Doctoral Programs

Students walking on campus outside Battle Hall
DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
HOW TO APPLY

Doctoral programs at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture are designed to provide students holding an appropriate master's degree with a rigorous program of study intended to prepare them to conduct research and teach in these disciplines.

The School of Architecture offers a Ph.D. in Architecture with concentrations in the history of architecture and landscape architecture, historic preservation, and sustainability. It also offers a Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning which allows specialization in a range of planning fields including international planning, economic and community development, environmental and natural resource planning, housing, land use and land development, transportation planning, and historic preservation.

PH.D. IN ARCHITECTURE

 

CONCENTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

The Ph.D. in Architecture with a concentration in the history of architecture and landscape architecture places special emphasis on histories of architecture in the Americas from the late eighteenth century to the present. The student's program of study may address issues such as the racial, gender, 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.

CONCENTRATION IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION

The Ph.D. in Architecture with a concentration in historic preservation embraces multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse approaches to the identification and conservation of historic resources. The student's program may address preservation planning and development; issues in the theory, history, and practice of the conservation of buildings, interiors, landscapes, and neighborhoods; preservation-based strategies of sustainable development; and innovative methodologies and strategies for preservation practice and cultural resource management at local, state, and federal levels.

CONCENTRATION IN SUSTAINABILITY

The Ph.D. in Architecture with a concentration in sustainability is practical, technical, and philosophical in scope and integrates three areas of inquiry related to the built environment: biophysical systems, building systems, and political systems. The study of biophysical systems relies upon the disciplines of natural and urban ecological sciences as they relate to architecture. The study of building systems includes investigating component technologies necessary to construct environmentally responsive architecture. The study of political systems situates the biophysical and building systems within the social and political contexts of architectural practice.

PH.D. IN COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING

The Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning prepares highly qualified graduate students for research and teaching at the university level and for leadership positions in public and private institutions. The program provides rigorous, but flexibly tailored, scholastic and practical training for advanced students to prepare them to make substantive contributions to planning and related policy fields. Students can specialize in a range of planning fields. The program strongly emphasizes interdisciplinary scholarship and research collaborations to address the complex problems of urban and regional growth and development.

  • Instagram Post
    To close out our fall 2024 lecture series, French architect and urban planner, Odile Decq (@decqodile), will present “Horizons” this Monday in the Goldsmith Lecture Hall.<br>
    @utsoa

    To close out our fall 2024 lecture series, French architect and urban planner, Odile Decq (@decqodile), will present “Horizons” this Monday in the Goldsmith Lecture Hall.

  • Instagram Post
    Hard at work in Austin’s urban laboratory, Urban Design students are reenvisioning the I-35/UT cap for @_liangwang ’s advanced studio.
    @utsoa

    Hard at work in Austin’s urban laboratory, Urban Design students are reenvisioning the I-35/UT cap for @_liangwang ’s advanced studio.

  • Instagram Post
    Pumpkin carving with a twist 🎃 The @materials_lab held a solar power + pumpkin carving workshop for our first-year students and partnered with @utzerowaste to compost the scraps.<br /> <br />Happy Halloween, Longhorns!
    @utsoa

    Pumpkin carving with a twist 🎃 The @materials_lab held a solar power + pumpkin carving workshop for our first-year students and partnered with @utzerowaste to compost the scraps.
     
    Happy Halloween, Longhorns!

  • Instagram Post
    “Humans, Plants, and the Architectural Microbiome” by Juliet Chui for Clay Odom’s (@studiomodo) Advanced Studio // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner<br>&nbsp;
    @utsoa

    “Humans, Plants, and the Architectural Microbiome” by Juliet Chui for Clay Odom’s (@studiomodo) Advanced Studio // 2023-2024 Design Excellence winner
     

  • Instagram Post
    Meet M.Arch student Emerald Smith 👋 She just completed a professional residency internship with @herzogdemeuron in Basel, Switzerland.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>Learn about Emerald’s experience below, swipe to see some of her student work, and explore our professional residency program in the link in bio!
    @utsoa

    Meet M.Arch student Emerald Smith 👋 She just completed a professional residency internship with @herzogdemeuron in Basel, Switzerland.  
     
    Learn about Emerald’s experience below, swipe to see some of her student work, and explore our professional residency program in the link in bio!

  • Instagram Post
    Gear up for an insightful conversation between architectural theorists and philosophers Manuel DeLanda and Sanford Kwinter @sanford_kwinter at Monday’s upcoming lecture.
    @utsoa

    Gear up for an insightful conversation between architectural theorists and philosophers Manuel DeLanda and Sanford Kwinter @sanford_kwinter at Monday’s upcoming lecture.

  • Instagram Post
    “Red Mountain Pavilion” by Daniel Icaza Milson (@dash.ing.dash) for Nichole Wiedemann’s Vertical Studio (@nicholewiedemann) // ACSA Study Architecture 2024 Student Showcase <br>
    @utsoa

    “Red Mountain Pavilion” by Daniel Icaza Milson (@dash.ing.dash) for Nichole Wiedemann’s Vertical Studio (@nicholewiedemann) // ACSA Study Architecture 2024 Student Showcase

  • Instagram Post
    In a new, integrated Advanced Design studio, architecture and urban design students are uniting to propose a redevelopment of the “La Trinidad” glass factory site in the center of Seville, Spain, to include housing units, recreational facilities, and public space.<br>
    @utsoa

    In a new, integrated Advanced Design studio, architecture and urban design students are uniting to propose a redevelopment of the “La Trinidad” glass factory site in the center of Seville, Spain, to include housing units, recreational facilities, and public space.

  • Instagram Post
    On Monday, Amber Wiley (@profwiley) will join our 2024 fall lecture series with “Free to Learn: Building the Black Public School System.” <br>
    @utsoa

    On Monday, Amber Wiley (@profwiley) will join our 2024 fall lecture series with “Free to Learn: Building the Black Public School System.”