelling, transgression from drawing to making, 3D scanning.

Professor Mark Smout Design-based approach to architecture, landscape (urban and rural) and climate change via political, technological and artistic disciplines.

Dr Nina Vollenbröker Programme Director Aural diversity and deafness. Disability and bodily difference. Institutional spaces including hospitals and specialist schools. Early modernist Austrian and German architecture. Spaces of home, especially in the context of migration and long-term mobility. Intersections of material culture, photography, and space. Quilts and textiles. Manuscript diaries and oral histories.

Professor Tim Waterman Landscape studies, landscape architecture, landscape history; imaginaries—moral, social, ecological, radical, and utopian; democracy, citizenship, justice, and the right to landscape; taste, manners, customs, and commons; food and foodways; utopian studies; urban and rural studies; sustainability and regenerative design.

Dr Robin Wilson  The architectural media (especially the architectural journals of the 20th century); architectural photography; architectural criticism; arts-based and performative methods of spatial research; curatorship and architecture; utopian theory.

Oliver Wilton Architectural design, environmental design, and sustainability. Architecture, construction, industrial and environmental histories. Physical prototyping, digital simulation, and architecture performance. Developing simple new forms of construction. Architecture lifecycle, industrial symbiosis, inhabitation and related resource systems, circular metabolism. Biogenic materials, seasonality, and microclimate augmentation. 

Dr Fiona Zisch Cognitive architecture / neuroarchitecture; spatial cognition; cognitive ecologies; neurophilosophy; radical embodiment; embodied knowledge and intuition; cyberfeminism; technology, interaction, performance; movement, choreography.

Stamatis Zografos Critical heritage studies; urban memory and archives; cultural studies; intersections of architecture/conservation and psychoanalysis; fire, urbanism and precarity; urban violence; destruction and evolution/regeneration.

Research Proposal

The research proposal is crucial to our decision on your application since it demonstrates your ability to identify and articulate an independent line of research inquiry. In not more than 2000 words, you should explain the subject of your proposed research, the questions you hope to answer, why you think this knowledge will be of value, your intended method, and the sources you will use.       As an original contribution to knowledge, a PhD thesis must identify and discuss an identifiable field of research, critique its principal works and texts, and indicate how the thesis is an original departure from and/or development of this research field. Additionally, research by Architectural Design thesis has two inter-related elements of equal importance—a project and a text—that share a theme and a productive relationship, which must all be discussed in your research proposal. You should show that you have the ability and experience to carry out the research, and are familiar with the context, literature, and appropriate methods of research. Please offer a working title for your research and a select bibliography of key works.      It may be helpful to structure your proposal under the following headings:  

• Working Title  
• Research Project - broken down under the following headings: Subject/Aims/Key Research Questions/Academic Context/Methods (1500 words)  
• Feasibility/Ability to complete - preparation to conduct research and previous experience (500 words)  
• Select bibliography of key works (primary and secondary)  

   In addition, we request a C.V., a portfolio of design or other practice–led work or a link to your website (if applicable). 

Application Guidance

The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, currently has no deadline for submission of applications for admission to the PhD programmes. Postgraduate research students can commence their study at certain dates during the academic year, so are not restricted to a September start date unlike postgraduate taught students. However, please note we will not be processing any applications in August and September for entry within the same academic year. During university breaks of Summer, Christmas, Easter, and in reading weeks in November (06–10 November 2023) and February (12–16 February 2024), slower responses can be expected. Please be reminded that the formal admissions process can be a lengthy one, between 2-3 months.   If you are considering applying for a scholarship, we ask you to familiarise yourself with all relevant guidance and allow sufficient time (6-8 months at least) ahead of deadlines. In many cases, our scholarship schemes require applicants to have submitted their UCL admission application prior to applying. Please submit admission applications at least two months in advance of scholarship deadlines.  We will, for example, not process admission applications in November or December for applications that depend on scholarship deadlines in January; these admission applications must be submitted by the end of October.   Additionally, some scholarships may require a reference from your potential UCL supervisor. It is important to note that to request a reference, you must have had prior ongoing and positive conversations with a supervisor for them to be able to recommend you in good faith. Requests for references from potential supervisors should be made at the same time as formal applications for admission to the PhD programme and last-minute requests will not be considered. Please note that while scholarship applications require a reference letter from your potential supervisor, PhD applications require two independent references.  

The Architectural Design doctorate is a means to learn from the past, reassess the present, and speculate on future models of architectural practice and discourse. 

Doctoral graduates have gone on to pursue careers in a wide variety of fields, from architectural, design and art practice to curatorial positions. Students have also progressed into academic roles at both The Bartlett and other higher education establishments, including:

• Architectural Association School of Architecture
• African Futures Institute
• University of Cyprus
• Dalhousie University
• University of Innsbruck
• Rice University
• Royal College of Art
• Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Design, Conservation
• University of Oxford
• University of Sheffield

Programme Director and Departmental Tutor:  Dr Nina Vollenbröker Programme Coordinators:  Stelios Giamarelos  and  Stamatis Zografos Programme Administrator:  Emmy Thittanond

• Daniel James Wilkinson, The Sculptor-Architect: drawings, models and bozzetti after Michelangelo, PhD, 2021.
• Natalia Romik, (Post)-Jewish Architecture of Memory within former Eastern European Shtetls, PhD, 2018: public programme in the evening in Józefów Biłgorajski. 
• Nerea Amorós Elorduy, East African Refugee Camps as Learning Assemblages: The built environment as an educational resource for encamped young children in the East African Rift, PhD, 2018: mural-making process on the first and second walls of Kiziba refugee camp maternelle. 
• Richard Beckett, Architecture as a Landscape for Beneficial Microbial Interactions: Probiotic Ceramic Wall Components_1.
• Thomas Pearce, An Architecture of Parallax. Design Research Between Speculative Historiography and Experimental Fabrication.
• Natalia Romik, (Post)-Jewish Architecture of Memory within former Eastern European Shtetls, PhD, 2018: the walk with JAD, image from the collection of the Contemporary Art Centre Kronika in Bytom.  
• Natalia Romik, (Post)-Jewish Architecture of Memory within former Eastern European Shtetls, PhD, 2018: the Nomadic Shtetl Archive in the market square in Kock.
• Richard Beckett, Architecture as a Landscape for Beneficial Microbial Interactions: Indoor Microbiome Sampling.
• Richard Beckett, Architecture as a Landscape for Beneficial Microbial Interactions: Probiotic Ceramic Wall Components_2.

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Explore our current students' research profiles

About the bartlett school of architecture.

• Schools & departments

Architecture PhD, MPhil

Awards: PhD, MPhil

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Architecture

Introduction to Postgraduate Research

Join us online on 19 June to learn about applying for and studying a research degree at Edinburgh.

Find out more and register

Research profile

Research is central to the study of architecture within the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA). It motivates our intellectual and creative activities and underpins our collaborations with a range of important international and UK-based institutions.

We actively promote interdisciplinary approaches to research in architecture. Our expertise and interests range across the following areas:

Architectural Conservation

Our focus includes:

• conservation theory and history
• urban conservation
• conservation technology
• the challenges of bridging heritage and new architecture

Architectural History, Theory and Criticism

We have particular strength in:

• the history of architecture in Britain and the British colonial world (18th and 19th centuries)
• Germany, Central Europe and Russia
• modernism in Europe, North America and Africa
• Renaissance Italy
• the history of landscape
• the history of technology
• the international history of mass housing and urban development
• the theory and philosophy of architecture
• the philosophy of place
• critical inquiry and methodology

Design-led Research and Studio Practice

We focus on:

• research in and through design, as informed by contemporary architectural and cultural theory
• studio pedagogy
• research-led teaching
• methodologies of urban research and fieldwork

Technology, Environment and Sustainability

We offer expertise in:

• lightweight steel structures
• the building envelope
• design and manufacturing
• sustainable design in both qualitative and quantitative senses, looking at environmental response, design theory, rural planning and user-centred solutions

Interior Design

Programme structure.

The PhD programme comprises three years of full-time (six years part-time) research under the supervision of an expert in your chosen research topic within Architecture. This period of research culminates in a supervised thesis of up to a maximum of 100,000 words.

The MPhil programme comprises two years of full-time (four years part-time) research under the supervision of an expert in your chosen research topic within Architecture. This period of research culminates in a supervised thesis of up to a maximum of 60,000 words.

Regular individual meetings with your supervisor provide guidance and focus for the course of research you are undertaking.

You will be encouraged to attend research methods courses at the beginning of your research studies.

And for every year you are enrolled on programme you will be required to complete an annual progression review.

Training and support

All of our research students benefit from Edinburgh College of Art's interdisciplinary approach, and you will be assigned at least two research supervisors.

Your first/ lead supervisor would normally be based in the same subject area as your degree programme. Your second supervisor may be from another discipline within Edinburgh College of Art or elsewhere within the University of Edinburgh, according to the expertise required. On occasion more than two supervisors will be assigned, particularly where the degree brings together multiple disciplines.

Our research culture is supported by seminars and public lecture programmes and discussion groups.

Tutoring opportunities will be advertised to the postgraduate research community, which you can apply for should you wish to gain some teaching experience during your studies. But you are not normally advised to undertake tutoring work in the first year of your research studies, while your main focus should be on establishing the direction of your research.

You are encouraged to attend courses at the Institute for Academic Development ( IAD ), where all staff and students at the University of Edinburgh are supported through a range of training opportunities, including:

• short courses in compiling literature reviews
• writing in a second language
• preparing for your viva

The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities ( SGSAH ) offers further opportunities for development. You will also be encouraged to refer to the Vitae research development framework as you grow into a professional researcher.

You will have access to study space (some of which are 24-hour access), studios and workshops at Edinburgh College of Art’s campus, as well as University wide resources. There are several bookable spaces for the development of exhibitions, workshops or seminars. And you will have access to well-equipped multimedia laboratories, photography and exhibition facilities, shared recording space, access to recording equipment available through Bookit, the equipment loan booking system.

You will have access to high quality library facilities. Within the University of Edinburgh, there are three libraries; the Main Library, the ECA library and the Art and Architecture Library. The Centre for Research Collections which holds the University of Edinburgh’s historic collections is also located in the Main Library.

The Talbot Rice Gallery is a public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh and part of Edinburgh College of Art, which is committed to exploring what the University of Edinburgh can contribute to contemporary art practice today and into the future. You will also have access to the extraordinary range and quality of exhibitions and events associated with a leading college of art situated within a world-class research-intensive University.

St Cecilia’s Hall which is Scotland’s oldest purpose-built concert hall also houses the Music Museum which holds one of the most important historic musical instrument collections anywhere in the world.

In addition to the University’s facilities you will also be able to access wider resources within the City of Edinburgh. Including but not limited to; National Library of Scotland, Scottish Studies Library and Digital Archives, City of Edinburgh Libraries, Historic Environment Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland.

You will also benefit from the University’s extensive range of student support facilities provided, including student societies, accommodation, wellbeing and support services.

PhD by Distance option

The PhD by Distance is available to suitably qualified applicants in all the same areas as our on-campus programmes.

The PhD by Distance allows students who do not wish to commit to basing themselves in Edinburgh to study for a PhD in an ECA subject area from their home country or city.

There is no expectation that students studying for an ECA PhD by Distance study mode should visit Edinburgh during their period of study. However, short term visits for particular activities could be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For further information on the PhD by Distance please see the ECA website

Entry requirements

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

Normally a UK masters degree or its international equivalent. If you do not meet the academic entry requirements, we may still consider your application on the basis of relevant professional experience.

You must also submit a research proposal; see How to Apply section for guidance.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Fees and costs

Tuition fees, scholarships and funding, featured funding.

• Edinburgh College of Art scholarships

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Research Team
• Phone: +44 (0)131 651 5739
• Contact: [email protected]
• Postgraduate Research Director, Architecture & Landscape Architecture, Dr Ruxandra-Iulia Stoica
• Contact: [email protected]
• Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Research Team Student and Academic Support Service
• The University of Edinburgh
• Evolution House, 78 West Port
• Central Campus
• Programme: Architecture
• School: Edinburgh College of Art
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.

PhD Architecture - 3 Years (Full-time)

Phd architecture - 6 years (part-time), phd architecture by distance - 3 years (full-time), phd architecture by distance - 6 years (part-time), mphil architecture - 2 years (full-time), mphil architecture - 4 years (part-time), application deadlines.

If you are applying for funding or will require a visa then we strongly recommend you apply as early as possible. All applications must be received by the deadlines listed above.

• How to apply

You must submit two references with your application.

You must submit two references with your application, one of which must be an academic reference and preferably from your most recent studies.

You should submit a research proposal that outlines your project's aims, context, process and product/outcome. Read the application guidance before you apply.

• Preparing your application - postgraduate research degrees (PDF)

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Art Practices

Climate change, computation, fabrication, infrastructure, responsive environments, social equity, sustainability, transportation.

20 Types of Architecture thesis topics

An architectural thesis is perhaps the most confusing for a student because of the range of typologies of buildings that exist. It also seems intimidating to pick your site program and do all the groundwork on your own. While choosing an architectural thesis topic, it is best to pick something that aligns with your passion and interest as well as one that is feasible. Out of the large range of options, here are 20 architectural thesis topics .

1. Slum Redevelopment (Urban architecture)

Slums are one of the rising problems in cities where overcrowding is pertinent. To account for this problem would be one of great value to the city as well as the inhabitants of the slum. It provides them with better sanitation and well-being and satisfies their needs.

2. Maggie Center (Healthcare architecture)

This particular typology of buildings was coined by a cancer patient,  Margaret Keswick Jencks,   who believed that cancer-treatment centres’ environment could largely improve their health and wellbeing by better design. This led a large number of starchitects to participate and build renowned maggie centres.

3. Urban Sprawl Redesign (Urban design)

The widening of city boundaries to accommodate migrants and overcrowding of cities is very common as of late. To design for the constant urban sprawl would make the city life more convenient and efficient for all its users.

4. Redesigning Spaces Under Elevated Roads and Metros (Urban infrastructure)

A lot of space tends to become dead space under metros or elevated roads. To use these spaces more efficiently and engage them with the public would make it an exciting thesis topic.

5. Urban Parks (Urban landscape)

Urban parks are not only green hubs for the city, which promotes the well-being of the city on a larger level, but they also act as great places for the congregation and bring a community together.

6. Reusing Abandoned Buildings (Adaptive reuse)

All buildings after a point become outdated and old but, what about the current old and abandoned buildings? The best way to respond to these is not by demolishing them; given the amount of effort it takes to do so, but to enhance them by restoring and changing the building to current times.

7. Farming in Cities (Green urban spaces)

With climate change and population on the rise, there is statistical proof that one needs to start providing farming in cities as there is not sufficient fertile land to provide for all. Therefore, this makes a great thesis topic for students to explore.

8. Jails (Civil architecture)

To humanize the function of jails, to make it a place of change and rehabilitation, and break from the stereotypical way of looking at jails. A space that will help society look at prisoners as more than monsters that harm, and as fellow humans that are there to change for everyone’s betterment.

9. Police Academies (Civil architecture)

Academies that train people to be authoritative and protective require spaces for training mentally and physically; focussing on the complexity of the academy and focussing on the user to enhance their experience would work in everyone’s favour.

10. High Court (Civil architecture)

Courtrooms are more often than not looked at as spaces that people fear, given the longevity of court cases. It can be a strenuous space; therefore, understanding the user groups’ state of mind and the problems faced can be solved using good design. 

11. Disaster-resilient structures (Disaster-relief architecture)

Natural disasters are inevitable. Disaster-resilient structures are build suitably for the natural disasters of the region while also incorporating design into it, keeping in mind the climatic nature of the location.

12. Biophilic design (Nature-inspired architecture)

As humans, we have an innate love for nature, and the struggle between integrating nature and architecture is what biophilic design aims towards. To pick a topic where one would see minimal use of natural elements and incorporate biophilic design with it would be very beneficial.

13. Metro stations and Bus terminals (Transportation spaces)

Bus terminals and metro stations are highly functional spaces that often get crowded; and to account for the crowd and the problems that come with it, plus elevate the experience of waiting or moving, would contribute to making it a good thesis topic.

14. Airport design (Transportation spaces)

Airport designing is not very uncommon; however, it is a rather complex program to crack; thereby, choosing this topic provides you with the opportunity to make this space hassle-free and work out the most efficient way to make this conducive for all types of users.

15. Sports Complex (Community architecture)

If your passion lies in sports, this is a go-to option. Each sport is played differently, different materials are used, and the nature of the sport and its audience is rather complicated. However, to combine this and make it a cohesive environment for all kinds of users would make a good thesis topic.

16. Stadium (Community architecture)

Unlike a sports complex, one could also pick one sport and look at the finer details, create the setting, and experience for it; by designing it to curate a nice experience for the players, the public, and the management.

17. Waste-recycling center (Waste management)

Reducing waste is one of the most fundamental things we must do as humans. Spaces where recycling happens must be designed consciously. Just like any other space, it has been given importance over the years, and this would make a good thesis topic to provide the community with.

18. Crematorium (Public architecture)

Cremation of a loved one or anyone for that matter is always a rather painful process and a range of emotions is involved when it comes to this place. Keeping in mind the different types of people and emotions and making your thesis about this would mean to enhance this experience while still keeping the solemnity of it intact.

19. Museums (Community architecture)

Museums are spaces of learning, and the world has so much to offer that one could always come up with different typologies of museums and design according to the topic of one’s interest. Some of the examples would be cultural heritage, modern art, museum of senses, and many more.

20. Interpretation center (Community architecture)

An interpretation center is a type of museum located near a site of historical, cultural, or natural relevance that provides information about the place of interest through various mediums.

References:

• 2022. 68 Thesis topics in 5 minutes . [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NczdOK7oe98&ab_channel=BlessedArch> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• Bdcnetwork.com. 2022. Biophilic design: What is it? Why it matters? And how do we use it? | Building Design + Construction . [online] Available at: <https://www.bdcnetwork.com/blog/biophilic-design-what-it-why-it-matters-and-how-do-we-use-it> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• RTF | Rethinking The Future. 2022. 20 Thesis topics related to Sustainable Architecture – RTF | Rethinking The Future . [online] Available at: <https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-fresh-perspectives/a1348-20-thesis-topics-related-to-sustainable-architecture/> [Accessed 1 March 2022].
• Wdassociation.org. 2022. A List Of Impressive Thesis Topic Ideas In Architecture . [online] Available at: <https://www.wdassociation.org/a-list-of-impressive-thesis-topic-ideas-in-architecture.aspx> [Accessed 1 March 2022].

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Flora is a student of architecture, with a passion for psychology and philosophy. She loves merging her interests and drawing parallels to solve and understand design problems. As someone that values growth, she uses writing as a medium to share her learning and perspective.

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The Graduate School for Architecture and the Built Environment [A+BE] is one of the eight Graduate Schools at the TU Delft. At A+BE PhD candidates obtain a doctorate in architecture, building technology, urbanism, landscape architecture, geomatics, management of the built environment and housing, covering aspects such as history, cultural heritage, and sustainability. The Faculty of Architecture has an internationally renowned reputation. Its international focus and diverse body of students makes it a stimulating environment for ambitious PhD candidates who wish to obtain a doctoral degree from a leading design academy/research institute. PhD candidates benefit from close interaction with world-class researchers and educators and are well supervised throughout their education. A full time PhD project will normally take 4 years.

The TU Delft Graduate School provides general support for all PhD candidates at the TU Delft and sets a minimum set of rules and regulations, which applies to all faculty graduate schools. In addition, the Graduate School A+BE website shares what is specifically of relevance to our graduate school.

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Best 170 Architecture Thesis Topics For All Students

Architecture thesis topics may be difficult to find because there are so many subjects and possible topics. However, good thesis topics for architecture are the ones that you have a personal interest in. Before picking architecture thesis topics, you also need to ask yourself if the topic is significant or realistically doable.

Choosing Thesis Topics For Architecture

Architecture thesis projects topics, master of architecture thesis topics, industrial architecture thesis topics, institutional architecture thesis topics, sustainable architecture thesis topics.

What is the best way to choose dissertation topics? This guide will highlight how to pick interesting architectural thesis topics. Here are some factors to consider when searching for architecture thesis project ideas :

Pick a Topic That Interests You

While picking creative architecture thesis topics, you need to opt for a topic that you are personally interested in. You can easily get bored with your undergraduate architecture thesis projects, that is why you need something that you are passionate about. It will help you to stay motivated and inspired to create a unique project.

Set a Small Scope

It can be tempting to pick dissertation topics in architecture that are too expansive. This reduces the delivery time. It is safer to start with a simple version of the topic and includes some complexity later if necessary.

Find Architecture Thesis Topics That Reflect Your Skills

Everyone has unique skill sets that they have developed over time. There is no single person who is perfect at everything. When you know your technical and creative capabilities, you will be able to pick thesis topics in architecture that employs your expertise.

Can You Find Enough Research On The Topic?

Unusual architectural thesis topics require lots of research and analysis before starting. Therefore, it is essential to pick an area of study with a substantial amount of work already done. It will help you to easily analyze, compare, and draw conclusions.

Balance It Between Art And Science

While searching for architecture dissertation topics, students often dig themselves a grave. They tend to view the project as a culmination of a long program rooted deep in art and theory. You need to pick a topic that balances art and science. It shouldn’t be too abstract, so your teacher will know that you understand the issues raised.

Don’t Forget To Tie It To Your Plans For The Future

Your architecture thesis topics should be aligned with your plans. It should reflect your experience or interest in a specialized subject. It will play an important role as a part of your portfolio.

Pick Architecture Thesis Topics That Solve A Real Problem

Your thesis topics architecture ideas shouldn’t just be theoretical, they should also solve a real-world problem. The world struggles with several issues, such as population growth, climate change, and a lack of proper distribution of resources. So, find a topic that can solve a socio-environmental problem using design intervention.

• Creation of affordable housing
• Development waterfront property
• Airport functioning
• Heritage museums
• Skyscraper design
• Cinema and theatre architecture
• Suburban homes for multi-families
• Multimedia film city
• Gaming and Animation studio
• Aquarium-Aqua display and design
• Marine park design
• Lightning excellence center
• MTRS study and station
• Modern art museum
• Convention center
• Automobile training center
• Archaeological survey institute
• Luxury beach-facing apartments
• The bus terminal with a commercial complex
• School of art & design
• Cruise terminal design
• Bio-climatic buildings
• Media center
• Cricket stadium display
• Disaster management institute
• Resort design
• Polo retreat
• Television and film institute
• The transit system as well as the possible improvements
• Educational Institute for all rural children
• A local heritage site
• The lighting system in the Egyptian Pyramids
• Film city studios, gaming area as well its structure
• Underwater restaurants in different parts of the globe for light, electricity, and sanitation.
• The transformation node found at the Lancaster
• The heat/cooling systems in beach huts
• Checking pressure and oxygen levels for building tourists spots
• Fashion Fiesta Paris
• The Golden Gate and architecture
• An archaeologist’s point of view of China from a survey of China
• WHO’s headquarters and renovation
• The ideal environment for a Rehab
• Russian fairytale-style homes and huts
• A clear insight into the auto industry
• Installing swimming pools in a mall
• Training centers for adults in Texas
• Buildings for religious purposes
• Comparing contemporary vs. traditional housing
• Deconstructing a typical school to make room for collaboration and creativity
• Apartments for couples
• Multifamily suburban homes
• The power of air: leaving closed windows for good
• Semidetached and row houses
• Staying on the budget while creating an architectural masterpiece
• Single-family suburban homes
• Hotels and residence
• Single-family country homes
• Developing healthy living spots in third-world countries
• Design of Ruled Surfaces.
• A method to design the kinetic planar surface using mathematical tessellation techniques.
• Waterfront development of an exhibition center
• Bio-inspired design for adaptable structures
• Construction of time conception
• A critical view of architecture – is it sustainable?
• Analytical studies of design potentials in architecture
• Determination of the concept of place in the built environment’s reproduction process
• Aqua display/Research Center
• Forest Research/Training Institute
• Archaeological Survey of Canada – Research and Training Institute
• Luxury Sea-front Studios at Ottawa
• Digital Morphogenesis as well as Its Implementation
• Bio-climatic Tower
• Mass rapid transit system study and station
• Designing organic structures to withstand time
• Showing culture in structures
• Maximizing size in miniature apartments
• Architectural trends at most transportation hubs
• Redefining a city with architecture
• Renovating century-old structures without losing the culture
• Outdoor architecture: creating getaways in small backyards.

A master of architecture qualification provides students with the relevant knowledge, skills, and values needed to enter the architecture sector and pursue opportunities and careers in this profession for master thesis help . It focuses on developing the ability to adapt to change in the diverse and critical world we live in. students are allowed to create a speculative and reflective relationship to their work.

• The introduction of biotechnology in architecture design for adaptable structures.
• An analytical assessment of mathematical organization methods in active flat surface plans.
• The consideration of soil and terrain conditions to determine adequate story building locations.
• A conceptual method for the outline and fabrication of cultural centers and foundations
• Finding the importance of a town or county’s various buildings and structures.
• A critical analysis of the architectural techniques used to construct the lighting within the ancient pyramids of Giza.
• An evaluation of the restaurants near the coastline in various areas of the country with important consideration on plumbing, air supply, and lighting.
• An analysis of China’s Great Wall with consideration of the structure’s historical significance.
• Understanding the impact of certain architectural codes and protocols on the environment.
• The possibility to achieve inexpensive house construction plans in first-world countries.
• Why do the majority of third-world countries have substandard housing structures?
• A case study on the significance of all learners of architecture in the profession.
• An analysis of the primary conditions that affect buildings in places that are susceptible to earthquakes.
• Building methods and consideration for constructions with the ability to endure natural disasters.
• A detailed report of the Twin Towers and the popularity of skyscraper construction.
• The significance of applied science in defining modern housing from traditional examples.
• Using records in architecture to understand the history of the profession.
• A critical analysis of architectural photography.
• The evaluation of cost considerations in architectural specifications and estimations.
• What motivates different architectural drawings and concepts.
• Case studies on sustainable modern design structures.
• The importance of digital mapping and concepts in architecture.
• Methods of limiting energy loss.

Industrial architecture is a branch of architecture that is used for the design of industrial buildings. These buildings need to be designed with consideration of their main purpose, which is to process raw materials. Their designs need to prioritize safety and optimal function over aesthetics and exterior appeal.

With the increased evolution taking place in technology today, industrial buildings and their designs need to adapt and keep up. This is why it calls for more research and consideration since industrial buildings are a need for modern society.

• Waterfront development – Beach convention and exhibition centers.
• Design of ruled surfaces.
• Construction of time conception in the architectural realm.
• A critical view of sustainable architecture.
• Determination of Place concept in the reproduction process of the built environment.
• Analytical study of the design potentials in kinetic architecture.
• Is deconstructive architecture useful?
• How did brutalism and contemporary architectures influence the world?
• Current trends in parametric architecture.
• How will traditional industrial structures be made more environmentally friendly and sustainable?
• Industrial architecture’s evolution.
• A critical analysis of the Dockland building, Germany.
• What purpose does industrial architecture play in creating a safe environment?
• Where do the professions of car construction and manufacturing come together?
• Industrial architecture during the industrial revolution.
• Evaluation of daylight in office buildings.
• Analysis of different lifestyle interactions.
• The purpose of reinforced concrete skeleton systems and earthquake’s effect on them.
• The future of architecture with the consideration of space exploration.
• The purpose of environmental science and social anthropology in architecture.
• Making architecture design studios relevant in the technological era.
• Extra skills are necessary for working on complex architectural projects.
• How collaboration is helping architectures achieve complex structural needs.

This is the branch of architecture that deals with environmental, social, and economic factors. This profession is based on various rules and traditions that were passed down for centuries. It grants architects the ability to find new ways to innovate the architectural industry.

Over time, the design for buildings all over the world evolves and is influenced by different cultures and styles. This can give the structure of the building different meanings and provides various opportunities to discuss its design and reason to be built.

• Theme parks and attractions
• Religious buildings
• Auditoriums
• Sport facilities
• Art galleries
• Cultural centers and foundations
• School and universities
• Bars and discotheques
• Shopping malls
• Theaters and cinemas
• Restaurants
• Transportation thesis on airports
• Train stations
• Urban transport
• Promenades and streets
• Urban parks
• Stores and showrooms
• Peripheral parks
• Urban monuments and land art

Sustainable architecture is the use of various plans and techniques to withstand the negative effect on the environment of modern man-made structures. Architects would take all aspects of the project, from landscape to water drainage, and determine the best way for the building to function with the least impact on the environment. These buildings and designs need to ensure that they are functional, appealing to the eye, and have as little carbon footprint as possible.

• Neighborhood development
• Community garden concepts
• Waste recycling facilities
• Heritage building restoration
• Rehabilitation housing
• Riverfront development
• SMART village
• Net-Zero energy building
• Bermed structure
• Regenerative design
• Urban Agriculture center
• Revitalizing abandoned mills and processing buildings
• Eco-tourism facilities
• Revival of an old building
• Repurpose a building
• Redevelopment of a slum
• Vertical farm
• Wetland restoration
• Energy efficiency in buildings
• How the location of the building is necessary for sustainability

Picking one of the topics above may help you get a head start on your paper. However, if you still need dissertation writing help, you can find professionals to help you with fresh ideas to work on.

Are you stuck with writing your thesis? Just enter promo “ mythesis ” – that’s all you need to get a 20% discount for any architecture writing assignment you might have!

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Two MIT scholars, each with a strong entrepreneurial drive, have received 2024 Kavanaugh Fellowship awards, advancing their quest to turn pioneering research into profitable commercial enterprises.

The Kavanaugh Translational Fellows Program gives scholars training to lead organizations that will bring their research to market. PhD candidates Grant Knappe and Arjav Shah are this year’s recipients. Knappe is developing a drug delivery platform for an emerging class of medicines called nucleic acid therapeutics. Shah is using hydrogel microparticles to clean up water polluted by heavy metals and other contaminants. Knappe and Shah will begin their fellowship with years of entrepreneurial expertise under their belts. They’ve developed and refined their business plans through MIT’s innovation ecosystem, including the Sandbox, the Legatum Center, the Venture Mentoring Service, the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Program, and Blueprint by The Engine. Now, the yearlong Kavanaugh Fellowship will give the scholars time to focus exclusively on testing their business plans and exercising decision-making skills — critical to startup success — with the guidance of MIT mentors.

“It’s a testament to the support and direction they’ve received from the MIT community that their entrepreneurial aspirations have evolved and matured over time,” says Michael J. Cima, program director for the Kavanaugh program and the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Founded in 2016, the Kavanaugh program was instrumental in helping past fellows launch several robust startups, including low-carbon cement manufacturer Sublime Systems and SiTration, which is using a new type of filtration membrane to extract critical materials such as lithium.

A safer way to deliver breakthrough medicines

Nucleic acid therapeutics, including mRNA and CRISPR, are disrupting today’s clinical landscape thanks to their promise of targeting disease treatment according to genetic blueprints. But the first methods of delivering these molecules to the body used viruses as their transport, raising patient safety concerns .

“Humans have figured out how to engineer certain viruses found in nature to deliver specific cargoes [for disease treatment],” says Knappe. “But because they look like viruses, the human immune system sees them as a danger signal and creates an immune reaction that can be harmful to patients.”

Given the safety profile issues of viral delivery, researchers turned to non-viral technologies that use lipid nanoparticle technology, a mixture of different lipid-like materials, assembled into particles to protect the mRNA therapeutic from getting degraded before it reaches a cell of interest. “Because they don’t look like viruses there, the immune system generally tolerates them,” adds Knappe.

Recent data show lipid nanoparticles can now target the lung, opening the potential for novel treatments of deadly cancers and other diseases.

Knappe’s work in MIT’s Bathe BioNanoLab focused on building such a non-viral delivery platform based on a different technology: nucleic acid nanoparticles, which combine the attractive components of both viral and non-viral systems. Knappe will spend his Kavanaugh Fellowship year developing proof-of-concept data for his drug delivery method and building the team and funding needed to commercialize the technology.

A PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChemE), Knappe was initially attracted to MIT because of its intellectual openness. “You can work with any faculty member in other departments. I wasn't restricted to the chemical engineering faculty,” says Knappe, whose supervisor, Professor Mark Bathe, is in the Department of Biological Engineering.

Knappe, who is from New Jersey, welcomes the challenges that will come in his Kavanaugh year, including the need to pinpoint the right story that will convince venture capitalists and other funders to bet on his technology. Attracting talent is also top of mind. “How do you convince really talented people that have a lot of opportunities to work on what you work on? Building the first team is going to be critical,” he says. The network Knappe has been building in his years at MIT is paying dividends now.

Targeting “forever chemicals” in water

That network includes Shah. The two fellows met when they worked on the MIT Science Policy Review , a student-run journal concerned with the intersection of science, technology, and policy. Knappe and Shah did not compete directly academically but used their biweekly coffee walks as a welcome sounding board. Naturally, they were pleased when they found out they had both been chosen for the Kavanaugh Fellowship. So far, they have been too busy to celebrate over a beer.

“We are good collaborators with research, as well,” says Shah. “Now we’re going on this entrepreneurial journey together. It’s been exciting.”

Shah is a PhD candidate in ChemE’s Chemical Engineering Practice program. He got interested in the global imperative for cleaner water at a young age. His hometown of Surat is the heart of India’s textile industry. “Growing up, it wasn’t hard to see the dye-colored water flowing into your rivers and streams,” Shah says. “Playing a role in fostering positive change in water treatment fills me with a profound sense of purpose.”

Shah’s work, broadly, is to clean toxic chemicals called micropollutants from water in an efficient and sustainable manner. “It’s humanly impossible to turn a blind eye to our water problems,” he says, which can be categorized as accessibility, availability, and quality. Water problems are global and complex, not just because of the technological challenges but also sociopolitical ones, he adds.

Manufactured chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” are in the news these days. PFAS, which go into making nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing, are just one of more than 10,000 such emerging contaminants that have leached into water streams. “These are extremely difficult to remove using existing systems because of their chemical diversity and low concentrations,” Shah says. “The concentrations are akin to dropping an aspirin tablet in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.” But no less toxic for that.

In the lab at MIT, Shah is working with Devashish Gokhale, a fellow PhD student, and Patrick S. Doyle, the Robert T. Haslam (1911) Professor of Chemical Engineering, to commercialize an innovative microparticle technology , hydroGel, to remove these micropollutants in an effective, facile, and sustainable manner. Hydrogels are a broad class of polymer materials that can hold large quantities of water.

“Our materials are like Boba beads. We are trying to save the world with our Boba beads,” says Shah with a laugh. “And we have functionalized these particles with tunable chemistries to target different micropollutants in a single unit operation.”

Due to its outsized environmental impact, industrial water is the first application Shah is targeting. Today, wastewater treatment emits more than 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions , which is more than the shipping industry’s emissions, for example. The current state of the art for removing micropollutants in the industry is to use activated carbon filters. “[This technology] comes from coal, so it’s unsustainable,” Shah says. And the activated carbon filters are hard to reuse. “Our particles are reusable, theoretically infinitely.”

“I’m very excited to be able to take advantage of the mentorship we have from the Kavanaugh team to take this technology to its next inflection point, so that we are ready to go out in the market and start making a huge impact,” he says.

A dream community

Shah and Knappe have become adept at navigating the array of support and mentorship opportunities MIT has to offer. Shah worked with a small team of seasoned professionals in the water space from the MIT Venture Mentoring Service. “They’ve helped us every step of the way as we think about commercializing the technology,” he says.

Shah worked with MIT Sandbox, which provides a seed grant to help find the right product-market fit. He is also a fellow with the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship , which focuses on entrepreneurship in global growth markets.

“We’re exploring the potential for this technology and its application in a lot of different markets, including India. Because that’s close to my heart,” Shah says. “The Legatum community has been unique, where you can have those extremely hard conversations, confront yourself with those fears, and then talk it out with the group of fellows.”

The Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab, or J-WAFS, has been an integral part of Shah’s journey with research and commercialization support through its Solutions Grant and a travel award to the Stockholm World Water Week in August 2023.

Knappe has also taken advantage of many innovation programs, including MIT’s Blueprint by the Engine, which helps researchers explore commercial opportunities of their work, plus programs outside of MIT but with strong on-campus ties such as Nucleate Activator and Frequency Bio.

It was during one of these programs that he was inspired by two postdocs working in Bathe’s lab and spinning out biotech startups from their research, Floris Engelhardt and James Banal. Engelhardt helped spearhead Kano Therapeutics , and Banal launched Cache DNA .

“I was passively absorbing and watching everything that they were going through and what they were excited about and challenged with. I still talk to them pretty regularly to this day,” Knappe says. “It’s been really great to have them as continual mentors, throughout my PhD and as I transition out of the lab.”

Shah says he is grateful not only for being selected for the Kavanaugh Fellowship but to MIT as a community. “MIT has been more than a dream come true,” he says. He will have the opportunity to explore a different side of the institution as he enters the MBA program at MIT Sloan School of Management this fall. Shah expects this program, along with his Kavanaugh training, will supply the skills he needs to scale the business so it can make a difference in the world.

“I always keep coming back to the question ‘How does what I do matter to the person on the street?’ This guides me to look at the bigger picture, to contextualize my research to solving important problems,” Shah says. “So many great technologies are being worked on each day, but only a minuscule fraction make it to the market.”

Knappe is equally dedicated to serving a larger purpose. “With the right infrastructure, between basic fundamental science, conducted in academia, funded by government, and then translated by companies, we can make products that could improve everyone’s life across the world,” he says.

Past Kavanaugh Fellows are credited with spearheading commercial outfits that have indeed made a difference. This year’s fellows are poised to follow their lead. But first they will have that beer together to celebrate.

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Robert Malenka, MD, PhD

The Nancy Friend Pritzker Professor in Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences has won the 2024 Steven C. Beering Award from the Indiana University School of Medicine. Malenka is being recognized for the "field-changing implications his work has had — and will continue to have — in biomedical sciences." The award, which includes a $25,000 prize, honors an internationally recognized individual for outstanding research contributions to the advancement of biomedical or clinical science.

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