Ph.D. in Architecture
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:
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.
Building Science, Technology and Sustainability
History, Theory, and Society
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:
| Requirement | Number of Units |
|---|---|
| Course Requirements for All Ph.D. Students | |
| Research Methods, Specialty Area | 3-4 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 |