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
    Scenes from our 2022-2024 Emerging Scholar in Design Fellow Tyler Swingle’s visit to Stuttgart, Germany.
    @utsoa

    Scenes from our 2022-2024 Emerging Scholar in Design Fellow Tyler Swingle’s visit to Stuttgart, Germany.

  • Instagram Post
    In this month’s issue of @txarchitects, Dean Heather Woofter outlines some of the upcoming priorities for the School of Architecture, and the evolution of architectural education in our changing world.<br />
    @utsoa

    In this month’s issue of @txarchitects, Dean Heather Woofter outlines some of the upcoming priorities for the School of Architecture, and the evolution of architectural education in our changing world.

  • Instagram Post
    Spring (break) has sprung 🪻 Don’t forget to stop and smell the bluebonnets
    @utsoa

    Spring (break) has sprung 🪻 Don’t forget to stop and smell the bluebonnets

  • Instagram Post
    If you’re heading out for SXSW this weekend, several School of Architecture community members are participating in this year’s conference!<br />
    @utsoa

    If you’re heading out for SXSW this weekend, several School of Architecture community members are participating in this year’s conference!

  • Instagram Post
    Work from our 2024-2026 Emerging Scholar in Design Patrick Danahy’s Advanced Design Studio “Post-Industrial Tower Houses,” by students Edward Bondoc @edri295 (1-4) and Luke Jerome (5-8).<br />
    @utsoa

    Work from our 2024-2026 Emerging Scholar in Design Patrick Danahy’s Advanced Design Studio “Post-Industrial Tower Houses,” by students Edward Bondoc @edri295 (1-4) and Luke Jerome (5-8).

  • Instagram Post
    Tomorrow, @rohunjararam is taking over our stories to show us what his studio got up to last month in Bogota, Colombia. <br />
    @utsoa

    Tomorrow, @rohunjararam is taking over our stories to show us what his studio got up to last month in Bogota, Colombia.

  • Instagram Post
    Tune in on tomorrow for a special student takeover highlighting Professor Juan Miro’s 2024 Studio Mexico! Architecture students @gracelevatino and @camilaveratudela will be showing us what their studio got up to in Mexico City during their week-long visit earlier this month.
    @utsoa

    Tune in on tomorrow for a special student takeover highlighting Professor Juan Miro’s 2024 Studio Mexico! Architecture students @gracelevatino and @camilaveratudela will be showing us what their studio got up to in Mexico City during their week-long visit earlier this month.

  • Instagram Post
    On Wednesday, Lindsey Wikstrom, founder of @mattaforma, joins our Spring 2024 lecture series to explore the role mass timber and renewable materials should pay in ensuring the planet’s survival.<br />
    @utsoa

    On Wednesday, Lindsey Wikstrom, founder of @mattaforma, joins our Spring 2024 lecture series to explore the role mass timber and renewable materials should pay in ensuring the planet’s survival.

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    Happy Friday 🌸
    @utsoa

    Happy Friday 🌸