Architectural History

Mosaic ceiling at Sutton Hall, UT Austin
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
HOW TO APPLY

The Architectural History Program at The University of Texas at Austin provides students with an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the social, cultural, and technological forces that shape the built environment. The purpose of our program is to train future scholars to produce writings in architectural history, theory, and criticism that analyze the culture of the built environment as a whole.

The focus of our program is histories of architecture in the Americas from the late eighteenth century to the present, with additional strengths in European modernism and landscape history. Our faculty is engaged in historical work that examines the racial, gendered, and nationalist rhetoric introduced by the colonization of the Americas—a phenomenon that propelled the dissemination and canonization of transatlantic theories of design within the architectural disciplines. This work recovers the distinct artistic traditions that have made the United States, Central America, and South America unique fields of cultural production.

This approach to architectural history also expands the range of figures typically considered in historical surveys by broadening the definition of authorship in the built environment, attending to themes such as build craft, labor, and capitalism. We are especially interested in fostering research that recovers the historical contributions of underrecognized women and people of color, including the role of African Americans in the United States.

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs are founded on rigorous training while offering students the flexibility to develop their own ideas and explore new fields and methodologies through independent study, academic and professional publication, and travel. Although we are committed to sound historical research, our work takes us beyond the traditional boundaries and archival sources of the discipline to investigate new perspectives, such as cultural landscapes and material culture, that arise from theoretical methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches and that can have an impact beyond our professional boundaries.

architectural history

DEGREES + PROGRAMS

The Architectural History Program at the University of Texas as Austin offers one graduate-level degree program, a doctoral-level degree, and a minor at the undergraduate level.  

GRADUATE PH.D. UNDERGRADUATE MINOR

Master of Arts in Architectural History

Ph.D. in Architectural History

Architectural History Minor

  • Instagram Post
    “540 Howard St.” by Jamie Treadwell for Lisa Iwamoto’s and Craig Scott’s (@cs_sf) Advanced Studio // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner<br>
    @utsoa

    “540 Howard St.” by Jamie Treadwell for Lisa Iwamoto’s and Craig Scott’s (@cs_sf) Advanced Studio // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner

  • Instagram Post
    Students in @juanasalcedoo’s advanced studio “Caring Cities / Hybrid Infrastructures” recently returned from Bogotá, Colombia.
    @utsoa

    Students in @juanasalcedoo’s advanced studio “Caring Cities / Hybrid Infrastructures” recently returned from Bogotá, Colombia.

  • Instagram Post
    We caught up with Assistant Professor of Practice @juanasalcedoo about her exhibition “Jaguar Lens” ahead of @UT_LLILAS’ Urban Entanglements Conference, which kicks off this evening and continues through March 28. <br>
    @utsoa

    We caught up with Assistant Professor of Practice @juanasalcedoo about her exhibition “Jaguar Lens” ahead of @UT_LLILAS’ Urban Entanglements Conference, which kicks off this evening and continues through March 28.

  • Instagram Post
    Tune in tomorrow for a special Career Services Instagram Takeover! <br>
    @utsoa

    Tune in tomorrow for a special Career Services Instagram Takeover!

  • Instagram Post
    Associate Professor Aleksandra Jaeschke’s recent scholarship explores and questions the validity of the frameworks used in architecture, emphasizing the importance of integrating knowledge from other domains, expanding system boundaries, and embracing non-Western perspectives.<br>
    @utsoa

    Associate Professor Aleksandra Jaeschke’s recent scholarship explores and questions the validity of the frameworks used in architecture, emphasizing the importance of integrating knowledge from other domains, expanding system boundaries, and embracing non-Western perspectives.

  • Instagram Post
    “Blade Runner Cambridge Tower” by Fatemeh Shahvazian @rahash9419 for Ria Bravo’s (@riabravodesign) Interior Design Core Studio II // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner<br>
    @utsoa

    “Blade Runner Cambridge Tower” by Fatemeh Shahvazian @rahash9419 for Ria Bravo’s (@riabravodesign) Interior Design Core Studio II // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner

  • Instagram Post
    Meet Michael Moynihan, our 2024-2026 Land, Space and Identity in the Americas Fellow.<br>
    @utsoa

    Meet Michael Moynihan, our 2024-2026 Land, Space and Identity in the Americas Fellow.

  • Instagram Post
    Associate Professor @danellebriscoe’s “Material InFORMation: Design Through Fabrication” seminar recently wrapped up a Terra Cotta 3D printing workshop with the roboticist and educator Dr. @saracodarin, who visited UTSOA from the @lawrencetechuniversity Department of Architecture. <br>
    @utsoa

    Associate Professor @danellebriscoe’s “Material InFORMation: Design Through Fabrication” seminar recently wrapped up a Terra Cotta 3D printing workshop with the roboticist and educator Dr. @saracodarin, who visited UTSOA from the @lawrencetechuniversity Department of Architecture.

  • Instagram Post
    On April 3-4, the school will convene “Landscape First: Unearthing the Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions.”<br>
    @utsoa

    On April 3-4, the school will convene “Landscape First: Unearthing the Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions.”