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 |
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The 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial (@bapidf) invited Associate Professors Nerea Feliz (@feliz_nerea) and Clay Odom (@studiomodo) to lead their students in exploring how vernacular strategies from warmer climates—such as the southern U.S.—might inform climate-adaptive design ap
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Instagram Post@utsoaWe’re thrilled to share that visiting faculty Cory Henry (@ateliercoryhenry) has been awarded the 2025-26 #RomePrize in Architecture by the @amacademyrome for his project, “Borders of Belonging: Rome’s Public Spaces as Arenas of Democracy and Dissent.”
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Interior Design undergrad Valerie Balderas is one of two students from a university-wide competition selected to reimagine the Cactus Yearbook bookshelf for the Office of the Dean of Students.
Instagram Post@utsoaCongratulations to @phoebelickwar’s @forgelandscape and Michael Averitt’s @_delineator for receiving 2025 Merit Awards from @texasasla!
Instagram Post@utsoaThe Tren Maya is a monumental new passenger rail system traversing nearly a thousand miles of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
Instagram Post@utsoaFaculty making headlines at the 2025 @AIAAustin Design Awards!
Instagram Post@utsoaIn Associate Professor @nicholewiedemann ’s advanced studio “FUTURING: 'un-thought of architecture’ or architecture beyond what already exists,” students tackled the complicated role of design competitions in the profession.
Instagram Post@utsoaWe're proud to celebrate Professor Bjørn Sletto’s induction into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers—one of the highest honors recognizing exceptional commitment to teaching excellence. 👏