Skip to content
COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
    • CED
      • About CED
        • Vision
        • People
        • Meet CED Alums
        • Community
        • Our Spaces
        • Work at CED
        • Giving
        • Visit Us
        • Contact Us
      • Academics
        • Degrees + Certificates
        • Summer Programs
        • Study Abroad
        • Courses
      • Admissions
        • Undergraduate Admissions
        • Graduate Admissions
        • Fees & Financial Aid
      • Advising
        • Undergraduate Advising
        • Graduate Advising
      • News + Events
        • News
        • Events
      • Research + Design
        • Centers & Institutes
        • Climate Solutions
        • Equity + Social Justice
        • Technology + Material Innovations
        • Publications
        • Research Collaborations
        • Student Work
      • Resources
        • Awards, Scholarships and Fellowships
        • Student Support
        • Environmental Design Library
        • Environmental Design Archives
        • Fabrication + Materials
        • IT + Computing
        • Careers & Work Opportunities
        • Student Fees and Waivers
        • Student Organizations
        • Facility Services
        • Building Safety
    • ARCH
      • About Architecture
        • Diversity
        • Leadership
        • Accreditation and Licensure
      • Degrees + Admissions
        • Admissions
        • Bachelor of Arts
        • Minor in Architecture
        • Minor in Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
        • Minor in the History of the Built Environment
        • Minor in Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design
        • Minor in Sustainable Design
        • Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
        • Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
        • Master of Science
        • Ph.D.
        • Concurrent Programs
      • Courses
        • 2023 Fall Courses
        • 2023 Summer Courses
        • 2023 Spring Courses
      • People
        • Faculty
        • Emeriti
        • Students
        • Staff
      • Gallery
      • Advising
    • LAND
      • About LAEP
      • Degrees + Admissions
        • Admissions
        • Bachelor of Arts
        • Minor in Landscape Architecture
        • Master of Landscape Architecture
        • Ph.D.
        • Concurrent Degrees
      • Courses
      • People
        • Faculty
        • Emeriti
        • Students
        • Staff
      • Gallery
      • Advising
    • CITY
      • About DCRP
      • Degrees + Admissions
        • Admissions
        • Ph.D.
        • Master of City Planning
        • Bachelor of Arts
      • Courses
      • People
        • Faculty
        • Lecturers
        • Emeriti
        • Students
        • Staff
      • Gallery
        • Student Work
        • Faculty Work
        • Studio Work
      • Advising
    • IURD
      • About IURD
      • Real Estate Development + Design
        • About MRED+D
        • Admissions
        • Courses
        • People
      • Urban Design
        • About MUD
        • Admissions
        • Courses
        • People
      • Sustainable Environmental Design
        • About SED
        • Courses
        • People
      • People
      • Gallery
      • Advising
  • CED
    • About CED
      • Vision
      • People
      • Meet CED Alums
      • Community
      • Our Spaces
      • Work at CED
      • Giving
      • Visit Us
      • Contact Us
    • Academics
      • Degrees + Certificates
      • Summer Programs
      • Study Abroad
      • Courses
    • Admissions
      • Undergraduate Admissions
      • Graduate Admissions
      • Fees & Financial Aid
    • Advising
      • Undergraduate Advising
      • Graduate Advising
    • News + Events
      • News
      • Events
    • Research + Design
      • Centers & Institutes
      • Climate Solutions
      • Equity + Social Justice
      • Technology + Material Innovations
      • Publications
      • Research Collaborations
      • Student Work
    • Resources
      • Awards, Scholarships and Fellowships
      • Student Support
      • Environmental Design Library
      • Environmental Design Archives
      • Fabrication + Materials
      • IT + Computing
      • Careers & Work Opportunities
      • Student Fees and Waivers
      • Student Organizations
      • Facility Services
      • Building Safety
  • ARCH
    • About Architecture
      • Diversity
      • Leadership
      • Accreditation and Licensure
    • Degrees + Admissions
      • Admissions
      • Bachelor of Arts
      • Minor in Architecture
      • Minor in Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
      • Minor in the History of the Built Environment
      • Minor in Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design
      • Minor in Sustainable Design
      • Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
      • Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
      • Master of Science
      • Ph.D.
      • Concurrent Programs
    • Courses
      • 2023 Fall Courses
      • 2023 Summer Courses
      • 2023 Spring Courses
    • People
      • Faculty
      • Emeriti
      • Students
      • Staff
    • Gallery
    • Advising
  • LAND
    • About LAEP
    • Degrees + Admissions
      • Admissions
      • Bachelor of Arts
      • Minor in Landscape Architecture
      • Master of Landscape Architecture
      • Ph.D.
      • Concurrent Degrees
    • Courses
    • People
      • Faculty
      • Emeriti
      • Students
      • Staff
    • Gallery
    • Advising
  • CITY
    • About DCRP
    • Degrees + Admissions
      • Admissions
      • Ph.D.
      • Master of City Planning
      • Bachelor of Arts
    • Courses
    • People
      • Faculty
      • Lecturers
      • Emeriti
      • Students
      • Staff
    • Gallery
      • Student Work
      • Faculty Work
      • Studio Work
    • Advising
  • IURD
    • About IURD
    • Real Estate Development + Design
      • About MRED+D
      • Admissions
      • Courses
      • People
    • Urban Design
      • About MUD
      • Admissions
      • Courses
      • People
    • Sustainable Environmental Design
      • About SED
      • Courses
      • People
    • People
    • Gallery
    • Advising
  • Resources
  • Apply
  • Give
UC Berkeley logo
  • Resources
  • Apply
  • Give

Ph.D. in Architecture

  • ARCH
    • About Architecture
    • Degrees + Admissions
      • Admissions
      • Bachelor of Arts
      • Minor in Architecture
      • Minor in Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
      • Minor in the History of the Built Environment
      • Minor in Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design
      • Minor in Sustainable Design
      • Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
      • Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
      • Master of Science
      • Ph.D.
        • Building Science, Technology, and Sustainability
        • History, Theory, and Society
      • Concurrent Programs
    • Courses
    • People
    • Gallery
    • Advising
  • ARCH
    • About Architecture
    • Degrees + Admissions
      • Admissions
      • Bachelor of Arts
      • Minor in Architecture
      • Minor in Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
      • Minor in the History of the Built Environment
      • Minor in Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design
      • Minor in Sustainable Design
      • Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
      • Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
      • Master of Science
      • Ph.D.
        • Building Science, Technology, and Sustainability
        • History, Theory, and Society
      • Concurrent Programs
    • Courses
    • People
    • Gallery
    • Advising


The Ph.D. in architecture is a research degree appropriate for those seeking careers in teaching and scholarship in architecture and its related areas, or in roles in government or professional consultation that require depth in specialization and experience in research.

The Program

Berkeley’s Ph.D. program in architecture is interdisciplinary in outlook, reaching into the various disciplines related to architecture and incorporating substantial knowledge from outside fields. Students admitted to this program carry out a program of advanced study and research, both on the basis of formal class work and of individual investigation. Work centers on three related fields of study, the major field (the basis for the dissertation), and one-to-two minor fields, at least one of which must be from a discipline outside architecture.

Fields of Study

The Ph.D. degree emphasizes course work and supervised independent research in one of the following areas of study:

  • Building Science, Technology and Sustainability (BSTS)
  • History, Theory and Society (HTS)

Major fields outside these fields or combinations thereof may also be proposed at the time of admission.

Course work is individually developed through consultation with an academic adviser. Outside fields of study may take advantage of the University’s varied resources. Recent graduates have completed outside fields in anthropology, art history, business administration, city and regional planning, computer science, various engineering fields, psychology, women’s studies, geography and sociology.

Faculty

The following are members of the Ph.D faculty, broken into one of two offered areas of study. Please also review the current list of all faculty in the Architecture Department for other faculty and specialities. A sampling of faculty research is described on the faculty research projects page.

Spacing: medium

Building Science, Technology and Sustainability

Gail Brager
Gail Brager
Director of the Center for Environmental Design Research; Professor of Architecture
Passive Design Strategies, Comfort and Adaptation in Naturally-Ventilated Buildings, Post-Occupancy Evaluation and Personal Comfort Systems
Luisa Caldas
Professor of Architecture
Net Zero Buildings, Daylighting in Architecture, Generative Design, Parametric Design
Maria Paz Gutierrez
Associate Professor of Architecture
Natural Materials Innovation and Flood Resilience, Engineered Living Materials, Functionally Graded Materials and Additive Manufacturing, and Solar Water Regeneration Building Envelopes.
Stefano Schiavon
Associate Director of CEDR; Professor of Architecture and Civil & Environmental Engineering
Sustainable Architecture, Architectural Engineering/Building Science, Indoor Environment Quality, HVAC Systems, Building Energy Efficiency, Thermal Comfort, Wellbeing, Post-Occupancy Evaluation
Simon Schleicher
Associate Professor of Architecture
Lightweight Design and Biomimetics, Structural Design, Parametric Design, Digital Fabrication and Robotic Manufacturing
Spacing: small

History, Theory, and Society

Greg Castillo
Professor of Architecture
20th Century Architecture with Emphasis on Bay Area Counterculture, Mid-Century Modernism, Design as Cold War Propaganda, Architecture and the History of Emotions.
photo of faculty
Margaret Crawford
Director of Urban Design, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
History of Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, Urban History and Theory, US Built Environment Studies, Urbanism in China
C. Greig Crysler
Professor of Architecture; Arcus Social Justice Chair (2012-2022)
Architecture of Globalization, discourses of Architecture and Urbanism and the Arcus Chair in Gender, Sexuality and the Built Environment.
Andrew Shanken
Professor of Architecture
Architecture and Consumer Culture, Memory and the Built Environment, Paper Architecture and the Unbuilt, Expositions, Themed Landscapes, and Architectural Rhetoric.
Neyran Turan
Associate Professor of Architecture

Requirements

The Ph.D. program in architecture is governed by the regulations of the University Graduate Division and administered by the departmental Ph.D. committee. Specific degree requirements include:

  • A minimum of two years in residence.
  • Completion of a one-semester course in research methods.
  • Satisfaction of a foreign language requirement for those in the History, Theory and Society.
  • Completion of one-to-two outside fields of study.
  • A written qualifying examination, followed by an oral qualifying examination.
  • A dissertation.

Course requirements for the degree include:

RequirementNumber of Units
Course Requirements for All Ph.D. Students
Research Methods, Specialty Area3-4 units
Inside Field (Specialty Area)9 (Minimum) units
Outside Field(s)12 (Minimum) units
Architecture Breadth Courses (for students who do not have a previous degree in Architecture)6 units

Handbooks

  • 2021-2022 BSTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]
  • 2021-2022 HTS Ph.D. Handbook [PDF]

Ph.D. Alumni List

  • Ph.D. Alumni — Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
  • Ph.D. Alumni — History, Theory, and Society
×
Berkeley CED Logo

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
University of California, Berkeley
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820

  • ARCH
  • LAND
  • CITY
  • IURD
  • Contact
  • Visit
  • For Faculty & Staff
  • Linkedin
  • Accessibility
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Privacy

© 2023 UC Regents; all rights reserved.     Credits