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
    Save the date for 40 Hours for the Forty Acres! This year, on May 7-8, we’re focusing on raising support for travel scholarships to provide students with opportunities to experience architecture, planning, and design in real-world contexts. <br>
    @utsoa

    Save the date for 40 Hours for the Forty Acres! This year, on May 7-8, we’re focusing on raising support for travel scholarships to provide students with opportunities to experience architecture, planning, and design in real-world contexts.

  • Instagram Post
    Assistant Professor Ria Bravo’s (@riabravodesign) Interiors Fabrications course introduces students to a range of fabrication techniques and materials, including sewing, 3D printing, CNC routing, and hands-on construction methods.
    @utsoa

    Assistant Professor Ria Bravo’s (@riabravodesign) Interiors Fabrications course introduces students to a range of fabrication techniques and materials, including sewing, 3D printing, CNC routing, and hands-on construction methods.

  • Instagram Post
    We’re excited to welcome pioneering Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom to campus next week as the School of Architecture’s 2025 Commencement Speaker. <br>
    @utsoa

    We’re excited to welcome pioneering Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom to campus next week as the School of Architecture’s 2025 Commencement Speaker.

  • Instagram Post
    You did that: final reviews are done! 🙌 We saw incredible work throughout the week and couldn’t be more proud of your hard work this semester.<br>
    @utsoa

    You did that: final reviews are done! 🙌 We saw incredible work throughout the week and couldn’t be more proud of your hard work this semester.

  • Instagram Post
    Join us next Friday, May 2 for our End of Year Show, an exhibit celebrating a year of UTSOA, themed Overexposed.<br>
    @utsoa

    Join us next Friday, May 2 for our End of Year Show, an exhibit celebrating a year of UTSOA, themed Overexposed.

  • Instagram Post
    Congrats @utsoafirstyears on wrapping up Design II final reviews yesterday! <br /><br />Final review week continues tomorrow through Friday. For a list of guest critics, visit the link in our bio. And tune in and follow along on our stories all week. <br /><br />Best of luck everyone!
    @utsoa

    Congrats @utsoafirstyears on wrapping up Design II final reviews yesterday!

    Final review week continues tomorrow through Friday. For a list of guest critics, visit the link in our bio. And tune in and follow along on our stories all week.

    Best of luck everyone!

  • Instagram Post
    Congratulations to the three interior design students named to Metropolis Magazine’s 2025 Future 100 list: Winnie Lin @winnlin (MID), Ashley Marie Sparks @ashleysparks_ (BSID), and Nandita Warrier (MID II).
    @utsoa

    Congratulations to the three interior design students named to Metropolis Magazine’s 2025 Future 100 list: Winnie Lin @winnlin (MID), Ashley Marie Sparks @ashleysparks_ (BSID), and Nandita Warrier (MID II).

  • Instagram Post
    The Interior Design Program at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture is hosting the Interior Provocations symposium, in collaboration with Pratt Institute, on Friday, November 7, 2025.<br>
    @utsoa

    The Interior Design Program at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture is hosting the Interior Provocations symposium, in collaboration with Pratt Institute, on Friday, November 7, 2025.

  • Instagram Post
    Waterloo Park is a 11-acre park and green space along Austin’s Waller Creek less than one mile from the @utaustin campus.
    @utsoa

    Waterloo Park is a 11-acre park and green space along Austin’s Waller Creek less than one mile from the @utaustin campus.