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.
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@utsoaWhat is architecture’s role in shaping a sustainable and connected future? On Oct. 6, Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi will examine that in their lecture, “DRIFTING SYMMETRIES: PROJECTS AND PROVOCATIONS.”
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@utsoa📝 Applications are open for 2026-2027 undergraduate and graduate programs!
Apply today to join an interdisciplinary community of designers, planners, and scholars committed to creative exploration, ambitious scholarship and critical practice.
UTSOA at a glance:Instagram Post
@utsoaDiscover the hidden narrative of one of the world’s largest distributed freshwater reserves: aquifers.
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@utsoaOn Sept. 29, architectural designer, researcher and UTSOA visiting lecturer Toshiki Hirano (@artitec of @thd_arch) joins us for his lecture, "AESTHETICS OF (IN)EXCESS."
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@utsoa🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Jessica Garza (BSID '26) has won the 2025 Senior Student Scholarship from the Angelo Donghia Foundation! Jessica Garza is one of 15 undergraduate interior design students in North America to receive this honor this year in the form of a $30,000 scholarship.
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@utsoaMatt Fajkus already holds the titles of licensed architect, multiple award winner and Austin Design Icon. Now, he adds another achievement to his list: a promotion to Full Professor of Architecture.
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@utsoaMaster of Interior Design students Yuzheng Gan and Stephanie Belov win 2nd place for their project, “HYDROCOMMONS,” in the Student Commercial Design Category at the @ASID_hq's 2025 Celebrating Design Texas Awards!
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@utsoaANOMALIES & ORDER: GRAMMARS OF ANONYMOUS ARCHITECTURES ⋅ Come explore the uneasy alliance between system and rupture, form and formlessness, through the lens of “anonymous architectures.”
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@utsoa🎉 Congratulations are in order for @cldavis_ii and @tdudleyphd!
The Mellon Foundation recognized their contributions to exploring untold narratives and expanding the architectural canon.