phd in architecture eligibility

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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 .

Spring 2024 Courses

Related events, other architecture programs at gsapp.

Ph.D. Program Admission

Admission to the School of Architecture is granted through Princeton University's Graduate School. A bachelor's degree from a college or university of recognized standing is normally required. Admission information can be found online at http://gradschool.princeton.edu/admission/ . The deadline for applications for the Ph.D. program is January 3rd. 

Applicants to the Ph.D. program should be aware that a professional degree in architecture is highly desirable, but applications are also accepted from those with academic degrees in appropriate disciplines in the humanities, applied sciences, and social sciences. If a candidate does not have prior professional training, they may be required to take a special program of study in the processes and working methods of the profession.

Although a personal interview is not required, candidates for the Ph.D. program are encouraged to learn more about the School by visiting and talking to students and faculty members. The best opportunity is the Fall Open House , which is held each November.  This year, 2023, it will be November 6 . We will post details and an online RSVP in October . Students who are unable to attend the Open House may contact the School to determine if an individual visit can be arranged.  Please allow at least two weeks when scheduling individual visits.

APPLICATION

Princeton University's Graduate School Announcement is the official and complete source of information about Princeton's graduate programs and their requirements. The electronic application is available September through December for admission the following fall. The electronic application and specific information regarding application requirements are available at: http://gradschool.princton.edu/admission .

Address all inquiries to:

Office of Graduate Admission Princeton University One Clio Hall Princeton, New Jersey 08544-0270

Applicants should submit substantial evidence of their academic qualifications and scholarly interests, including examples of written work, unpublished or published. Candidates should submit a quantity of written material sufficient to demonstrate a broad familiarity with the field of architecture, well developed writing and research skills, and the candidate's command of potential research or study areas. In the statement of intent, each candidate must write a short essay, carefully describing their previous professional and academic experience, and its relevance to future plans for research and teaching. While it is understood that fields of concentration may change during the first two years of pre-generals study, the candidate should attempt to outline a potential area of research in the context of Princeton's program.

Ph.D. writing samples should be uploaded directly to the online application . You will be able to check the status of any materials online. The checklist is only viewable after an application has been submitted: www.princeton.edu/gradschool/admission/applicants/status/

We do not notify applicants individually of materials received.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

January 3rd - $75 Application Fee

Deadline applies to all applicants for the receipt of application and all supporting material. Earlier applications are encouraged.

Each candidate's application and academic record is reviewed by the faculty committee to determine the candidate's accomplishments and academic achievements and assess other qualifications for graduate study in architecture. Serious consideration is given to letters of recommendation from persons who are in a position to evaluate a candidate's abilities and estimate the applicant's promise. Admission to the Graduate School is highly selective. All applicants are considered on a comparative basis, and admission is determined after analyzing the relative merits of all of the candidates applying in the same field. For the Graduate School to operate according to its objectives and methods, enrollment must be limited. Every effort is made to select the most outstanding candidates from among those submitting applications.

Consideration is given to all complete applications received on or before the regular Graduate School application deadline date. Applications are examined in one group during February; applicants are notified of the results in March. All fellowships and scholarship awards to entering students are made from applicants in this group. Only under unusual circumstances may students enter the Graduate School at any time other than the beginning of the academic year.

Application for financial aid does not affect an applicant's chances for admission. Generous financial assistance is made available to all accepted students on the basis of income and need.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMS

PhD Track in the History and Theory of Architecture

PhD Technology Track

Admissions inquiries can be sent to [email protected] .

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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))
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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.)

History and Theory 4

Urbanism and landscape 1.

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Ph.D. in Architecture

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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:

• 2023-2024 BSTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
• 2023-2024 HTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
• 2022-2023 BSTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
• 2022-2023 HTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
• 2021-2022 BSTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
• 2021-2022 HTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]

Ph.D. Alumni List

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

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Architecture, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Architecture (+Dual Ph.D.)

TODO FIXME : DRAFT : WORK IN PROGRESS

Contemporary. transdisciplinary. rethink and redefine the architectural fields..

The doctoral program in architecture is a research-based degree concentrating on a number of areas of inquiry. Hone the degree via research clusters, program focus, or dual-title options.

Program Application Deadline

The deadline for applications for AY 2024–25 is Jan. 15, 2024.

To be assured full consideration, please review all details on program and admission requirements, and ensure that you apply by this deadline.

Earn a Ph.D. in Architecture at Penn State

Penn State’s Ph.D. in Architecture program trains individuals for independent research that will produce knowledge that is new, original, and valuable, and prepares them for independent thinking and leadership in the field. The program’s transdisciplinary nature encourages new exchanges that rethink and redefine the architectural fields. Its distinguishing quality is its broad-based research core, grounded in contemporary theory and methods.

The architecture program faculty include scholars with expertise in architectural theory, building construction and technology, cultural and environmental behavior, the design process, digital design and fabrication, housing, sustainability, landscape architecture, and urban design. Visiting scholars further enhance the program and course offerings. Doctoral candidates are encouraged to draw upon the enormous resources of other Penn State graduate programs for electives that will enrich and broaden their scholarship.

Prospective students must be prepared to articulate their area of proposed specialization and research and their intended research theme and topic. The program accepts applicants holding a post-professional master’s degree in architecture, landscape architecture, or a related field.

All applicants must hold either (1) a professionally accredited baccalaureate degree in architecture or landscape architecture from a regionally accredited U.S. institution and a master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or related field or (2) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a professionally accredited bachelor’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture from a regionally accredited U.S. institution and a master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or related field; both degrees must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which they operate. Alternatively, the applicant can hold (3) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution plus a professionally accredited master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or (4) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution plus a professionally accredited master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture; these degrees must be from officially recognized degree-granting institutions in the country in which they operate. Outstanding candidates who do not hold a professional architecture or landscape architecture degree but who satisfy all other entrance requirements may be admitted at the discretion of the program.

An overall minimum grade-point average of 3.20 for graduate and undergraduate degrees is required for admission. Exceptions to the minimum 3.20 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests at the discretion of the program.

All applicants for admission to the Ph.D. degree program must submit the following:

• a completed Graduate School application and payment of the application fee
• official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
• names of three faculty members or professionals acquainted with the applicant’s academic history who can be contacted and invited to provide reference letters
• a Ph.D. Essay that (1) articulates the reasons for pursuing graduate training; (2) demonstrates that the Ph.D. program has been carefully considered and a relevant faculty member has been identified; (3) presents a clear research focus; and (4) highlights how previous education, academic background, and/or professional experience provide a foundation for pursuing graduate training in this research field
• a Curriculum Vitae

https://bulletins.psu.edu

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Architecture (ARCH) Course List

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of The Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by The Graduate School.

All applicants who are accepted are considered for departmental financial aid.

Contact the Program Administrator

Nina Bumgarner

• Stuckeman School Graduate Programs Staff Assistant
• Administrative Contact, Graphic Design

[email protected]

814-865-0991

Research Clusters

The Ph.D. program offers concentrated inquiry, research, study and pedagogy in the following major areas of focus:

Culture, Society, Space (CSS) - Penn State Architecture

The Culture, Society, Space (CSS) research cluster examines how built spaces – from the artifact to the urban – affect those who interact with them and, conversely, how cultural, societal and disciplinary values shape the spaces we create.

Design Computing (DC) - Penn State Architecture

The Design Computing (DC) research cluster offers students critical knowledge and advanced skills in the use of digital technologies in architecture and related design fields, especially in the areas of visualization, generative systems, and fabrication.

Material Matters (MM) - Penn State Architecture

The Material Matters (MM) research cluster provides students with opportunities to delve into the interaction of materials and processes.

Sustainability (SUS) - Penn State Architecture

The Sustainability (SUS) research cluster investigates architecture’s potential to improve the quality of life for current and future societies around the globe, addressing issues of natural resource consumption, pollution prevention, and organizational dependencies.

Degree Options

In addition to the integrated research concentrations, the Ph.D. in Architecture degree can be further oriented to your scholarship and research. The Ph.D can be undertaken with a focus in Landscape Architecture, or as a dual-title Ph.D. in Architecture and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society degree.

The Department of Architecture and the College of Health and Human Development offer a dual-title graduate degree program in Architecture and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (TREES), both at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. The TREES program is a transdisciplinary, intercollege program at the intersection of natural resources and societal challenges, which exposes students to issues including, but not limited to global climate change; sustainable energy, food, and fiber supplies; threats to biodiversity; water pollution and availability; genetic modification; and sustainable design.

The purpose of this dual-title degree is to provide architecture graduate students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct architecture research in relationship to socio-environmental challenges that revolve around managing ecosystems and natural resources in ways that continue to promote human well-being.

Once admitted in the Ph.D. in Architecture degree program, a student can apply for admission to TREES. Admission process and requirements can be found here . Doctoral students must be admitted into the dual-title degree program in TREES no later than the end of the fourth semester (not counting summer semesters) of entry into the graduate major program.

The Qualifying Examination, Dissertation Committee formation, coursework selection, Comprehensive Examination, Dissertation, and Final Oral Examination (dissertation defense) must be carefully planned to satisfy the requirements of the dual-title degree in Architecture and TREES. To complete the dual-title degree, students must satisfy the minimum requirements of the Ph.D. in Architecture degree program and, in addition, the minimum requirements of the dual-title intercollege degree program .

More information

• University Policy on Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs GCAC-208
• College of Health and Human Development TREES
• Graduate Bulletin TREES
• Graduate Bulletin Dual-Title Ph.D. in Architecture + TREES

This Ph.D. focuses on the opportunities afforded by interdisciplinary collaboration through the Stuckeman School’s Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The curriculum is highly individualized: students first must complete the requirements of the M.S. in Landscape Architecture (or equivalent); then they undertake one year of required resident coursework, after which they complete dissertation research as required.

This curriculum benefits from potential alliance with award-winning faculty University-wide. Opportunities include our Hamer Center for Community Design, the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, and E+D: Ecology plus Design, which merges ecology and design in ways that improve the ecological function of the designed world. Students may also pursue a dual-title degree Ph.D. in Architecture with a focus in Landscape Architecture + Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (TREES).

Ph.D. Students

Students currently enrolled in the Ph.D. in Architecture program.

Dima Abu-Aridah Research Focus: Refugee camps and socio-spatial dimensions Research Clusters: Culture, Society, Space and Design Computing Academic Adviser: Rebecca Henn [email protected]

Mahsa Adib Landscape Architecture Focus Research Focus: Community engagement for green stormwater infrastructure development Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Hong Wu [email protected]

Sana Ahrar Research Focus: Mixed-income informal settlements in the global south Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Alexandra Staub [email protected]

Maryam Aman Research Focus: Energy-efficient building design Research Cluster: Sustainability Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Advisers: Ute Poerschke and José Pinto Duarte [email protected]

Elizabeth Andrzejewski Research Focus: Konrad Wachsmann, prefabrication, building technology, automation, robotics Research Cluster: Material Matters Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer [email protected]

Ali Baghi Research Focus: Digital fabrication, concrete printing Research Cluster: Design Computing Academic Adviser: José Duarte [email protected]

Abhinandan Bera Landscape Architecture Focus Research Focus: Colonial urban history, urban morphology, socio-economic development, neoliberalism, globalization, urban planning Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Andy Cole [email protected]

Özgüç Bertuğ Çapunaman Research Focus: Interactive and adaptive fabrication, computational making, tool development Research Cluster: Design Computing Academic Adviser: Benay Gürsoy Personal website | [email protected]

Yuxiang Dong Research Focus: Landscape Architecture Research Cluster: Hong Wu [email protected]

Paniz Farrokhsiar Research Focus: Computational design, the role of making in the design process Research Cluster: Design Computing Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Adviser: Benay Gürsoy Personal website | [email protected]

Lara Garcia Research Focus: The role of human spatial and thermal perception in extreme heat events and urban heat island effect adaptation Research Cluster: Sustainability Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Advisers: Travis Flohr and Stephen Mainzer [email protected]

Amir Ghasemi Research Focus: Digital fabrication Research Cluster: Design Computing Academic Adviser: José Duarte [email protected]

Elnaz Ghasemi Research Focus: Urban energy use, carbon emissions Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari [email protected]

Keerthana Govindarazan Research Focus: Virtual reality, spatial cognition and perception, performance art Research Cluster: Design Computing Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Advisers: Yasmine Abbas and José Pinto Duarte [email protected]

Ankita Karmakar Landscape Architecture Focus Research Focus: Globalization and neo-liberalization, women and culture, global feminism, right to the city, everyday city, peri-urban cultural-resilience across global south, gender equity, current practice of design, planning and policy framework Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose [email protected]

Tiffanie Leung Research Focus: Earthbag construction Research Cluster: Material Matters Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer [email protected]

Jie Li Research Focus: How to close the performance gap in sustainable buildings Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Lisa Iulo [email protected]

Eric Mainzer Research Focus: Virtual reality, design education, spatial cognition Research Cluster: Design Computing Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Adviser: José Pinto Duarte [email protected]

Zia Mohajerzadeh Research Focus: Dynamic façade configurations for reduced energy consumption and improved thermal comfort and indoor air quality Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari [email protected]

Alale Mohseni Research Cluster: Design Computing Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing [email protected]

Mahan Motalebi Research Focus: Material aging Research Cluster: Material Matters Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer [email protected]

Michael Nowak Research Focus: Security in architectural space Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Ute Poerschke Personal website | [email protected]

Hanin Othman Research Focus: Monitoring indoor environment quality and controlling building façade operations using assistive robots Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari [email protected]

Houman Riazi Jorshari Research Focus: Moving images, media studies, and architectural theory Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Pep Avíles [email protected]

Krista Schneider Research Focus: Land grant university and place-based economic development Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose [email protected]

Nusrat Tabassum Research Focus: Additive manufacturing with concrete in extreme climatic conditions Research Cluster: Material Matters Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing Academic Adviser: José Pinto Duarte [email protected]

Tasneem Tariq Research Focus: Thermal environment, urban heat island, green infrastructures, thermal comfort, sustainable cities Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Advisers: Ute Poerschke and Lisa Domenica Iulo [email protected]

Nicolás Verdejo Bravo Research Focus: Architecture education, 20th Century authoritarianisms, politics Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Denise Costanzo [email protected]

Nan Yang Landscape Architecture Focus Research Focus: Social-spatial dimension of the garment industry in China Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose [email protected]

Jingshi Zhang Research Focus: Artificial leaf-based cladding system performance evaluation Research Cluster: Sustainability Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari [email protected]

Yuhan Zhou Research Focus: Landscape Architecture Academic Adviser: Hong Wu [email protected]

Guides and Resources

• Graduate Handbook in Architecture
• The Graduate School at Penn State

Ph.D. Student Awards

• Dima Abu-Aridah: Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award
• Chowdhury Ali Imam: Distinguished Master's Thesis Award
• Sana Ahrar: https://www.psu.edu/news/gradu...
• Kimberly Cunningham: Professional Master’s Excellence Award
• Farzad Hashemi: Architectural Research Centers Consortium Dissertation Award
• Arjun Kizhakkemarakkattil Janardhanan: Distinguished Master's Thesis Award
• Dima Abu-Aridah: Graduate Student International Research Award
• Ali Ghazvinian: Alumni Association Dissertation Award , College of Arts and Architecture Sustainability Graduate Student Award
• Tasneem Tariq: Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award
• Rui Wang: Alumni Association Dissertation Award
• Elena Vazquez: Architectural Research Centers Consortium Dissertation Award
• Sana Ahrar: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, Third Place
• Özgüç Bertuğ Çapunaman: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, Third Place
• Ali Ghazvinian: College of Arts and Architecture Sustainability Teaching Fellow
• Farzad Hashemi: Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award
• Jie Li: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, Second Place
• Farzaneh Oghazian: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, First Place
• Nastaran Tebyanian: Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture Scientific Excellence Award
• Elena Vazquez: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, First Place
• Dima Abu-Aridah: Engineering for Change Research Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Sana Ahrar: Architectural Research Centers Consortium King Student Medal
• Ali Ghazvinian: Engineering for Change Research Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Naveen Kumar Muthamanickam: Thomas and June Beaver Fund Award
• Michael Nowak: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, First Place
• Elizabeth Andrzejewski: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, Third Place
• Julio Diarte: Engineering for Change Research Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Eric Mainzer: Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award
• Debora Verniz: Alumni Association Dissertation Award
• Negar Ashrafi: Thomas and June Beaver Fund Award
• Sohrab Rahimi: Alumni Association Dissertation Award
• Clarissa Ferreira: Architectural Rearch Centers Consortium Dissertation Award Honorable Mention
• Stephen Mainzer: Architectural Research Centers Consortium Dissertation Award
• Mahyar Hadighi: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, First Place
• Irem Öz: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, Third Place
• Stephen Mainzer: Alumni Association Dissertation Award
• Julio Diarte: Penn State Graduate Exhibition, First Place
• Meher Bhagia: University Graduate Fellowship
• Irem Öz: University Graduate Fellowship

Legal Statements

• Non-Discrimination
• Equal Opportunity
• Accessibility
• The Pennsylvania State University © 2024

Architecture

DAAP » Academic Programs » School of Architecture and Interior Design » PhD in Architecture

Why study Architecture?

University of Cincinnati’s Ph.D. Program in Architecture is a post-professional degree program of advanced theoretical studies in architecture with a focus on the acquisition of critical skills related to architectural production, both built and theoretical. It is intended primarily for students already in possession of a graduate degree in architecture or a related field such as interior design, planning, or landscape architecture. The Ph.D. program is an outgrowth of the university’s longstanding MS Program in Architecture, whose focus has traditionally been on architectural history, theories, and criticism as they relate to architectural practice. The program exposes students to a range of concepts in the field and fosters the ability to question and assess the built environment and the documents that relate to it.

In addition to a common core consisting of coursework in architectural theories and research methods, students complete courses in a minor field, demonstrate mastery of a major with the qualifying exam, and successfully defend a dissertation proposal in the third year, qualifying for candidacy and achieving ABD (“all but dissertation”) status. Students research, write and defend the dissertation in the final years of the program. With faculty members with technical expertise in human and environmental factors, computation, parametric design, and robotics in addition to the program’s traditional strengths in history, theory, and criticism,  the program can accommodate a range of student interests. The major exam is a multi-day written examination based on a reading list agreed upon among the committee members.

To fulfill the minor requirement, students may propose an individual course of study, supervised by a professor other than the dissertation chair, or they may choose from among a number of approved graduate certificates offered by the university. Popular options include Historic Preservation; Urban Design; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and Data Analytics. 

Admission Requirements

Students applying to the Ph.D. Program in Architecture should have completed a Master's degree in architecture or a related field prior to matriculation. Students with an undergraduate degree or with an unrelated graduate degree must instead apply for the MS Program in Architecture. Some students enter the Ph.D. program directly from the MS program. These students retain their credits from their MS studies and enter the Ph.D. program at an advanced phase commensurate with their completed studies.

Unofficial transcript(s) from all colleges/universities attended are required. Official transcripts are not required during the admissions process, and only unofficial transcripts are required for the application. Applicants should not send official transcripts until they are offered admission and confirm enrollment to the university. For complete transcript requirements, please view the Transcript Submission Policy webpage.

A portfolio of design, art, or other graphic work is optional. The portfolio is an opportunity to demonstrate your design abilities, artistic talents, or other information you deem pertinent to your application. The content does not have to be architectural if your background is in another discipline. Written project statements to accompany visual work are helpful. Portfolios are submitted online.  We do not accept hard copies of portfolios.

Three letters of recommendation from persons who are in a position to evaluate your abilities and your potential for success as a graduate student are required. There is no standard form to fill out; instead, based on the information you provide in your application, recommenders will be emailed instructions on the process for submitting letters of recommendation. 

A summary of your academic and professional experiences is required.

A two-page statement of your interest in graduate study in architecture is required. This should be a concise, articulate presentation of your academic and career goals, and any specific interests you have in architectural topics for graduate research and design. It should reflect your prior intellectual and professional engagement with these issues, and may also provide some additional perspective on the work illustrated in the portfolio.

Students applying to the Ph.D. program must submit one or two writing samples demonstrating the ability to conduct scholarly research and examine theoretical concepts. The essays can expand on the areas of research interest or on any topic.

Applicants to the Ph.D. Program in Architecture must demonstrate a commitment to the critical study of architecture and related design fields, including interior design, urban design, and landscape architecture. Prior education or working experience in architecture or a related field is desirable. Excellent writing skills and an interest in theoretical research are essential. Students whose English writing or speaking skills are not adequate for the demands of the curriculum must enroll in advanced, graduate-level English as a Second Language coursework prior to, and sometimes in tandem, with program coursework.

The Ph.D. Program in Architecture prepares researchers, educators, and practitioners for advanced scholarly, pedagogic, and professional work in architecture and related fields. Most graduates of the program become full-time professors or practitioners of architecture. Other career opportunities include historic preservation, public policy, curating, journalism, and institutional administration.

Because UC’s Ph.D. Program in Architecture has a small number of students, we are able to facilitate one-on-one student and faculty advising and collaboration. Students work with their faculty to develop their research and writing skills and they publish and present their work in national and international venues. While the program does not have separate tracks for students pursuing technical research, program faculty members assist students in identifying coursework and campus resources to develop the necessary competencies. All entering students have the opportunity to consult with multiple members of the Ph.D. Program faculty and with the program coordinator to determine appropriate elective coursework and dissertation committee composition.

• The city of Cincinnati, once called the "Queen City of the West" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, provides an excellent array of cultural resources for students who intend to pursue a degree in the visual arts. It offers the energy and assets of a larger city, along with quiet neighborhoods steeped in rich traditions. Cincinnati offers live music venues that range from top-notch symphony and opera companies to a growing pop and rock community. Home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, the city also enjoys the presence of numerous art galleries and a strong support system among practicing artists. Cincinnati is situated within driving distance of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York City, allowing DAAP students to take advantage of the rich cultural resources of these cities as well.
• UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) is one of the most comprehensive colleges of its type in the country. A collection of nationally respected design and art programs is housed in a unique and educationally stimulating architectural setting. Architecture students have opportunities to enroll in courses in a range of related disciplines and to participate in interdisciplinary studios or special projects.
• UC’s emphasis on interdisciplinary studies facilitates interaction with counterparts in other schools of the College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning as well as other colleges such as the Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Medicine, and the College Conservatory of Music. Such interdisciplinary studies should be planned in consultation with PhD Program faculty members and approved by the Ph.D. Program coordinator.
• Eligible students accepted to the Ph.D. Program in Architecture may compete for a limited number of scholarships and assistantships. All students are required to participate in a teaching practicum as part of the program, and many are chosen for paid teaching assistantships in the latter years of the program. Students are also eligible to work in campus jobs for up to 20 hours per week when classes are in session and 40 hours during vacations.
• The DAAP college library has an outstanding collection of books, periodicals and visual resources supporting architecture, planning, design, art history and related subjects. Access to library holdings is provided by an automated online catalog, UCLID, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati Library information database, and through OhioLINK, the holdings of other academic libraries throughout Ohio.
• The Computer Graphics Center is a state-of-the-art university facility with hardware that includes PCs, Macs, and peripherals such as scanners, plotters and digital video-editing suites. Students have access to sophisticated graphics equipment and receive hands-on instruction to augment the use of laptops in the classroom.
• The college supports a Rapid Prototyping Center, which is the home of state-of-the-art equipment that allows students to create communication aids for their work. Using CAD (computer-aided design) models, students are able to create physical models using three basic methods: 3-D printing, large format laser-cutting and CNC (computer numeric control) devices.

For applicants whose native language is not English, a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of at least 100 iBT (600 paper) or an IELTS score of at least 7.0 is common and is typically our minimum. The university requires minimum scores of 80 on the TOEFL and 6.5 on the IELTS. Applicants with scores below the campus minimums will not reach the Ph.D. in Architecture admissions committee for review. Students whose scores are above the campus minimum but below the Ph.D. in Architecture Program standards, or students whose English writing or speaking ability does not meet program expectations, will be considered on a case-by-case basis, however, they must agree to take graduate-level ELS coursework and possibly other courses as a condition of acceptance.

• Guide: Ph.D 2019
• Guide: Ph.D 2018
• Guide: Ph.D 2017

Application Deadlines

Early Admission

General Admission

ALL applicants must apply by January 10th . 

The application process begins with an online UC Graduate Application . Supplemental materials are to be submitted online through the application process.

New students are admitted for the fall semester. We will notify successful candidates by April 15. An offer of admission may be withdrawn if a candidate does not accept within six weeks of our offer.

In general, the program offers neither deferrals nor admission in semesters other than fall, however individual requests for admission deferrals and for spring semester admission may be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific nature of the request and the ability of the program administration to accommodate it.

The architecture program of the University of Cincinnati has been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) continuously since 1948, and its courses satisfy requirements maintained by various state architectural registration boards.

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The NAAB, which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the bachelor of architecture, the master of architecture, and the doctor of architecture. A program may be granted a 8-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. University of Cincinnati’s Ph.D. program in Architecture is not an accredited professional degree.

Contact Information

Find related programs in the following interest areas:.

• Architecture, Construction and Building Trade

Program Code: 23DOC-ARCH-PHD

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

Admissions Resources

Are you a current student looking for resources? Handbooks, procedures and other information can be found on the Student Resources page .

Applicants to the PhD program must have completed a four-year Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. A professional degree in architecture, landscape architecture, or urban planning is recommended but not necessary. For students planning to pursue the Architectural Technology track within the PhD program, a background in architecture and/or engineering is required. For more information, please contact  Professor Ali Malkawi .

To be eligible for admission, applicants must also show evidence of promising academic work in their field of interest or in closely related fields. Students from outside the United States must demonstrate an excellent command of spoken and written English. Applicants from underrepresented and historically marginalized communities are particularly welcome and highly encouraged to apply. To attend a virtual information session, click here .

All applicants must indicate a proposed major area of study at the time of their initial application. These proposed areas of study should be congruent with the interests and expertise of at least one Graduate School of Design faculty member associated with the PhD program.

While the GRE is not required for admission, applications must include the following:

• Unofficial transcript(s).
• Three letters of recommendation.
• A statement of purpose that gives the admissions committee a clear sense of the student’s intellectual interests and strengths and conveys their research interests and qualifications.
• A short personal statement.
• A writing sample or samples (totalling no more than 20 pages, not including references). This can be a paper written for a course, journal article, and/or thesis excerpt. The writing sample should preferably focus on a subject related to architecture, landscape architecture, or urban planning.
• Please note that unless a specific justification is provided by the applicant, design portfolios are not typically considered as part of the application.

Applications to the PhD program in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning are received through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For more information on the application process, requirements, and its timeline, visit their website .

If you have additional questions, please contact Margaret Moore de Chicojay , the PhD program administrator and a key point of contact for incoming and current students.

Harvard Griffin GSAS and Harvard GSD do not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

MA & PhD in Architecture

Ucla architecture and urban design offers two academic graduate degrees: the master of arts in architecture (ma) and doctor of philosophy in architecture (phd)..

The programs produce students whose scholarship aims to provoke and operate within architecture’s public, professional, and scholarly constituencies. Both programs are supported by the Standing Committee, made up of five faculty members: Michael Osman (interim program director), Cristóbal Amunátegui , Dana Cuff , Samaa Elimam , and Ayala Levin . A number of visiting faculty teach courses to expand the range of offerings.

Applications for the MA/PhD program (Fall 2024 matriculation) are completed via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission , and are due January 6, 2024. Candidates will be notified of decisions in March 2024; admitted candidates who wish to accept the offer of matriculation must submit their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

All MA and PhD students are required to enroll in a two-year colloquium focused on methods for writing, teaching, and researching in the field of architecture. The six courses that constitute the colloquium train students in the apparatus of academic scholarship. Over the two-year sequence, students produce original research projects and develop skills in long-format writing.

Research Opportunities

The intellectual life of the students in the MA and PhD programs are reinforced by the increasing number of opportunities afforded to students through specialized faculty-led research projects. These include cityLAB-UCLA and the Urban Humanities Institute .

MA in Architecture

This program prepares students to work in a variety of intellectual and programmatic milieus including historical research, cultural studies, and interdisciplinary studies with particular emphasis on connections with geography, design, art history, history of science and literary studies, as well as studio and design based research.

Beyond the core colloquium, MA students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA AUD and across campus. The MA program is a two-year degree, culminating in a thesis. The thesis is developed from a paper written by the student in their coursework and developed in consultation with the primary advisor and the standing committee. In addition to courses and individual research, students often participate in collective, project-based activities, including publications, symposia and exhibitions.

The program is distinguished by its engagement with contemporary design and historical techniques as well by the unusual balance it offers: fostering great independence and freedom in the students’ courses of study while providing fundamental training in architectural scholarship.

Recent MA Theses

• Jacqueline Meyer, “Crafting Utopia: Paolo Soleri and the Building of Arcosanti.”
• Joseph Maguid, “The Architecture of the Videogame: Architecture as the Link Between Representational and Participatory Immersion.”
• Meltem Al, “The Agency of Words and Images in the Transformation of Istanbul: The Case of Ayazma.”
• Courtney Coffman, “Addressing Architecture and Fashion: On Simulacrum, Time and Poché.”
• Joseph Ebert, “Prolegomena to a Poiesis of Architectural Phenomenology.”
• Jamie Aron, “Women Images: From the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop to the Knoll Textile Division.”
• Gustave Heully, “Moldy Assumptions.”
• Brigid McManama, “Interventions on Pacoima Wash: Repurposing Linear Infrastructure into Park Spaces.”

MA Typical Study Program

Phd in architecture.

This program prepares students to enter the academic professions, either in architectural history, architectural design, or other allied fields. PhD students are trained to teach courses in the history and theory of architecture while also engaging in studio pedagogy and curatorial work. In addition to the colloquium, PhD students take a series of approved courses both at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design and across campus. They select these courses in relation to their own research interests and in consultation with their primary advisor. The priorities for selection are breadth of knowledge and interdisciplinary experience that retains a focused area of expertise. To this end, the students identify Major and Minor Fields of study. The Minor Field is generally fulfilled by satisfactorily completing three courses given by another department and the Major Field by five courses offered by UCLA Architecture and Urban Design.

Once coursework is completed, PhD students move to the Comprehensive Exam, Qualifying Exam, and the writing of a dissertation, and final defense, if deemed appropriate by the doctoral committee. In the transition from coursework to exams, PhD students work on one paper beyond its original submission as coursework. The paper begins in the context of a departmental seminar, but often continues either in the context of an independent study, summer mentorship, or a second seminar with faculty consent. Upon the research paper’s acceptance, students begin preparing for their comprehensive exam. Before their third year, students must also satisfactorily complete three quarters of language study or its equivalent according to University standards. The particular language will be determined in consultation with the Standing Committee. The Comprehensive Exam is administered by at least two members of the Standing Committee and at most one faculty member from another Department at UCLA, also a member of the Academic Senate.

The Comprehensive Exam tests two fields: the first covers a breadth of historical knowledge—300 years at minimum—and the second focuses on in-depth knowledge of a specialization that is historically and thematically circumscribed. Students submit an abstract on each of these fields, provide a substantial bibliography, and prepare additional documentation requested by their primary advisor. These materials are submitted to the committee no less than two weeks before the exam, which occurs as early as the end of the second year. Students are encouraged to complete the Comprehensive Exam no later than the end of their third year of study.

The Comprehensive Exam itself consists of two parts: an oral component that takes place first, and then a written component. The oral component is comprised of questions posed by the committee based on the student’s submitted materials. The goal of the exam is for students to demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of their chosen field. The written component of the exam (which may or may not be waived by the committee) consists of a written response to a choice of questions posed by the committee. The goal of this portion of the exam is for students to demonstrate their research skills, their ability to develop and substantiate an argument, and to show promise of original contribution to the field. Students have two weeks to write the exam. After the committee has read the exam, the advisor notifies the student of the committee’s decision. Upon the student’s successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam, they continue to the Qualifying Exam.

Students are expected to take the Qualifying Exam before the beginning of the fourth year. The exam focuses on a dissertation prospectus that a student develops with their primary advisor and in consultation with their PhD committee. Each student’s PhD committee consists of at least two members of the Standing Committee and one outside member from another department at the University (and a member of the Faculty Senate). Committees can also include faculty from another institution. All committees are comprised of at least three members of UCLA Academic Senate. The prospectus includes an argument with broad implications, demonstrates that the dissertation will make a contribution of knowledge and ideas to the field, demonstrates mastery of existing literature and discourses, and includes a plan and schedule for completion.

The PhD dissertation is written after the student passes the qualifying exam, at which point the student has entered PhD candidacy. The dissertation is defended around the sixth year of study. Students graduating from the program have taken posts in a wide range of universities, both in the United States and internationally.

Recent PhD Dissertations

• Marko Icev, "Building Solidarity: Architecture After Disaster and The Skopje 1963 Post-Earthquake Reconstruction." ( Read )
• Anas Alomaim, "Nation Building in Kuwait, 1961-1991."
• Tulay Atak, “Byzantine Modern: Displacements of Modernism in Istanbul.”
• Ewan Branda, “Virtual Machines: Culture, telematique, and the architecture of information at Centre Beaubourg, 1968–1977.”
• Aaron Cayer, "Design and Profit: Architectural Practice in the Age of Accumulation"
• Per-Johan Dahl, “Code Manipulation, Architecture In-Between Universal and Specific Urban Spaces.”
• Penelope Dean, “Delivery without Discipline: Architecture in the Age of Design.”
• Miriam Engler, “Gordon Cullen and the ‘Cut-and-Paste’ Urban Landscape.”
• Dora Epstein-Jones, “Architecture on the Move: Modernism and Mobility in the Postwar.”
• Sergio Figueiredo, “The Nai Effect: Museological Institutions and the Construction of Architectural Discourse.”
• Jose Gamez, “Contested Terrains: Space, Place, and Identity in Postcolonial Los Angeles.”
• Todd Gannon, “Dissipations, Accumulations, and Intermediations: Architecture, Media and the Archigrams, 1961–1974.”
• Whitney Moon, "The Architectural Happening: Diller and Scofidio, 1979-89"
• Eran Neuman, “Oblique Discourses: Claude Parent and Paul Virilio’s Oblique Function Theory and Postwar Architectural Modernity.”
• Alexander Ortenberg, “Drawing Practices: The Art and Craft of Architectural Representation.”
• Brian Sahotsky, "The Roman Construction Process: Building the Basilica of Maxentius"
• Marie Saldana, “A Procedural Reconstruction of the Urban Topography of Magnesia on The Maeander.”
• David Salomon, “One Thing or Another: The World Trade Center and the Implosion of Modernism.”
• Ari Seligmann, “Architectural Publicity in the Age of Globalization.”
• Zheng Tan, “Conditions of The Hong Kong Section: Spatial History and Regulatory Environment of Vertically Integrated Developments.”
• Jon Yoder, “Sight Design: The Immersive Visuality of John Lautner.”

A Sampling of PhD Alumni and Their Pedagogy

Iman Ansari , Assistant Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Tulay Atak , Adjunct Associate Professor, Pratt School of Architecture

Shannon Starkey , Associate Professor of Architecture, University of San Diego

Ece Okay , Affiliate Research, Université De Pau Et Des Pays De L'adour

Zheng Tan , Department of Architecture, Tongji University

Pelin Yoncaci , Assistant Professor, Department Of Architecture, Middle East Technical University

José L.S. Gámez , Interim Dean, College of Arts + Architecture, UNC Charlotte

Eran Neuman , Professor, School of Architecture, Tel Aviv University

Marie Saldana , Assistant Professor, School of Interior Architecture, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Sergio M. Figueiredo , Assistant Professor, Eindhoven University of Technology

Rebecca Choi , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture, Tulane University

Will Davis , Lecturer in History, Theory and Criticism, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore

Maura Lucking , Faculty, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Kyle Stover , Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Montana State University

Alex Maymind , Assistant Professor of Architecture and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Architecture, University of Minnesota

Gary Riichirō Fox , visiting faculty member at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and lecturer at USC School of Architecture

Randy Nakamura , Adjunct Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Francisco

Aaron Cayer , Assistant Professor of Architecture History, School of Architecture + Planning, University of New Mexico

Whitney Moon , Associate Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Todd Gannon , Professor of Architecture, the Knowlton School, Ohio State University

Dora Epstein Jones , Professor of Practice, School of Architecture, the University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Hearne , Assistant Professor, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado Denver

PhD Typical Study Program

*The choice of language to fulfill this requirement must be discussed with the Ph.D. Standing Committee

Our Current PhD Cohort

AUD's cohort of PhD candidates are leaders in their fields of study, deepening their scholarship at AUD and at UCLA while sharing their knowledge with the community.

Adam Boggs is a sixth year Ph.D candidate and interdisciplinary artist, scholar, educator and Urban Humanist. His research and teaching interests include the tension between creativity and automation, craft-based epistemologies, and the social and material history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border. He holds a BFA in Sculpture Cum Laude from the Ohio State University, and an MFA in Visual Art from the State University of New York at Purchase College. Prior to joining the doctoral program at UCLA he participated in courses in Architecture (studio and history) at Princeton University and Cornell University. His dissertation analyzes the history of indigenous labor during the Mexican baroque period to form a comparative analysis with the 20th century Spanish revival architecture movement in Southern California and how the implementation of the style along the U.S.-Mexico border might function as a Lefebvrian “thirdspace” that disrupts binary thinking. In Spring 2024 he will teach an undergraduate seminar course at AUD on the history of architecture at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the CUTF program.

Hanyu Chen is a second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. Her research focuses on the intersection between (sub)urban studies, heritage conservation, and the genders of the space. Specifically, it concerns the dynamics of genders in (sub)urban areas and how these dynamics are conserved as heritage. Born and raised in China for her first 18 years, Hanyu chose the conservation of comfort stations in China as her master's thesis at the University of Southern California, where she earned her master’s degree in Heritage Conservation and officially started her journey in architecture. Her thesis discusses the fluidity and genders of comfort stations and how they survive in contemporary China’s heritage conservation policies.

Hanyu also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in AMS (Applied Mathematics and Statistics) and Art History from Stony Brook University.

Yixuan Chen

Yixuan Chen is an architectural designer and a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA. Driven by an impulse to demystify both the grand promises and trivial familiarities of architecture, her research embarks on the notion of everydayness to elucidate the power dynamics it reveals. She investigates the conflicts between these two ends and focuses on modernization across different times and places.

Prior to joining UCLA AUD, she was trained as an architect and graduated from the University of Nottingham's China Campus with a first-class honors degree. Her graduation project “Local Culture Preservation Centre,” which questioned the validity of monumental architecture in the climate crisis, was nominated for the RIBA President's Medal in 2016.

She also holds a Master of Arts degree with distinction in Architectural History from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Her dissertation, “Shijing, on the Debris of Shijing,” explores the vanishing shijing places, or urban villages, where rural migrant workers negotiate their urban identity in Chinese cities, revealing shifting power relations. Additionally, she authored an article in Prospectives Journal titled "Architectural Authorship in ‘the Last Mile,’" advocating for a change to relational architectural authorship in response to the digital revolution in architecture.

Pritam Dey is an urban designer and second-year doctoral student at UCLA AUD. His research interest lies at the intersection of colonial urbanism, sensorial history, and somatic inquiries. His architecture thesis investigated the crematorium and temple as sensorial infrastructure, and was presented at World Architecture Congress at Seoul in 2017. Previously Dey worked in the domain of urban design, specifically informal markets, as a shaper of urbanism in Indian cities. Prior to joining the AUD doctoral program, his past research focused on investigating the role of informal and wholesale markets in shaping up urbanity in the Indian city cores and co-mentored workshops on Urbanity of Chitpur Road, Kolkata with ENSAPLV, Paris which was both exhibited at Kolkata and Paris. He also co-mentored the documentation of the retrospective landscape of Hampi with the support of ENSAPLV and French Embassy. His investigations on the slums of Dharavi title ‘The tabooed city’ was published in the McGill University GLSA Research series 2021 under the theme: the city an object or subject of law?

An urban designer and architect, Pritam Dey pursued his post graduation from School of planning and Architecture, Delhi. During his academic tenure at SPA, he was the recipient of 2018 Design Innovation Center Fellowship for Habitat design allowing him to work on the social infrastructure for less catered communities in the Sub Himalayan Villages. In 2022 He mentored a series of exhibitions on the theme of Water, Mountains and Bodies at Ahmadabad.

He was the 2022-23 Urban Humanities Initiatives Fellow at UCLA and recipient of 2023 UCLA Center for India and South Asia fellowship for his summer research.

Carrie Gammell

Carrie Gammell is a doctoral candidate working at the intersection of architectural history, property law, and political economy. Her research focuses on claims, investments, and intermediary organizations in the United States, from the Homestead Act of 1862 to the Housing Act of 1934.

Carrie is also a Senior Research Associate at cityLAB UCLA, where she studies state appropriations for California community college student housing. In the past, she contributed to Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus, a report and companion handbook that provides a comprehensive overview of the potential for land owned by school districts to be designed and developed for teachers and other employees.

Prior to joining AUD, Carrie worked as an architectural designer in Colombia and the United States, where she built a portfolio of affordable housing, multi-family residential, and single-family residential projects as well as civic and cultural renovations and additions. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Master in Design Studies (Critical Conservation) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Chi-Chia Hou

Chi-Chia Hou is a doctoral candidate in his sixth year at UCLA AUD. His working dissertation, “New Frontier: Architecture and Service 1893-1960,” explores his interest in architecture and wealth, changing ideas of profit and management, and social scientific discourses for measuring work and worker, self and others, and values of landed property.

His research locates moments of theorizing methodologies to manage income-generating properties in schools of agriculture, home economics, and hotel studies. The schools taught their students theories, while instilling the imminence of faithful direction of oneself, of self-as-property. The pedagogies, existing beyond the purview of Architecture, were of immense architectural consideration.

Chi-Chia Hou took a break from school in the previous academic year to learn from his daughter and has now returned to school to learn from his brilliant cohorts.

Adam Lubitz

Adam Lubitz is an urban planner, heritage conservationist, and doctoral student. His research engages the intersection of critical heritage studies and migration studies, with an emphasis on how archival information can inform reparations. His community-based research has been most recently supported by the Columbia GSAPP Incubator Prize as well as the Ziman Center for Real Estate and Leve Center for Jewish Studies at UCLA.

Prior to joining AUD, Adam worked at World Monuments Fund within their Jewish Heritage Program, and taught GIS coursework at Barnard College. His master's thesis applied field research with experimental mapping techniques in the old town of a municipality in Palestine. Adam holds MS degrees in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning from Columbia University and a BA in Urban Studies from New College of Florida.

José Monge is a PhD candidate in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design. His dissertation, titled Maritime Labor, Candles, and the Architecture of the Enlightenment (1750-1872) , focuses on the role that whale-originated illuminants, specifically spermaceti candles and oil, played in the American Enlightenment as an intellectual project and the U.S. as a country. By unravelling the tension between binaries such as intellectual and manual labor–the consumers that bought these commodities and the producers that were not able to afford them–the project understands architecture as a history of activities that moved from sea to land and land to sea, challenging assumptions about the static “nature” of architecture.

Kurt Pelzer

Kurt Pelzer is a fourth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. Their research explores the relational histories, material flows, and politics of land in and beyond California in the long nineteenth century during the United States parks, public lands, and conservation movements.

Their current scholarship traces the settler possession and exhibitionary display of a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the 1850s; an act that contested the ways Miwok peoples ancestral to California's Sierra Nevada knew and related to life and land. Their broader interests include histories of colonialism and capitalism in the Americas, environmental history, and Blackness and Indigeneity as a methodological analytic for political solidarities and possibilities.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Pelzer worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the Architecture and Design Curatorial Department participating in exhibitions, programming, and collections work. Pelzer completed a Master of Advanced Architectural Design in the History, Theory, and Experiments program from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and earned their Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from the College of Design at Iowa State University.

Shota Vashakmadze

Email Shota Vashakmadze

Shota Vashakmadze is a sixth-year PhD candidate at UCLA AUD. His dissertation traces the conjoined histories of architectural computing, environmental design, and professional practice in the late 20th century, adopting critical approaches to architecture’s technical substrates—the algorithms, softwares, and user protocols of computation—to examine their social and political dispositions. In his scholarship and pedagogy, he aims to situate forms of architectural labor within the profession’s ongoing acculturation to environmental crisis. Most recently, he has been leading the development of the interdisciplinary “Building Climates” cluster, a year-long course sequence at UCLA, and co-organizing an initiative dedicated to fostering discourse on climate change and architecture, including a two-day conference entitled “Architecture After a Green New Deal.”

His research has been supported by the Canadian Centre for Architecture and appeared in journals including Architectural Theory Review , The Avery Review, and Pidgin Magazine. He is currently completing a contribution to a collection on landscape representation and a chapter for an edited volume on architecture, labor, and political economy.

Shota holds an MArch from Princeton University and has a professional background in architecture, landscape, and software development. Before coming to UCLA, he researched methods for designing with point cloud data and wrote Bison, a software plugin for landscape modeling.

Alexa Vaughn

Alexa Vaughn (ASLA, FAAR) is a first year PhD student in Architecture + Urban Design and a Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellow , from Long Beach, California. She is a Deaf landscape designer, accessibility specialist, consultant, and recent Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (2022-23). She is a visionary speaker, thought leader, prolific writer and researcher, and the author of “ DeafScape : Applying DeafSpace to Landscape,” which has been featured in numerous publications.

Her professional work is centered upon designing public landscapes with and for the Deaf and disabled communities, applying legal standards and Universal Design principles alongside lived experience and direct participation in the design process. She is an expert in designing landscapes for the Deaf community (DeafScape) and in facilitation of disabled community engagement. Prior to joining the A+UD program, Alexa worked for several landscape architecture firms over the course of six years, including OLIN and MIG, Inc.

Through a disability justice lens, her dissertation will seek to formally explore the historical exclusionary and inaccessible design of American urban landscapes and public spaces, as well as the response (activism, policy, and design) to this history through the present and speculative future. She will also actively take part in activist- and practice-based research with cityLAB and the Urban Humanities Institute .

Alexa holds both a BA in Landscape Architecture (with a minor in Conservation and Resource Studies) and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the University of California, Berkeley, with specialization in accessible and inclusive design. Much of her work can be found at www.designwithdisabledpeoplenow.com and on Instagram: @DeafScape.

Yashada Wagle

Yashada Wagle is a third year PhD student in Critical Studies at UCLA AUD, and a recipient of the department's Moss Scholarship. Her research focuses on imperial environmental-legislative regimes in British colonial India in the late nineteenth century. She is interested in exploring questions around the histories of spaces of extraction and production as they network between the metropole and the colony, and their relationship with the conceptions of laboring bodies therein. Her master's thesis focused on the Indian Forest Act of 1865, and elucidated the conceptualization of the space of the ‘forest’ through the lenses of its literary, legislative, and biopolitical trajectories, highlighting how these have informed its contemporary lived materiality.

Wagle holds a Bachelor in Architecture (BArch) from the Savitribai Phule Pune University in India, and a Master in Design Studies (History and Philosophy of Design and Media) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was previously a Research Fellow at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA) in Mumbai, India.

In her spare time, Wagle enjoys illustrating and writing poetry, some of which can be found here .

Dexter Walcott

Dexter Walcott is a registered architect currently in his fifth year with the Critical Studies of Architecture program at UCLA. His research focuses on the Latrobe family and early nineteenth century builders in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. He is interested in the role of the built environment in histories of labor, capitalism, steam-power, and industry.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Joy is a fifth-year PhD student in architecture history. Her research explores geology as antiquity from early 19th – 20th century British colonial Hong Kong and China. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a focus in German from Middlebury College in 2017, and is a graduate of The New Normal program at Strelka Institute, Moscow in 2018. Previously, she has taught in the Department of Architecture at University of Hong Kong, as well as the Department of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

After working as a curatorial assistant at Tai Kwun Contemporary in 2019, she has continued the practice of art writing and translation, collaborating with many local Hong Kong artists as well as international curators such as Raimundas Malašauskas. In her spare time, she practices long-distance open water swimming. In 2022, she completed a 30km course at the South of Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

The MA and PhD programs welcome and accept applications from students with a diverse range of backgrounds. These programs are designed to help those interested in academic work in architecture develop those skills, so we strongly encourage that you become familiar with fundamental, celebrated works in the history and theory of architecture before entering the program.

Applicants to the academic graduate programs must hold a Bachelor’s degree, or the foreign equivalent. All new students must enter in the fall quarter. The program is full-time and does not accept part-time students.

Applications for the MA and PhD programs (Fall 2024 matriculation) will be available in Fall 2023, with application deadline of January 6, 2024; please revisit this page for updates. Accepted candidates who wish to enroll must file an online Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by April 15, 2024.

How to Apply

Applying to the MA and PhD programs is an online process via the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission (AGA).

Completing the requirements will take some time, so we strongly recommend logging in to the AGA in advance to familiarize yourself with the site and downloading the documents and forms you will need to complete your application.

You can also download this checklist to make sure you have prepared and submitted all the relevant documents to complete your application.

Your Statement of Purpose is a critical part of your application to the MA and PhD programs. It is your opportunity to introduce yourself and tell us about your specific academic background, interests, achievements, and goals. Our selection committee use it to evaluate your aptitude for study, as well as consideration for merit-based financial support.

Your statement can be up to 1500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• What is your purpose in applying to the MA or PhD program? Describe your area(s) of research interest, including any areas of concentration and specialization.
• What experiences have prepared you for this program? What relevant skills have you gained from these experiences? Have your experiences led to specific or tangible outcomes that would support your potential to contribute to this field (e.g. performances, publications, presentations, awards or recognitions)?
• What other information about your past experience might help the selection committee in evaluating your suitability for this program? E.g. research, employment, teaching, service, artistic or international experiences through which you have developed skills in leadership, communication, project management, teamwork, or other areas.
• Why is UCLA Architecture and Urban Design the best place for you to pursue your academic goals?
• What are your plans for your career after earning this degree?

Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to provide additional information to help the selection committee evaluate your aptitude for study. It will also be used to consider candidates for UCLA Graduate Division fellowships related to diversity. You can read more about the University of California Diversity Statement here .

Your statement can be up to 500 words in length. Below are some questions you might want to consider. You don’t need to answer every question; just focus on the elements that are most relevant to you.

• Are there educational, personal, cultural, economic, or social experiences, not described in your Statement of Purpose, that have shaped your academic journey? If so, how? Have any of these experiences provided unique perspective(s) that you would contribute to your program, field or profession?
• Describe challenge(s) or barriers that you have faced in your pursuit of higher education. What motivated you to persist, and how did you overcome them? What is the evidence of your persistence, progress or success?
• How have your life experiences and educational background informed your understanding of the barriers facing groups that are underrepresented in higher education?
• How have you been actively engaged (e.g., through participation, employment, service, teaching or other activities) in programs or activities focused on increasing participation by groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education?
• How do you intend to engage in scholarly discourse, research, teaching, creative efforts, and/or community engagement during your graduate program that have the potential to advance diversity and equal opportunity in higher education?
• How do you see yourself contributing to diversity in your profession after you complete your academic degree at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design?

A Curriculum Vitae (résumé of your academic and professional experience) is recommended but not required.

Applicants must upload a scanned copy of the official transcripts from each college or university you have attended both in the U.S. and abroad. If you are accepted into the program you will be required to submit hard copies. These can either be sent directly from each institution or hand-delivered as long as they remain in the official, signed, sealed envelopes from your college or university. As a general rule, UCLA Graduate Division sets a minimum required overall grade-point average of 3.0 (B), or the foreign equivalent.

As of this Fall 2023 cycle, the GRE is NOT required as part of your application to UCLA AUD. No preference will be given to those who choose to submit GRE scores as part of their application.

However, if you do take the GRE exam and wish to include it as part of your application: More information on this standardized exam can be found at www.ets.org/gre . In addition to uploading your GRE scores, please direct ETS to send us your official score sheets. Our ETS codes for the GRE are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 4401

We recommend you take the exam at least three weeks before the application deadline as it usually takes 2-3 weeks for ETS to send us the test scores.

If you have received a Bachelor’s degree in a country where the official language of instruction and primary spoken language of daily life is not English, you must submit either a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Exempt countries include Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This is a requirement that is regardless of your visa or citizenship status in the United States.

To be considered for admission to the M.Arch. program, international students must score at least a 92 on the TOEFL or a 7 on the IELTS exam. Because processing, sending, and receiving TOEFL and IELTS scores can take several weeks, international students must schedule their exam no later than October 31 in order to meet UCLA deadlines. TOEFL scores must be sent to us directly and uploaded as part of the online submission. Our ETS codes for the TOEFL are below:

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Institution Code: 4837 Department Code: 12

If your score is less than 100 on the TOEFL or 7.5 on the IELTS, you are also required to take the English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) on arrival at UCLA. The results of this test will determine any English as a Second Language (ESL) courses you need to take in your first term of residence. These courses cannot be applied towards your minimum course requirements. As such, you should expect to have a higher course load than students not required to take ESL courses.

If you have earned a degree or completed two years of full-time college-level coursework in the following countries, your TOEFL / IELTS and ESLPE requirements will be waived: U.S., U.K., Canada (other than Quebec), Australia, and New Zealand. Please provide official transcripts to demonstrate course completion. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any other documentation to demonstrate language proficiency.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. These letters should be from individuals who are familiar with your academic and professional experiences and can evaluate your capacity to successfully undertake graduate studies at UCLA. If you do not have an architecture background please note that we are looking for letters that evaluate your potential as a graduate student, not necessarily your architecture experience.

Letters of recommendation must be sent electronically directly to UCLA by the recommender. When logged in, you can enter the name and email address of each of your recommenders. They will be contacted by email with a request to submit a letter on your behalf. You can track which letters have and have not been received. You can also send reminders to your recommenders to send their letters.

Writing samples should illustrate an applicant’s capacities for research, analytical writing and scholarly citation. Texts may include seminar papers, theses, and/or professional writing.

Please complete and submit the Department Supplement Form to confirm your intention to apply to the MA or PhD program.

How to get a PhD in Architecture

Whether you’re at a crossroad in your professional career as an architect or in the middle of your BArch or MArch with some doubts on whether you want to practice architecture, pursuing a doctoral program in architecture might be an opportunity to still be involved with the world of architecture albeit not by practicing professionally. Pursuing a PhD in Architecture can easily be seen as a career shift since the point of getting a degree in architecture is to become an architect, however, there is another side to architecture that is less concerned with creating buildings and more on research, a route that can be as important and fulfilling. Nowadays, this can come in different forms of non-professional degrees, one of which is a Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture. In this article, I hope to provide some insight to those who are interested in doing research work in architecture.

A Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture is a relatively new addition to doctoral studies when put next to other fields in the humanities and sciences. At least in the United States, PhD’s in Architecture didn’t emerge until the 1970s. For example, Taubman College in Michigan , one of the first to offer a Doctor of Architecture, only started offering the degree in 1969 while Harvard did not introduce its degree until 1987. This delay shouldn’t come as a surprise since practicing architects have always been able to work in academia with a professional degree alone, leading to a discussion of whether the field of architecture even needed to have this degree. In fact, even the first generation who pursued these degrees continued to practice throughout their time in school. The PhD, however, did allow for architects and designers to more directly involve themselves in academia and have an impact there.

Ultimately, offering a non-professional degree in Architecture as high as a PhD birthed other non-professional degrees that we see today in schools. Alongside the MArch and BArch degrees, there are the MS degrees which are non-accredited degrees that provide studies on a specific research topic. For example, several schools around the United States, including USC , UPenn , and GSAPP , offer master's in historic conservation degrees that focus on historic architecture conservation research. Other concentrations include sustainable design, urban design, architectural history, and even real estate development. Although not required for accreditation, it’s a great opportunity for individuals who are passionate about a specific subject in architecture.

A prerequisite to start your PhD is to have a Master of Arts. This is typically already built into the PhD program itself and could take up to two years to complete. The Master of Arts degree is seen as a preparation for a PhD degree. Although built-in, you may still need to apply to enter the PhD degree once completed. Once you do enter, your years pursuing a PhD will depend on your chosen research. In architecture specifically, this can last between four to seven years. A second language (some institutions even require a third) is often a requirement while pursuing a PhD to be able to understand historical documents on a deeper level. The language depends on your chosen research, but typically they must fall within the modern languages.

The Application

Just like applying to your previous degrees, you’ll want to consider location since you’re expecting to be in school for several years. Most importantly, however, it’s vital to really dive into the school, the department where your PhD lies, and the faculty that is part of that department. In this level of academia within architecture, schools can define their architecture differently. Some schools don’t have a sole architecture department but rather, are integrated within another department such as arts and urban planning. Schools that do have an independent architecture department will also typically present specific tracks for studies. MIT for example has a History and Theory of Architecture track along with a History and Theory of Art. At UC Berkeley , they provide a PhD track of Building, Science, Technology, and Sustainability as a collective, also known as BSTS, and a track of History, Theory, and Society as a collective, also known as an HTS.

Furthermore, looking into faculty who are working on the same interest and passion as you are will be an important consideration as they essentially serve as advisors throughout your research. On top of these, you will have to take the GRE (a good amount of schools are waiving this even for PhD applications), an essay talking about what you're interested in researching and why, and recommendations from previous employers, faculty and so forth. PhD applications are typically due by the end of the year, but each school will vary in its specific dates.

Compared to paying a tuition fee in a professional degree such as BArch and MArch, pursuing a PhD relies on funding from grants and scholarship as research work can be seen as work in itself. The initial funding and conditions will vary from each school. The common thread, however, is that becoming a TA or even teaching a full course at the institution is a way to receive money while doing your research. Because PhD’s are primarily seen as a route towards academia (not always exclusively), this will serve as a great opportunity for those who are interested in practicing their skills in teaching. Just like any degree, outside scholarships and grants are opportunities for more funding and typically, this is seen as a way to avoid doing teaching jobs to focus on doing your research and writing a dissertation.

The Dissertation

If you have a BArch or MArch, you might already be familiar with the idea of a thesis. The dissertation is essentially going to be your thesis that you’ll be working on pretty much your whole time in your PhD. A dissertation is the main requirement for you to obtain your Doctor of Philosophy degree, typically a book-length research project which you would defend to a committee. Schools will go about this differently but nonetheless, expect to do a lot of reading and writing within your PhD degree to cultivate your research work.

Job Prospects

A Doctor in Philosophy is the main way to get into academia. There is still a lot of debate on what kind of professionals should be teaching studios and seminars in architecture schools, nonetheless, you will find an array of schools that provide some sort of architectural study to students, lying in different places within the spectrum of the built work and the historical theory work. Another route to consider would be a job at a research institution focusing on the arts and culture such as museums as they can also provide openings due to architecture falling within the humanities. Ultimately, the point of a PhD is to be able to have the space and time for an individual to research a topic which that individual feels passionate about and believes to be an important topic. This specificity can lead towards a more specialized workforce, whether that is in academia, the arts, or even urban planning.

Because architecture is mainly a practicing profession, doing research work can be an anomaly. However, this is not to say that the work cannot have value in the world of architecture. Architecture can live through different mediums — from living in the built environment to existing in a piece of writing. Regardless of which medium you resonate the most with, it’s important to remember that executing your interests and passions can spark and inspire ideas, and architecture should continue cultivating a diverse set of thoughts. So if you have a passion for a certain topic, find ways to cultivate it. Whether it be by building something or writing about it.

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About the Author

Lance Arevalo

22 Comments

APRIL 6, 2021 | 3:00PM ET / 12:00PM PT

"Expanding the View into Post-Professional Degree Programs"

https://www.acsa-arch.org/webi...

great and awesome idea !

   I see more unplayable student loans in someone future.    Focus on helping current professionals make more money.  Creating more elite intellectuals does not help. 

thisisnotmyname

"Typical funding for the doctoral degree includes four years of full funding (tuition fellowship, benefits, and stipend based on a Graduate Student Instructorship or a Graduate Student Research Assistantship) and two additional years of tuition only fellowship (TOF) with benefits, if required. "

I knew a few PHDs from UMich, they didn't have to pay anything. You might be projecting. 

phd programs are almost always 100% funded, with a stipend on top.

now, is a phd in architecture a necessary degree? still debatable- i wasn't aware how new this type of degree is in architecture.

It's a jumping off point to get deep into research or academia. People aren't doing this to go do the same thing as all the MArchs and BArchs. With that in mind, I would say it's a great approach if that is your intent.

Nam Henderson

i'm speaking more about the broader philosophical debate about the nature of the degree.. i think prior to the 70's, what was common was an art history phd with a focus in architecture, which i think there is plenty of argument in it being sufficient enough.

A PhD in architecture is great, but only if there are available teaching slots open. Though it goes back to the larger point where architecture expertise should be valued more in media, government, etc. Biden's about to pass a 3 trillion dollar infrastructure bill with no apparent design vision -- just a lot of economist BS. Meanwhile there are no popular critics left, and the few venues left are keen to pretend like the McMansion lady has something interesting to say.

JJArchitect

PhD acronym 'piled high and deep'

DesignGnome

One of the offices I worked at has an office in Honolulu, many of my co-workers there have PHDs in arch 

Context is key. University of Hawaii has a professional DArch degree. It is very different than the other Arch PHDs as far as I understand.

Yea, don't do this unless you want to struggle to find a middling academic job. Even if the doctorate is heavily subsidized, this is a complete waste and will no way help you in your architectural business. On top of it, they put the most bizarre, out of touch professors in this sector - or you are learning on you're own / in thesis mode - which you could do without being a PHD student.

Just a reminder to those in college thinking about pursuing this degree path - a PhD in Architecture - if you bypass getting licensed (per NCARB and State Board requirements) to obtain your PhD and take a career path in academia, it is illegal to call yourself an 'Architect' in the U.S. Please don't confuse the two.

I mean, if you just don't get licensed regardless of what you do in academia technically it's illegal... Unless you work in IT ;D Anyway, the two things are entirely unrelated, you can get a PHD and conceivably still get licensed, you could get a MArch and not get licensed. I know there are a lot more unlicensed MArchs out there calling themselves Architects than PHDs calling themselves architects. This seems like a rather non-problem. 

My comment was directed more to those in the age bracket I often mentor (high school students and college students) looking to become licensed Architects. Many of them are always looking for the least path of resistance to become licensed Architects - merely providing clarity the article did not address. Designers/people misrepresenting themselves as or doing work as 'Architects' is an issue - Google how state Architecture boards are cracking down on people misrepresenting themselves as 'Architects'. One of the states I'm licensed in issues rulings and legal cases each month the State brought against designers/people working as or misrepresenting themselves as 'Architects'. The cases often end in hefty fines and/or in extreme cases more punitive legal ramifications for the individuals.

Am curious as to how the profession protects the term 'Architect' but doesn't really work to heighten the terms standing in the world. Most clients are happy with a designer, developer, planner or interest to do most of the work, perhaps getting an architect to stamp when necessary. All of this does little for the 'Architect' as it was understood by Frank Lloyd Wright or anyone else.

J D J... That's fair. Getting a doctorate is definitely not least path of resistance though. As for the legal actions. I also see that in the state I am licenced in, but it's almost exclusively for people who have represented themselves as architects for the purpose of performing architectural services. Which, is of course illegal and the main point. However, I have also know hundreds of recent grads and young professionals who refer to themselves as "architectural designers" or something like that, which is illegal and they technically know it.

My favorite is the Honorary Doctorate. 

Dr. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs

Dr. Aiec Baldwin

Dr. Robert DeNiro

Dr. Conan O'Brien

Dr. Usain Bolt

Dr. L.L. Cool J

Dr. William Shatner

Odd, nothing in the alphabet letter salad following J Daniels Jenkins name above indicates that he is an architect. 

wrong- aia indicates licensure vs assoc aia.

By the way, Harvard began its Ph.D. in Architecture program in the 1900s. 

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Phd in architecture.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture is for those who wish to make significant scholarly contributions to the discipline, discourse, and research of architecture. The Program trains individuals for productive academic careers in the teaching of architecture as well as with educational institutions, research centers, cultural and governmental organizations, and professional practices engaged in research that seek to benefit from advanced scholarship and creative research.  

*The name of this course will be updated in syllabi for Fall 2024

Curriculum overview

• required and elective courses, 
• required examinations, and 
• written texts that conclude course work, examinations and which are used to present a student’s research work and acquired writing skills.

Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of 20 course units, pass a Qualifying examination, a Candidacy examination, two Language examinations, complete two Teaching Fellow requirements, and complete and defend a Dissertation.  

During the first year of course work, all Ph.D. students are required to enroll in the following courses: 

• ARCH 8110: Architectural Theory and Techniques is a course that explores the current state of architectural scholarship, with an emphasis on primary materials in architectural theory and history, and technology.  
• ARCH 8120: Architectural Research Methods explores research methods across historical, technological, and design discourse as they relate to advanced projects in the field. 
• ARCH 8130: Qualifying Research is a ‘designated elective’ whereby the student pursues a graduate course, or Independent Study in ARCH or across the university, that relates to or expands on their specific subject matter. The course that will ‘count’ for 8130 is chosen in consultation with the Chair of the Graduate Group or the student’s advisor, if already chosen.

During the second year of course work, students are required to take the following courses: 

• ARCH 8510: Field Bibliography consists of an Independent Study course with a chosen faculty member of the Graduate Group (the student’s advisor, future committee member, or approved faculty member), focused on the preparation of the student’s Field Bibliography in the context of the Candidacy Exam.
• ARCH 8520: Dissertation Proposal consists of an Independent Study course with a chosen faculty member of the Graduate Group (the student’s advisor, future committee member, or approved faculty member), focused on the completion of the student’s Dissertation Proposal, in preparation for the Candidacy Exam.

Franca Trubiano    Associate Professor of Architecture Chair, Graduate Group in Architecture [email protected]

School of Architecture

College of design.

Ph.D. in Architecture

Doctoral studies in architecture train students for careers conducting research in academic settings, in scientific laboratories, and now increasingly in private firms as well. The aim of research is to create new knowledge that can help us build well and create responsible and responsive physical environments. Such a knowledge necessarily engages with the full complexity and messiness of human life. It includes understanding of social, physical, historical and cultural impact of design decisions and practices, as well as the development of technical methods and computational tools to improve decision-making in design.

Specializing in architectural research, therefore, requires mastering aspects of at least one cognate discipline—history, cultural studies, psychology, sociology, cognitive sciences, engineering, computation—and quite often of more than one of these. Not surprisingly, the study needed to do this is demanding. But those students who bring with them a deeply held curiosity about the built world, an ability to work independently, and an openness to learning new skills and ideas will find the work deeply satisfying and tremendously rewarding.  

Our Program

Established in 1982, the Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture Program at Georgia Tech is one of the largest and most expansive programs of its kind in the United States, with approximately thirty students in residence pursuing their Ph.D. coursework or completing their dissertation research. A diverse faculty of scholars and researchers advise students in one of the following four areas of specialization.

Architecture, Culture, and Behavior

Building Design Technology

Design Computation

History, Theory, Criticism

Our Ph.D. Process

Students devote most of their time in close individual work with a faculty advisor in one of these areas of specialization. The course of studies allows students considerable room to define their own course work, which can be taken both within the school as well as in other departments. Once the course work is completed, studies become practice oriented—most of the student time is spent in actual research, either on their own topic, or contributing to faculty-led research projects. The students’ progress towards the degree is charted through a series of qualifying milestones.

After identifying a topic of research within their area of specialization, students develop a preliminary research paper to demonstrate the ability to frame and describe a scholarly topic, pass a comprehensive exam that tests their mastery of both depth and breadth of knowledge in their field of study, and, finally, produce and orally defend a dissertation that makes a demonstrable original contribution to their area of study. Along the way, they are expected to produce scholarly publications and make presentations of their work to fellow researchers and scholars. A distinctive feature of our program is the availability of opportunities to teach, both as preceptors and assistants, but also as independent instructors.

Your Prospects

Ph.D. studies are a natural springboard for academic positions. The majority of the graduates from our programs have gone on to academic careers both in the US and internationally, often making quick promotion to leadership positions. The training to do independent work, to think abstractly, and to handle technical literature has also provided a strong general foundation for some graduates to find work in areas beyond architecture. Career pathways of our graduates are shaped to some extent on their areas of concentration. About 90% of graduates who specialized in History, Theory, and Criticism and Architecture, Culture, and Behavior areas of concentration in the last five years have teaching and research positions in institutes of higher education both in the Unites States and abroad; others have found positions as research leaders in industry, in firms involved with architecture and construction, product manufacturing, and cultural resource management. Students who specialized in Design Computing and Building Technology streams were split more evenly between academia and industry, with about 40% of the graduates in these areas in the last five years finding jobs in industry and in leading national research laboratories.

It is in the nature of research in any field to be at the cutting-edge of disciplinary development. The graduates of a research program should, therefore, expect come away not just with competence in a subject matter and ability to solve problems, but also the knowledge and ability to think of ways to advance ideas, techniques, and methods in their discipline. This is a remarkably fortuitous time to those who seeks to do just this in architecture. Recent developments in computational technology, in our ability to collect vast amount of behavioral and user data, in techniques of machine learning and data analysis, and in our ability to design and build highly complex forms using automated algorithmic processes, are not only creating an unprecedented appetite for research within architecture, but they are also erasing traditional sub-disciplinary boundaries between different areas of work. Beyond career opportunities, therefore, ambitious graduates of the program will also find themselves well positioned to make foundational contributions to a discipline that is in an excitingly formative stage.

Student Support

Our program is able to offer a limited number of research and teaching assistantships to students as a way to support their studies. Graduate teaching assistantships (GRAs) offer a stipend and cover the tuition for the semesters for which they are awarded; the stipend is given at either 1/3 time (15 hrs per week) or at ½ time (20 hrs per week) depending upon the requirements of the course to which they are assigned. Determination of the positions and selection is made every Spring by the school administration with recommendations from the faculty teaching the courses for which assistantships are available and from the students’ advisors. The selection criteria include academic performance, possession of knowledge and skills required to fulfill the tutoring, mentoring, or grading duties required for the assistantship, and evidence that the student can handle their duties responsibly.

Opportunities for Graduate Research Assistantships arise from sponsored research projects undertaken by the faculty. They may be also offered at either 1/3 time (15 hrs per week) or at ½ time (20 hrs per week) according to the needs of the faculty member offering the award. The selection for GRA positions is made by the individual faculty members according to their requirements. There is no formal common procedure to apply for these positions.

Each year the program offers the Presidents’ Fellowship to one selected student who has been offered a GRA or a GTA. The fellowship includes a stipend given over and above the tuition and stipend that come with the assistantship. There is no application for this award; selection is made on merit by the school administration on the recommendation of the PhD advising faculty. The fellowship is restricted to US citizens or permanent residents.

Each year the School of Architecture hosts approximately 60 Design and Planning firms at a joint career fair with the School of City and Regional Planning. This fair is open to all students from freshmen level undergraduate students, Masters students and PhD students. Many students receive summer internships, full year internships as well as permanent positions as a result of their participating in the fair. This provides the students with a direct line for employment opportunities all around the US, with participating firms.

About 70 % of the current students have GTA support, and the remaining are self-funded or received support for external sources.

Additional information about Graduate Assistantships, fellowships, loans, and off-campus employment options is available on the Office of Graduate Studies site . For more information on demographics, admissions, and time-to-degree for doctoral students in our program, go to Doctoral Student Statistics . Enter ‘Architecture’ as a term in the search criteria box.”

Meet our Ph.D. Students

Doctoral students in the School of Architecture develop knowledge and technologies that enhance design imagination and the design process. Learn more about our current Ph.D. students here.

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

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University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

School of architecture & urban planning, program information ph.d. in architecture.

For over 35 years, the Ph.D. Program in Architecture has been a mainstay of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s reputation as a leader in architectural research and education. The Ph.D. Program in Architecture is a community of scholars, practitioners, activists, and educators who are committed to advancing the discipline and practice of architecture. Situated within a professional school of architecture, the program is both curiosity-driven and action-oriented. The faculty and students at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning seek to advance architectural discourse and knowledge at multiple levels of inquiry. They embrace intellectual inclusiveness and critical examinations of society, culture, ecology and technology, while pursuing questions related to architectural history, theory, and criticism, human experience, social justice, and environmental advocacy.

Ph.D. Faculty and Interests

Research Areas:

Currently willing to serve as a primary advisor and on doctoral committees. For more information and contact, visit Dr. Schermer’s faculty page. Associate Professor Whitney Moon, H/T Faculty Research Areas:

Currently willing to serve as a primary advisor and on doctoral committees. For more information and contact, visit Dr. Moon’s faculty page .

Currently willing to serve on doctoral committees (not as primary advisor). For more information and contact, visit Dr. Lucking’s faculty page .

Affiliated Faculty (SARUP):

Arijit Sen , UWM Department of History Anna Andrzejewski , UW-Madison Department of Art History

The School of Architecture offers the PhD in Architecture, designed to prepare individuals for university level teaching and professional research and for leadership positions in industry and professional architectural practice. Doctoral students must consult the Graduate School section for regulations and requirements pertaining to its degrees. Students should also consult the Academic Policies section for additional information.

Completion of degree requirements is assumed to take a minimum of three years of approved graduate study and research beyond the bachelor’s degree in a related field or a bachelor’s degree and related practical experience. For the PhD student without Advanced Standing, a minimum of 48 graduate units completed in residence on the University Park Campus in Los Angeles is required. Full-time study is represented by enrollment in six units during the semester. Usually, the school and the student’s qualifying exam committee insist on a clear and mutually understood commitment of time and energy by the student to ensure significant involvement in the doctoral learning experience.

Application and Admission

Admission to the PhD is granted by the Dean of the School of Architecture. However, only a letter from the Office of Graduate Admission constitutes an official offer of admission; correspondence with department chairs or individual faculty members does not constitute admission.

Priority consideration for PhD student funding will be given to those applicants who submit all application materials by December 1. The university will continue to accept and consider applications submitted after December 1. Those who wish to submit applications after the deadline should check with the School of Architecture. Applications for admission to the PhD program are made once each year for fall semester admission.

The admission decision is made using criteria which include verification that the applicant has a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, has maintained a high grade point average in the last 60 units of undergraduate work and has earned a competitive score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Other elements of the applicant’s educational and experiential background are also evaluated, including performance in other advanced degrees.

Each applicant should submit the following: (1) one copy of official transcripts of all previous college and university work (be sure that these official transcripts show an awarded degree where appropriate); (2) one copy of GRE scores; (3) copy of TOEFL or IELTS scores for international students whose first language is not English; (4) a 1000-word essay discussing the applicant’s background; reasons for wanting to pursue a doctoral degree; and identifying his or her personal, educational and professional goals; (5) an up-to-date resume, including academic and professional accomplishments; (6) three letters of recommendation, at least two from previous instructors, others from instructors or from professional supervisors or colleagues (the letters should indicate the applicant’s academic and professional accomplishments and potential); (7) a completed USC Graduate Admission Application, along with the nonrefundable application fee; and (8) samples of work such as a portfolio, publications, software programs, etc. The program is intended for people with considerable intellectual interests. Additional requirements for international students are listed under Admission of International Students.

Upon admission to the program, each student will be assigned a faculty adviser who will oversee his or her program.

Doctoral Admission with Advanced Standing

Students entering with a Master of Architecture degree or Master of Building Science degree (or their equivalent) from USC or another university may be admitted with Advanced Standing. A minimum of 36 units of course work beyond the first graduate degree, exclusive of 794 Doctoral Dissertation preparation, is required for doctoral degree students with a USC Master of Building Science degree admitted with Advanced Standing. For those students entering with a Master of Architecture degree or Master of Building Science degree (or their equivalent) from another university and admitted with Advanced Standing, a minimum of 40 units of course work beyond the first graduate degree is required. Additional course work may be required if deemed necessary by the student’s faculty. See Doctoral Admission with Advanced Standing in the The Graduate School    section.

Transfer Credits

The application of any available transfer credits toward a graduate degree at USC will be determined by the School of Architecture, based on the semester units available for transfer as shown in the Transfer Credit Statement. Work experience in architecture or closely related activities should be of benefit to the students involved, but will not be considered equivalent to academic education. A maximum of 6 units of transfer credit may be applied toward a doctoral degree for those admitted with Advanced Standing. Admission with Advanced Standing is based upon a completed master’s degree. The only course work available for transfer credit is course work taken after completion of that degree. No exceptions are allowed.

Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree or graduate course work in a field other than architecture work may receive up to 12 units of transfer credit toward the PhD

Deferral of Enrollment

Admission to the university is granted for a specified semester, and it is expected that students will begin their programs during that semester. The school will normally allow students to defer their enrollment up to one year from the admission semester. Students who wish to defer enrollment should notify the school in writing no more than 60 days before the beginning of the semester of admission or they may be required to reapply for admission. Please note that more stringent regulations apply to international students. See the Graduate Admission    section for further information.

Admission to Candidacy

Acceptance to graduate standing does not in itself imply that the student is admitted or will be admitted to candidacy for an advanced degree. Application for admission as a candidate for an advanced degree is a separate and subsequent step. See the The Graduate School    section for further information.

General Requirements for the PhD Degree

Screening procedures.

PhD students are required to pass a screening procedure before the student has taken more than 24 units (including research courses). Passing this procedure is prerequisite to continuation in the doctoral program. This is designed to ensure that only those students who have demonstrated intellectual and scholarly potential continue in the program. Students who fail the screening procedure will be advised that they have not been recommended to continue in the PhD program and that any additional work may not be counted toward the degree.

Prior to screening, each student prepares a résumé and a preliminary statement describing the fields of specialization. After passing the written screening examination, the student meets with the committee to discuss the proposal for course work, fields of specialization and research interests. The committee chair serves as the student’s principal adviser in preparing for the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Exam Committee

Each student selects a qualifying exam committee, which officially oversees the student’s academic program through the qualifying examination. The qualifying exam committee should be established at least one semester prior to taking the qualifying examination. This should be accomplished by the beginning of the second year, following successful screening. An appointment of committee form, which can be obtained from the Graduate School Website , should be used to establish the qualifying exam committee. Students initiate the paperwork and submit the signed form to the dean’s office.

Five committee members are designated to provide guidance in the field developed by the student. A minimum of three members, including at least one tenured member, must be from among the faculty participating in the PhD in Architecture degree program, and at least one member must be from outside the School of Architecture. This committee bears responsibility for recommending the student for admission to candidacy. After approval of the student’s program and time schedule, the program is submitted in writing to the doctoral director. Students will formalize their relationship with their committees through the development of a study plan which specifies all courses completed, date of screening decision, the area of concentration, and which courses will be taken and when, in order to prepare for the qualifying examination. This study plan will be signed by the student, the members of the qualifying exam committee and the faculty doctoral director. It will be filed in the doctoral office.

Qualifying Examination

Students must complete at least 24 units of course work in the doctoral program with a GPA of at least 3.0 before attempting the qualifying exam.

The qualifying exam committee prepares a comprehensive written examination covering the field of study. The exact format for the written portion is determined by each committee in advance. Answers to the questions in the written portion are graded by all committee members. Following completion of the written portion, the entire committee conducts an oral examination of the student, focusing on material both complementary and supplementary to the written examination but relevant to the field and overall program selected by the student. Upon passing both portions of the qualifying examination, the student becomes a candidate for the PhD degree.

The objective of the qualifying examination is to evaluate the student’s knowledge and to serve as an instrument to demonstrate competence in the student’s chosen field of concentration in preparation for candidacy. Qualifying examinations are scheduled once each year during August. The oral phase of the examination must be completed within 60 days following the written segment. Both parts of the examination must be passed in order to qualify. Failure on one of the two parts of the examination does not require retaking both parts. Only the part failed must be redone.

The examination will be collaboratively designed by the instructors of the core courses and oriented toward testing students’ ability to integrate material from these courses. A portion of this examination will focus on methodological issues. The written portion of the examination will be administered during a full-day session.

The process of grading examinations will be accomplished in two ways. For the written examination, the grading will be done by a committee comprising the core course instructors and the doctoral director. For the oral examination, grading will stay with the qualifying exam committee. Upon passing both the core and oral portions of the examination, the student will be expected to reduce the qualifying exam committee to a dissertation committee. See General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree   .

Dissertation Committee

Once students pass the qualifying examination, the qualifying exam committee recommends the student for candidacy and a dissertation topic is approved, a dissertation committee must be formed as soon as possible. The size may range from three to five members, one member of which must be from outside the school.

Dissertation Proposal

After the successful completion of the qualifying examination, the doctoral student will be required to present a complete research proposal for the dissertation. The proposal will be circulated for review and evaluation by the dissertation committee. This proposal should include the methodology, research design, literature review and instrumentation (if applicable). After this step has been completed, further work leading to the completion of the dissertation is authorized.

Defense of the Dissertation

Oral defense of the dissertation before the dissertation committee is usually made on a preliminary draft. After the dissertation committee has approved the dissertation in substance, the candidate must defend it before the committee and other interested doctoral program faculty and colleagues. Successful completion of the oral defense marks the ultimate step for the candidate within the School of Architecture. The candidate must be certain that the dissertation also meets specific university requirements before acceptance by the Graduate School. See the The Graduate School    section for further information.

All theses and dissertations submitted in fulfillment of requirements for graduate degrees must conform to university regulations with regard to format and method of preparation.

Unit Requirement and Time Limit

The PhD degree in Architecture requires a minimum of 72 units (including a minimum of 4 units of ARCH 794a   , ARCH 794b   , or ARCH 794z   ) of graduate level course work, and has a minimum residency requirement of three years. Students must maintain a 3.0 average GPA and complete all required course work within five years. The maximum time for the completion of all requirements for the doctoral degree is eight years.

A leave of absence can be granted upon approval of the guidance or dissertation committees. There is no automatic readmission if the student fails to maintain continuous registration or fails to meet academic standards.

Core Curriculum

Year 1: Basic and professional studies

Acquire at a minimum the knowledge that is characteristic of the master’s degree students or equivalent and define the research program.

Year 2: Advanced studies

Year 3: Research and dissertation

While a Master of Architecture or related degree is not a prerequisite for admission, those students entering the doctoral program without a master’s degree in architecture or related field will be required to complete a core curriculum.

Required Courses

• ARCH 419 Architectural Sustainability Tools and Methods Units: 3
• ARCH 513L Seminar: Advanced Structures Units: 4
• ARCH 515L Seminar: Advanced Environmental Systems Units: 4
• ARCH 519 Sustainability in the Environment: Infrastructures, Urban Landscapes, and Buildings Units: 3
• ARCH 611 Advanced Building Systems Integration Units: 4
• ARCH 613L Seminar: Structures Research Units: 4
• ARCH 615L Seminar: Environmental Systems Research Units: 4
• ARCH 790 Doctoral Research Units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
• ARCH 791 Proposal for Doctoral Dissertation Units: 1

A minimum of 4 units of:

• ARCH 794a Doctoral Dissertation Units: 2
• ARCH 794b Doctoral Dissertation Units: 2
• ARCH 794z Doctoral Dissertation Units: 0
• GRSC 850a The Professoriate: Preparing for the Future Units: 2
• GRSC 850b The Professoriate: Preparing for the Future Units: 2
• Electives Units: 17

• Architecture (Ph.D.)

Illinois Institute of Technology offers the only Ph.D. program in architecture in Chicago, a metropolis characterized by a dynamic architectural culture, supportive research institutions, and renowned firms.

• Academic Programs

Founded in 1996 as a laboratory for applied research and scholarship, the Ph.D. program attracts graduate students from around the world who converge on our landmark Mies-designed campus.

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program explore the historic and contemporary intersections among architecture, culture, and technology through two areas of specialization: Technologies of the Built Environment and History, Theory, and Criticism . Research topics are based on the expertise of our faculty and student interests. Possibilities include: building and urban energy use, environmental impacts of built environments, high-performance building skins, tall building design and performance, advanced structural systems, urban water systems, and histories and theories of architectural technology.

Direct admission into the Ph.D. program is preferred, but admission via the M.S. program is also an option. Funding opportunities are available in the form of teaching assistantships, and students can benefit from our relationships with large architecture and engineering firms based in Chicago.

Program Overview

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program explore the historic and contemporary intersections among architecture, culture, and technology through two areas of specialized research: History, Theory, and Criticism , and Technologies of the Built Environment .

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Ph.D. program in architecture typically pursue academic careers in universities, obtain positions in research institutions, or return to professional practice.

This 84-credit hour degree program consists of lecture and seminar courses, special problems, and research credits to help students complete their doctoral research projects. Each student has a committee with a chair that supervises this process.

View Details

The applicant should meet all entrance requirements of Illinois Institute of Technology's Graduate College, plus a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, a minimum revised GRE score of 144 in quantitative reasoning, 153 in verbal reasoning, and analytical writing of 4.0, and a TOEFL score of 577/90 (paper-based/internet-based test), or a minimum IELTS score of 6.

Program Specializations

History, Theory, and Criticism

Technologies of the Built Environment

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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

Program Details

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PhD in Architecture Admissions

An applicant to the doctoral program generally must hold a professional Master of Architecture degree (M.Arch.), Master of Science in Architecture (M.S.Arch.), or Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.) from an NAAB or LAAB -accredited U.S. university or the equivalent.  Students with graduate degrees in allied fields, such as engineering and art history, are also eligible.  Students holding a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) can apply through the Master of Science program at the College of Architecture.

The applicant should meet all entrance requirements of lIT's Graduate College, plus a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, a minimum revised GRE score of 144 in quantitative reasoning, 153 in verbal reasoning, and analytical writing of 4.0, and a TOEFL score of 577/90 (paper based/internet based test), or a minimum IELTS score of 6.

Admissions Requirements Below is a list of the materials you will need to submit for the PhD in Architecture program. The Admissions Committee will not review applications until all of the required materials have been received.  

Online application $100 non-refundable application fee Original official transcripts Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores 2 letters of recommendation Portfolio - electronic copy only Sample of Academic Writing Statement of Purpose (Professional Statement) Curriculum Vitae English Proficiency Requirement (International students only) PhD Guidelines

Applications for Fall 2021 admission to the PhD in Architecture program are due by December 31, 2020. You are strongly encouraged to contact the Director of the PhD program, Professor Michelangelo Sabatino at msabatin @iit.edu , regarding your interest in candidacy.

For more information, please visit our  Graduate Admissions page.

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PhD in Architecture: Course Details, Eligibility, Admission, Fees

Updated on - Jan 4, 2023

PhD in Architecture is a three year doctorate program that deals with the research degree and collection, interpretation, and presentation of bibliographic resources and other databases, and specific computer skills. This PhD in Architecture course graduate can get many job roles such as Architectural Engineer, Architecture Designer, Architecture Draftsman Architectural Historian, Art Director, Building Contractor & Researcher, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, etc.

Table of Contents

About phd in architecture, who should pursue a phd in architecture course, when to do a phd in architecture course, how to get admission for phd in architecture, types of phd in architecture courses, popular entrance exams for phd in architecture, top phd in architecture colleges in india, study phd in architecture in abroad, fee structure for phd in architecture, syllabus and subjects for phd in architecture, why choose phd in architecture course, phd in architecture course comparison, preparation tips for phd in architecture course, salary of a phd in architecture graduates, career options after phd in architecture, skills that make you the best phd in architecture graduates, phd in architecture course details.

PhD in Architecture is a three years doctorate degree which is created in such a way that the learners get to know a deep understanding of their chosen topics. Over the past few years, the scope of pursuing PhD courses in India has increased manifolds. 

Many universities are in front of admission in this course. This program is a research degree offering the opportunity for independent research under the supervision of a departmental member of staff. Unless the student becomes a member of a research group, the research is undertaken entirely by the candidate on their own, with regular supervision of progress with their supervisor. 

Eligibility Criteria for PhD in Architecture

As all the students know how useful a PhD in Architecture course is, that’s why it’s quite difficult to get admitted into their respective interested universities. Those students who want to take enrollment in this doctorate program have to qualify for the eligibility criteria i.e one should have a minimum mark of 55% in both B.Arch and M.Arch examinations. 

There are few PhD Agricultural entrance exams that have cutoffs to qualify. There is no age limit for the students for taking admission to this course.

A PhD in Architecture is a three years doctorate program that makes a student’s career in the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors. When it comes to your career graph. A PhD in Architecture degree gives a variety of job opportunities to the graduates.

One of the most sought-after jobs for a PhD in Architecture degree holder is of a lecturer or a professor in a university or a researcher in most fields. 

Along with this, a PhD in Architecture degree holder can get a job in Landscape architecture, Park planning/capital planning, Specifications/contract administration, Site inspection, Field survey crew, Administration etc. 

Candidates will have in-depth knowledge and develop mastery over the subjects they have chosen for specialization, which will be extremely useful for them in their careers. Those learners who are interested in these specializations should pursue this course.

Aspirants are eligible to pursue a PhD in Architecture course only if they have completed their master's degree in a similar course/ field/ stream in which they want to pursue a PhD in Architecture. Some colleges also specify that candidates need to have completed an MPhil to pursue a PhD in Architecture course offered by them.

Admission to the PhD in Architecture course is not impossible if the students ensure that they research the details well. The universities follow the process of entrance-based admissions. The admission process with respect to admission through exams varies from college to college. 

Online and offline both facilities are available to the students for enrollment. The students are guided to check the college website to get detailed information.

How to Apply?

There are two ways to apply for admission in the PhD in Architecture course. Either online by visiting the college website and following the steps given there or offline by visiting the university's office. There are certain colleges that take interviews for checking the knowledge and communication skills of the candidates.

Selection Process

The selection process of the candidates for getting admission in the respective PhD in Architecture course ends an interview. The students who have cracked the entrance exams with good marks can give interviews for the further joining process. The last step of the admission procedure decides whether the student is eligible to take admission or not.

A PhD in Architecture is a research-based doctorate program and that's the reason this course can be done in any of three modes i.e full-time, part-time, and distance learning mode. Aspirants can pursue the PhD in Architecture course at many top universities. 

Full-Time PhD in Architecture

A full-time PhD in Architecture program duration is three years that is provided by many top respected colleges or universities. This full-time course is all about classroom-based studying, research projects, and assignments. There are no limitations on the age for taking admissions.

Part-Time PhD in Architecture

A part-time PhD Agricultural program is for 5 years. This course is basically created for students who are working somewhere or are professionals. A part-time mode is all about having limited classes. 

Part-time PhD is mainly focused on research for the development of the company rather than individual research work.

Distance PhD in Architecture

A distance PhD in Architecture in India program is quite easy for getting knowledge at any time from anywhere. Many people believe in pursuing this course because of no issue of being physically present at the universities. 

The objective behind the creation of this distance learning program is to provide the degree along with the knowledge while working.

Various institutes and testing agencies conduct PhD in Architecture entrance exams for admissions in PhD in Architecture and Technology. The following are some of these entrance examinations:

A Quick Glance at the PhD in Architecture Entrance Exams

Students can access the PhD in Architecture course details by going to the college's official website to which they are interested in applying. The specialization plays a vital role in the college's approach to the entrance exam. Below listed are some of the general guidelines of the PhD in Architecture entrance examinations: 

• The exam pattern includes common topics from 10+2, graduation and postgraduation level i.e. technology, life sciences, mathematics, sciences, and general aptitude.
• The papers are objective and MCQ-based.
• The syllabus, mode of examination, and question pattern may change according to a university/conducting body.

India is home to some of the PhD in Architecture colleges in the world. Aspirants have many options to choose from in terms of the best PhD in Architecture course as per their preferences. Depending on the type of PhD in Architecture programs offered, candidates will have to make the appropriate choice.

Below is the list of the top best PhD in Architecture colleges in the country:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in New Delhi

Delhi, the educational hub of India, stands in the fourth position in producing PhD in Architecture candidates. Here are the top 5 PhD in Architecture Colleges in New Delhi:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Mumbai

Below is the list of colleges which are the top PhD in Architecture colleges in Mumbai:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Pune

Below are the list of colleges which are the top colleges of PhD in Architecture in Pune:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Chennai

Top 5 PhD in Architecture Colleges in Chennai are given below:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Bangalore

Banglore city has some of the best colleges for PhD in Architecture courses in India. Here is the list of top colleges for PhD in Architecture in Bangalore:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Kolkata

Check the Table below for the top colleges in Kolkata:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Hyderabad

The Telangana state capital has some premier institutions in the country for PhD in Architecture courses in India. Check the table below for the top PhD in Architecture colleges in Hyderabad:

Top PhD in Architecture Government Colleges

There are several top Government Colleges offering quality PhD in Architecture programmes across the country. Check the table below for the top PhD in Architecture government colleges in India:

Top PhD in Architecture Private Colleges

India has seen significant growth in the number of quality PhD in Architecture private colleges that offer some of the best programmes in the country. Check the table below for the top PhD in Architecture private colleges in India:

Students can opt to study a PhD in Architecture course abroad if they can afford it. The PhD in Architecture course abroad is up to 5-8 years, depending on the type of course, college and country. 

The benefits of studying a PhD in Architecture course abroad are access to some of the best resources, facilities, and faculties, apart from worldwide exposure in terms of subject matter and other cultures. 

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges Abroad

The table below contains the list of some of the best colleges abroad for PhD in Architecture:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in USA

The USA is home to some of the best universities and colleges offering top-notch PhD in Architecture programmes in the world. The US is the best country for PhD in Architecture studies and settling abroad.

It's a PhD in Architecture-level that the USA really shines through. The table below contains the list of top colleges of PhD in Architecture in the USA:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in the UK

A PhD in Architecture is a research degree and is the highest award available at universities in the UK. The study is based on a substantial research project on an area of academic interest, typically up to 100,000 words in length, written as a thesis which then must be defended in an oral examination in front of a panel of experts.

The table below contains the list of top colleges of PhD in Architecture in the Uk:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Canada

An increasingly attractive and multicultural study destination, Canada is a great option to consider for your PhD in Architecture studies, offering a wealth of research opportunities to help you expand your expertise. Here are the top universities for PhD in Architecture in Canada:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Australia

A PhD in Architecture in Australia means that you will develop your knowledge and skills, which ultimately increases your chances for employment within Australia and in any country. According to the UN's Education Index, Australia's education system ranks first. The table below shows the top universities for PhD in Architecture in Australia:

Top PhD in Architecture Colleges in Germany

It is much easier to get a PhD in Architecture in at a European university, which takes about 3-4 years in a good university in Europe. The PhD in Architecture from Germany in engineering enjoys an outstanding reputation. Germany's research institutions, universities and companies welcome international researchers and offer excellent opportunities for doctoral students.

The table below shows the top universities in Germany colleges of PhD in Architecture:

The fee structure for PhD in Architecture varies for different Universities. Also, the fee structure varies following the course and University. Students can download the admission brochure as well as the course curriculum to get the details of PhD in Architecture admission and fee structure. 

The average PhD in Architecture fee in India is INR 55,000 - 2 LPA. Now, read below to know about the fee structure of different universities.

PhD in Architecture is a doctorate course in Agriculture. The course may have a duration of 2 years and it is a full-time course. It is a research-based course. In the PhD in Architecture duration, the candidates get to learn the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data. 

This course mainly covers areas like Math and Statistics, etc. The students come to know about the fundamentals of agriculture and crop production. Though the actual course offerings might differ from one university to another, here is a list of major subjects which are commonly studied under a PhD in Architecture:

• Research Methodology in Architecture.
• Environment and Architecture
• Sustainable Architecture
• Waste Management Methodologies
• Basics of Project Management
• Building Code of Architecture
• Project Thesis
• Research/Dissertation

Read More: PhD in Architecture Subjects and syllabus

When students decide to pursue the PhD in Architecture qualification, they should research PhD in Architecture course details to ensure that they know the course they are enrolled in. Some of the common queries that students encounter are, "What is PhD in Architecture" and "Why PhD in Architecture?". To understand the answer to these questions, we can make it simpler by breaking it down into the following three short questions:

What is PhD in Architecture All About?

A PhD in Architecture or Doctor of Philosophy is a doctoral research degree and is normally the highest level of academic qualification one can achieve. A PhD in Architecture degree holder can get a job an Architectural Engineer, Architecture Designer, Architecture Draftsman Architectural Historian, Art Director, Building Contractor & Researcher, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, and many more. The course has a specialization that deals with architectural research. The Students need to check the PhD in Architecture course outline perfectly.

Why PhD in Architecture Graduates Do?

Students can select the subjects of their choice depending on their interest in job prospects available in the specific field. Since graduates with a PhD in Architecture degree possess skills in various subjects, there are career opportunities available in multiple fields for them. 

In addition, there are many responsibilities that graduates of this role have to undertake, which makes the role very dynamic and diverse.

Design Architect: One of the popular roles undertaken by graduates of the PhD in Architecture course is Design Architect. They perform jobs like talking to the customers, making and altering drafts structures and observing ventures' progress.

Reasons Why PhD in Architecture Can Fetch You a Rewarding Career?

PhD in Architecture courses are a very reflective and exciting stream of education. Students can gauge the intrinsic worth of a PhD in Architecture course because it offers more avenues of employment opportunities than any other stream. Thus, the PhD in Architecture job scope is forever widening and appealing.

Diversity in Job roles: There is a diverse range of job roles available for the graduates of this course. Since the specializations available to the students are very flexible, it enables the students to pursue a wide range of roles in their careers.

Read More: PhD in Architecture Jobs and Scope

PhD in Architecture stands for Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics and is typically catered to students interested in and inclined towards research-based degrees and professional architecture. Here is a course comparison of PhD in Architecture with another course:

PhD in Architecture vs PhD Agronomy

There are many tips that students must note when deciding to pursue a PhD in Architecture degree. Some important preparation tips are listed below to ensure that the students crack the course and pass the exams without any hurdles. 

Improve Vocabulary: Improving vocabulary is very necessary as the PhD in Architecture course deals with many writing and reading activities. So having excellent communication and writing skills are a plus for the student studying the PhD in Architecture course.

Read and Practice More: Being up to date with the syllabus every day is very important. Practising and reading more will help the student be thorough with the syllabus and do well in the exams.

Have Intrinsic Knowledge and Interest in Subjects: Having intrinsic knowledge about the subject and having the same interest will keep the student motivated to learn more than what's in the syllabus.

Revise Methodically: Revising from time to time can be a key to scoring well in the final exam. Keep revising regularly and understand the subject properly. Revision is the key to scoring good marks.

The salary depends on the kind of job you get/you choose to do, what your PhD in Architecture research area is and where you are employed.No prior experience is required to be a PhD in Architecture Student. The average Salary of a PhD in Architecture graduate starts from INR 0.3 - INR 12 LPA (Source: Payscale), depending on the stream you belong from.

Read More: PhD in Architecture Salary

A PhD in Architecture degree is pursued by a majority of students because it offers better career options, for example, in the field of academics and research. PhD in Architecture in itself is a broad term, it has many specializations that have different career options and jobs. PhD in Architecture Jobs include:

• Architectural Engineer
• Architecture Designer
• Architecture Draftsman Architectural Historian
• Art Director
• Building Contractor & Researcher
• Interior Designer
• Landscape Architect

For studying a course like PhD in Architecture, there are so many skills that a student needs to have. The skills help the students to get well-maintained dignity, respect, and so much attention. So, that’s why the students need to put their efforts to come out of their comfort zones and earn respect as much as possible. Some of these skills include:

• Design Skills
• Abstraction
• Construction Administration
• Construction Documents
• Critical Thinking
• Restoration
• Residential Construction
• Building Contracts
• Database Management

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Toronto Is The Laboratory: TMU Launches 'Revolutionary' PhD In Architecture

Toronto metropolitan university (tmu) is taking what it calls a “revolutionary” approach to architecture, announcing a new, forward-thinking phd program at its department of architectural science..

April 08, 2024

Calling all aspiring architects! Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is taking what it calls a “revolutionary” approach to architecture, announcing a new, forward-thinking PhD program at its Department of Architectural Science. What makes it so special, according to the downtown Toronto university, is that it’s the only PhD in Canada that truly centres the design process as a form of research, joining other institutions like Harvard University and University College London. This means that research happens through design as a multifaceted mode of discovery; the architectural design processes will serve as both the subject and method of research itself. So, as opposed to a textbook style of learning, the City of Toronto will essentially act as a laboratory for students, with the program designed around active scholarship and public engagement.

“The program engages questions of how architectural knowledge is produced and mobilized for positive societal change,” says Professor Lisa Landrum, chair of TMU’s Department of Architectural Science. “It treats design as not just a task of problem-solving, but an open-ended process of discovery – finding out what is possible, desirable, and best. Architects can’t just apply received wisdom to produce a good result, or problem-solve through data analysis.”

As a creative and collaborative process, Landrum says architectural design is not a straight-forward, linear procedure. “We’re always dealing with particular situations and dynamically complex circumstances involving cultural diversity, local history, technological change, ecological precarity, economic limits, socio-political challenges, and happy accidents,” says Landrum. This is especially true in a vibrant and multifaceted city like Toronto.

“Researching how design navigates this complex diversity is central to the program,” says Landrum. “The program gives students space to ask open questions like, ‘How can we invent new ways of visualizing and communicating complexity to help communities discover the best design strategies and solutions?,’ ‘How can architecture be reimagined as an embodiment of cultural knowledge?,’ and, ‘How can we build thriving communities, while advancing our understanding about what helps people thrive?’”

When it comes to Toronto, how the program will utilize the city, says Landrum, will depend on the unique questions and curiosities that students bring to the program, and on opportunities that may arise.

“Essentially, we aim to use the city as our classroom, using public forums and interactive exhibitions as devices of research experimentation and dissemination,” says Landrum. “Some research happens in isolated labs and specialized archives. Architecture operates in the public realm. TMU is one of Canada’s most urban-integrated campuses. We want to use that to our advantage. We aim to make architectural research accessible and meaningful to everyone by engaging people in the research. Hopefully, this will empower people to participate in the development and design processes affecting their own communities.”

PhD students will investigate a wide range of topics and techniques, from drawing and modeling, to interactive installations and prototypes, to embodied and enactive performances.

Shaking up Toronto’s architecture and design industry, the program will generate new forms of collaboration between architectural researchers, designers and diverse partners in industry, arts, government, and community, says Landrum. “Outcomes of this program will not only sit on library shelves as eloquent theses, but be mobilized through public exhibitions, community events, open displays, and civic programming,” says Landrum. “We will engage architecture as a form of agency and advocacy for public good and cultural meaning.”

The ideal candidates for the program are curious, experimental individuals who are committed to rigorous inquiry and transforming the architectural profession for the good, said Landrum. "This doctoral program will become an invigorating force for the discipline and a forum for reimagining what's possible in architecture."

The Department of Architectural Science will welcome its inaugural cohort of PhD students in fall 2024. In the meantime, TMU's programming isn't the only thing expanding; the school is currently working on plans to add a glossy new Student Wellbeing Centre to its real estate and purchased two downtown Toronto sites for campus expansion last June.

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Plans to bring luxury townhomes to the heart of st. clair west have forcibly come to a stand-still thanks to power of sale listing that went live last week., “cumbersome”: toronto’s vacant home tax mishap draws criticism over declaration process, as of friday, toronto has backtracked on approximately 61,000 vacant home tax bills, and the city says it’s too soon to say exactly what went wrong., ontario will amend building code to allow mass timber buildings up to 18 storeys, currently, encapsulated mass timber buildings are permitted to be up to 12 storeys tall, something the province intends to amend in the provincial building code., meet the agent: eugenia evans, evans real estate, it's time to say "hello" to real estate agent eugenia evans of evans real estate who focuses on the west end of toronto, oakville, burlington, and hamilton., new phase of mississauga master-plan offers unmatched value, ​located right on the hurontario lrt, condo living in mississauga doesn't get better than what's offered at canopy towers 2 — the second phase of liberty development's canopy towers master-planned community., province awards $37.5m to ottawa for reaching 93% of housing target, the building faster fund cheque awarded on friday to ottawa is the second-highest to date., feds announce $600m towards housing prefabrication, homebuilding innovation, friday's announcement included a homebuilding technology and innovation fund and $500m for the apartment construction loan program specifically for prefabricated and modular housing., toronto waterfront park to get interactive 'destination' art piece, sherbourne common waterfront park will soon see a large-scale, conversation-provoking piece of art arrive., under receivership, vandyk’s grand central mimico hits the market, jones lang lasalle real estate services is also handling the sale of vandyk’s king's mill site at 15 neighbourhood lane, which hit the market last week., 2024 © storeys publishing inc. | all rights reserved.

U.S. News Releases 2024 Best Graduate Programs Rankings

Find the top-ranked graduate schools in business, education, law, nursing and other fields.

U.S. News Ranks Best Graduate Schools

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To help prospective graduate students find a school that fits their needs, U.S. News released the 2024 rankings for multiple graduate fields.

Depending on the job or field, earning a graduate degree may lead to higher earnings, career advancement and specialized skill development.

But with several types of degrees and hundreds of graduate schools, it can be difficult to narrow down the options. To help prospective graduate students find a school that fits their needs, U.S. News released its 2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings today. They evaluate business, education, fine arts, health, law, library studies, nursing, public affairs, science, and social sciences and humanities graduate programs. Medical school and engineering rankings are not being released at this time.

A notable methodology change includes a new salary indicator based on profession in the business rankings.

Additionally, for the first time in four years, there are new rankings for a blend of doctoral and master's programs in audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, nurse midwifery and speech-language pathology. Graduate programs in nurse anesthesia and social work are also ranked for the first time since 2016 and 2022, respectively. Those and other specialty rankings are based on reputation ratings from scholars at other surveyed schools.

Read each program's specific methodology for the most detailed explanations of all the changes. The rankings are one source of information among many that prospective college students can use to inform their college decision. Below is a summary of the top-ranked schools in four major graduate program areas:

Best Law Schools

Best business schools, best nursing schools, best education schools.

Among the top 10 law schools . Yale Law School in Connecticut and California-based  Stanford Law School shared the top spot again. The  University of Chicago Law School in Illinois maintained its No. 3 rank, followed by a four-way tie at No. 4: Duke University School of Law in North Carolina, Harvard Law School in Massachusetts, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law .

Columbia Law School in New York ranked No. 8 again, while there was a three-way tie for No. 9: New York University School of Law , Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law in Illinois and the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Law School .

Looking beyond the top 10, multiple law schools moved up in the rankings. William & Mary Law School in Virginia, for instance, jumped nine spots from a tie at No. 45 to a five-way tie at No. 36.

U.S. News also ranked 13 law specialties: business/corporate, clinical training, constitutional, contracts/commercial, criminal, dispute resolution, environmental, health care, intellectual property, international, legal writing, tax and trial advocacy. (You can filter by specialty on the  main ranking page .)

Meanwhile, in the  part-time law school rankings – which consists of law schools with at least 20 part-time students enrolled in fall 2022 and fall 2023 – the top three stayed the same. The  Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., is once again at the top while D.C.-based  George Washington University Law School , now No. 3, switched places with the  Fordham University School of Law in New York City, which claimed second place.

Previously ranked at No. 3 and No. 6 respectively, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Stanford Graduate School of Business took the top spot in this year's full-time MBA program rankings . Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business moved down from their previous places in the top two to tie at No. 3.

While the top 10 mostly consists of the same schools as last year, both the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business joined those ranks this year. UC Berkeley rose from a three-way tie at No. 11 to a three-way tie at No. 7, while UVA moved up four spots from No. 14 to a tie at No. 10.

Farther down the full-time MBA rankings, there were some big changes. For example, Pitt's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business soared 39 spots from a tie at No. 86 to a tie at No. 47.

Meanwhile, the very top of the part-time MBA rankings looks similar to last year, with the same schools in the top 5: UChicago, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, NYU's Leonard N. Stern School of Business and the Anderson School of Management at the University of California—Los Angeles. But UChicago took the No. 1 spot from UC Berkeley this year.

Moving up from No. 2, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Maryland tied with Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Georgia to claim the top spot in this year's nursing master's program rankings. Duke University School of Nursing in North Carolina climbed up by one to claim the third spot.

Johns Hopkins ranked No. 1, as it did last year, in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program rankings. George Mason University School of Nursing in Virginia – which reported more graduates and resources per faculty – soared from a four-way tie at No. 39 to take the No. 2 spot. Duke tied with the University of Washington School of Nursing to round out the top three.

Duke also ranked No. 1 in all of the ranked nursing master's nursing practice specialties, including administration, family, both acute and primary care adult gerontology, and mental health.

Once again, Teachers College, Columbia University in New York was No. 1 in the graduate education schools rankings. This year, however, it tied with the University of Wisconsin—Madison School of Education , which climbed two spots.

The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor's School of Education dropped from the top position to tie with the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies at No. 3. UCLA was previously tied at No. 7.

U.S. News also ranks nine education specialties, with the College of Education at Michigan State University claiming the top spot in the following categories: curriculum and instruction, educational administration, elementary teacher education, higher education administration and secondary teacher education.

Searching for a grad school of education? Access our  complete rankings  of Best Graduate Schools.

Grad Degree Jobs With $100K+ Salaries

Tags: students , graduate schools , medical school , business school , law school , education graduate school , engineering graduate school , MBAs , nursing programs

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Is a Doctorate Degree Worth It?

Know before you read At SNHU, we want to make sure you have the information you need to make decisions about your education and your future—no matter where you choose to go to school. That's why our informational articles may reference careers for which we do not offer academic programs, along with salary data for those careers. Cited projections do not guarantee actual salary or job growth.

Earning a doctorate takes time, money and discipline. Like many things worth doing, the process is challenging but also rewarding. Becoming an expert in your subject area and immersing yourself in your chosen area of study makes the process of earning a doctorate important to many people. Certain professions require or value a doctorate for promotion potential.

In fact, career advancement, love of the subject matter and personal satisfaction are three of the top reasons why Dr. Bridgitte Kiprop '23 , Dr. Jennifer Barry ’23 and Dr. Torialyn Draper Crook earned their doctorates.

• For Kiprop '23, part of her motivation for earning a doctorate in International Business was setting an example for her six children.
• For Barry, ’23, who earned a doctor of education degree in educational leadership, part of her motivation was to prepare for success in meeting her long-term career goal to become a university president.
• And for Crook, earning her doctorate in education was a commitment that she undertook to honor her family’s legacy of valuing education.

How Difficult is Earning a Doctorate?

For Kiprop, time management was her key to success. With six children, she had to make the most of any time in the day that she could find. “If I had … five minutes, I would use the five minutes,” she said. “Other times, I was luckier (and had) two hours.”

Despite the time-management  challenges of earning an advanced degree while raising her family, Kiprop feels that the process of earning that degree was a way to inspire her children to work hard to meet their own goals.

“I really hope that my children will ... know that whatever it is they feel called to do, whatever their ambitions, their goals are achievable,” she said.

To manage the challenge of advanced studies, having the right people around you as you work on your degree is essential, according to Crook. “Surround yourself with family, friends, colleagues and mentors who can provide encouragement during challenging times,” she said.

Crook stresses that everyone’s journey to earning their doctorate is unique. She recommends being prepared for the unexpected, and remaining flexible in adjusting your path as you work toward completing your degree.

How Long Does a Doctorate Take?

Students may have family commitments, health challenges or need to work full or part-time while attending school . Many students face all of these circumstances. Crook managed to complete her doctorate in 5 years, though it wasn't easy for her. She faced a significant personal health challenge and was raising two children while also attending school.

For Barry, earning her doctoral degree is part of an educational path that started with her bachelor’s degree at SNHU (formerly New Hampshire College) in 2000. She then continued her education to earn a master's degree throughout several jobs and geographic moves.

Barry views her entire educational journey as part of the process that led to meeting her ultimate goal of earning a doctorate.

What Skills Are Needed to Earn a Doctorate?

While every academic program is different, Crook finds certain skills and competencies necessary for success, regardless of field. These skills include:

• Building relationships
• Organizational skills
• Self-motivation
• Writing skills

Crook finds building relationships particularly important. While working on her degree, the strong relationship that she developed with her dissertation chairperson proved essential. She also built positive relationships with other doctoral students, which led to a strong peer support network throughout her program.

Kiprop echoes the importance of building relationships in her field as well. For her, building new relationships is a way to open your mind to new experiences and opportunities.

Find Your Program

What types of jobs can you get with a doctorate.

While a doctorate is helpful for working in leadership roles at colleges and universities, there are many opportunities for doctoral degree holders to work at the highest levels in their profession outside of higher education as well.

Some of the top professions that require a doctoral or professional degree and have a faster-than-average predicted growth rate, according to the BLS, are:

• Astronomers* (SNHU does not currently offer graduate degrees in astronomy or physics)
• Biochemists and biophysicists* (SNHU does not currently offer graduate degrees in biochemistry or biophysics)
• Clinical and counseling psychologists* (SNHU does not currently offer doctorates in psychology, but you could start with a bachelor's in psychology , followed by a master's in psychology )
• Higher education teachers and professors — particularly business, computer science and engineering teachers*

Two more examples of areas where a doctorate can help prepare you for advancement in your career are educational leadership and international business.

A doctorate in educational leadership can be a Doctor of Philosophy degree, known as a PhD, or a Doctor of Education degree, known as an EdD. The PhD in Education Leadership  typically leads to higher education roles in teaching and research. The EdD in Educational Leadership , which Barry earned, typically leads to leadership and strategy roles in an education setting that may be at the higher education or secondary school level.

A PhD in International Business  may include addressing a gap in an existing body of knowledge by conducting research. Kiprop, who earned her doctorate at SNHU, plans to use her degree to research entrepreneurship in small business finance.

Motivated by being from a developing country — Kenya — she has a personal interest in helping grow small businesses in similar developing areas. “I can also use that same knowledge at the New Hampshire level because the issues there perhaps are different but still … relevant,” she said.

Regardless of your program field, the process of earning a doctorate can help you explore ways of applying your newfound and existing knowledge that you may not have considered prior to starting your program.

Is it Better to Have a Master’s or Doctorate?

Both a master’s degree  and a doctorate offer opportunities for career advancement. Choosing which to earn, or whether to earn both, is a highly personal decision based on your personal and professional goals and aspirations, according to Crook.

Before deciding which degree is right for you, consider your goals. Speaking with a career counselor  or graduate admissions counselor to learn about career options and pathways toward earning the degree can be a helpful step toward making this decision.

In many fields, a master’s degree is enough  to move forward in your career. But, earning a doctorate is an opportunity to take your career a step further, according to Crook. That step “gives one the opportunity to direct their career trajectory specifically through research and other specialized skills and knowledge,” she said.

How Valuable is a Doctorate?

A doctorate isn’t for everyone, but it can be right for you depending on your chosen field and career path.

For many people, earning a doctorate is just as important as a personal accomplishment as it is a professional one. “I (always) understood the significance of progressing in my career and staying connected to my field of higher education,” Crook said. “My doctoral journey was worthwhile as it aligned with my career goals  and personal aspirations,” she said.

For Barry, the doctorate was worth it because she believes strongly in the power of education . “You see how (education) transforms people’s lives and … gives people opportunities that they didn’t see before,” she said.

She has seen many people earn degrees only for their family members to then continue in their footsteps. “I just think that generationally, (education) is creating pathways for people,” she said.

Deciding whether to pursue a doctorate is ultimately a very personal decision, but one that can lead you to build new relationships and a new knowledge base while helping you reach or exceed your career goals.

A degree can change your life. Find the SNHU doctorate degree  that can best help you meet your goals.

*Cited job growth projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth. Actual salaries and/or earning potential may be the result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to: years of experience, industry of employment, geographic location, and worker skill. 

A former higher education administrator, Dr. Marie Morganelli  is a career educator and writer. She has taught and tutored composition, literature, and writing at all levels from middle school through graduate school. With two graduate degrees in English language and literature, her focus — whether teaching or writing — is in helping to raise the voices of others through the power of storytelling. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

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About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.