PhD in Architecture

The Ph.D. in Architecture offers candidates opportunities to develop and deepen their education in 3 important ways:

Enhancing research and analytical skills with rigorous methods of inquiry and synthesis;
Acquiring advanced knowledge specific to their area(s) of inquiry through comprehensive scholarly investigations and distinguished documentation; and
Developing the ability to communicate knowledge in a clear and eloquent manner.

To realize this goal, the faculty has made a commitment to create, along with doctoral students, a climate in which scholarship and creativity can flourish. Underlying the advanced study of architecture at KU is an ethic regarding architectural inquiry and architectural practice; one that sustains the question, “What ought we do as architects and researchers to enhance the quality of life on this planet?” Examples of inquiry at KU that exemplify this underlying question are

Progressive models of practice embracing evidence-based design and design-build practices;
Affordable housing with a sensitive aesthetic;
Material investigations to create more affordable and sustainable building practices;
Rigorous evaluations of built artifacts to inform better design practice;
Translation of empirical findings of person-place interaction research into design guidelines; and
Critical perspectives on human settlement patterns.

Our research is founded on an ethical position. We are not involved in research simply to generate knowledge for its own sake but rather to improve the human condition through more thoughtful built form. The overall focus is on developing understanding that may inform the critical delivery processes by which humane architecture is created.

Note: Contact your department or program for more information about the Research and Skills and Responsible Scholarship requirement for doctoral students.

This degree requires a minimum of 49 credits and is for students seeking to enhance the body of knowledge in the discipline of architecture. Because of this desire, Ph.D. students at KU are viewed as colleagues and collaborators with our faculty and as such, as valuable resources. The degree prepares students for careers in academia, consulting, practice-based research, or work in the public sector. The Ph.D. program is not a NAAB-accredited professional degree program and is not intended to prepare students for architectural licensure by itself.

Review the Ph.D. Degree Requirements in the catalog.

Review the Department of Architecture's course offerings.

Concentration Areas

The Architecture, Culture, and Behavior concentration investigates the social, cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of designed environments within a broad interdisciplinary framework, using a range of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Within this concentration, students could inquire into a variety of research questions related to diverse types of architectural, urban, and geographical settings. Research topics may include, among others, issues related to: architectural education; housing and community designs; social justice in design; psychological aspects in designed environments ; programming and post-occupancy evaluation of designed environments; nexus between organizational culture and space; architectural and urban morphology; social aspects in sustainable design; cultural heritage preservation and management; traditional settlement studies; urban design and development; and international development and globalization.

Students are highly encouraged to pursue advanced theory and methodology courses offered in the fields of humanities and social sciences, in addition to those offered in the School of Architecture & Design in order to develop an interdisciplinary intellectual context for their research inquiries.

The faculty members serving on the committees of our students in this area are:

A list of recommended courses for our students in Architecture, Culture, & Behavior:

ABSC 798: Conceptual Foundations of Behavior Analysis
ABSC 831: Science of Human Behavior
ABSC 935: Experimental Foundations of Applied Behavior Analysis
ANTH 695: Cultural Ecology
ANTH 732: Discourse Analysis
ANTH 775: Seminar in Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 783: Doing Ethnography
ANTH 788: Symbol Systems
ANTH 794: Material Culture
C&T 907: Critical Pedagogies
ELPS 777: Problems in Contemporary Educational Theory
ELPS 831: Sociology of Education
ELPS 871: Introduction to Qualitative Research
ELPS 948: Research in Education Policy and Leadership
EVRN 620: Environmental Politics and Policy
EVRN 656: Ecosystem Ecology
EVRN 701: Climate Change, Ecological Change, and Social Change
EVRN 720: Topics in Environmental Studies
GEOG 670: Cultural Ecology
GEOG 751: Analysis of Regional Development
GEOG 772: Problems in Political Geography
GEOG 773: Humanistic Geography
GIST 701: Approaches to International Studies
GIST 702: Globalization
HIST 898: Colloquium in Material Culture and History
HIST 901: Research Seminar in Global History
HWC 775: Advanced Study in the Body and Senses
ISP 814: Decolonizing Narratives
PHIL 622: Philosophy of Social Science
PHIL 850: Topics in Recent Philosophy
POLS 961: The Politics of Culturally Plural Societies
POLS 978: Advanced Topics in International Relations Theory
POLS 981: Global Development
PSYC 693: Multivariate Analysis
PSYC 790: Statistical Methods in Psychology I
PSYC 791: Statistical Methods in Psychology II
PSYC 818: Experimental Research Methods in Social Psychology
PSYC 882: Theory and Method for Research of Human Environments
PUAD 836: Introduction to Quantitative Methods
PUAD 937: Qualitative Methods in Public Administration
SOC 803: Issues in Contemporary Theory
SOC 804: Sociology of Knowledge
SOC 812: Analytic Methods in Sociology
SOC 813: Field Methods and Participant Observation
SOC 875: The Political Economy of Globalization
SW 730: Human Behavior in the Social Environment
SW 847: Grant Writing and Fundraising
SW 979: Methods of Qualitative Inquiry
SW 981: Advance Quantitative Research Methods
SW 988: Mixing Methods in Social science Research
WGSS 600: Contemporary Feminist Political Theory
WGSS 801: Feminist Theory
WGSS 802: Feminist Methodologies

Growing evidence has demonstrated strong links between the built environment and human health and wellness. The Health & Wellness program at the school of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas, including both the professional program and the PhD concentration, is one of the strongest programs in the nation that is dedicated to research and design education about environments for health and wellness. It is built on close collaborations between an interdisciplinary team of faculty, affiliated professionals, and several academic and research programs (including the University of Kansas Center for Sustainability, Gerontology Center at the Life Span Institute, Health Policy and Management at the School of Medicine and School of Nursing, and Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at School of Engineering).

The goal of the concentration is to use evidence-based design approaches to study the impacts of design on human health and wellness. The scope varies at multiple scales, from object, to room, to building and site, to entire communities.

This concentration provides students with the theoretical, technical and applied knowledge and skills to prepare them for academic and professional careers to promote human wellness in a variety of building types (e.g. healthcare, senior care, office, education, recreation). The curriculum focuses on developing skills in quantitative and qualitative research on health-related design. In addition, PhD students may also consider participating in the seven-month health and wellness professional internship, which is currently offered in the professional program.

Some topics that students may investigate in this program are:

Inpatient and ambulatory healthcare facilities
Environments for special populations
Natural or built environments that enhance human wellness
Environments that support healthy and productive workplaces
Neighborhoods that improve the physical, social and cultural health of the community

The faculty members serving on the committees of our students in this area are:

Recommended Health and Wellness courses include:

ARCH 600: Evidence-based Design in Healthcare Facilities
ARCH 731: Architecture of Health

Some other courses currently offered to health and wellness professional program may be available to PhD students:

ARCH 807: Healthy and Sustainable Environments Internship
ARCH 692: Documentation (in conjunction with ARCH 807)
ARCH 808: Healthy and Sustainable Environments Capstone Studio

The Building Performance & Design Computation concentration examines the crossroads of building science (lighting, acoustics, thermal, energy conservation, air quality) and design. Studies in this area seek to advance knowledge improving building occupant well-being and environmental sustainability through optimized building design. Research may require both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, often involving both physical testing and numerical simulation of the built environment.

Courses within the department are augmented by courses offered in other university units such as engineering, psychology, planning, and computer science.

The faculty members serving on the committees of our students in this area are:

A list of recommended courses for our students in Building Performance & Design Computation:

ARCE 650: Illumination Engineering
ARCE 660: Building Thermal Science
ARCE 750: Daylighting
ARCE 751: Advanced Lighting Design
ARCE 752: Lighting Measurement and Design
ARCE 760: Automatic Controls for Building Mechanical Systems
ARCE 764: Advanced Thermal Analysis of Buildings
ELPS 871: Introduction to Qualitative Research
EVRN 701: Climate Change, Ecological Change, and Social Change
EVRN 720: Topics in Environmental Studies
PSYC 693: Multivariate Analysis
PSYC 790: Statistical Methods in Psychology I
PSYC 791: Statistical Methods in Psychology II
PSYC 818: Experimental Research Methods in Social Psychology
PSYC 882: Theory and Method for Research of Human Environments
PUAD 836: Introduction to Quantitative Methods
PUAD 937: Qualitative Methods in Public Administration
SOC 812: Analytic Methods in Sociology
SOC 813: Field Methods and Participant Observation
SW 730: Human Behavior in the Social Environment
SW 847: Grant-writing and Fundraising
SW 979: Methods of Qualitative Inquiry
SW 981: Advance Quantitative Research Methods
SW 988: Mixing Methods in Social science Research
UBPL 738: Environmental Planning Techniques

The aim of History Theory and Criticism concentration is to produce cutting-edge scholarship in the field of architectural history, philosophy and theory. The courses in this concentration offers a wide ranges of topics that includes architectural historiography, discourse analysis, analytical methodology, critical survey of architectural history around the globe, and the emerging issues that set the current philosophical and disciplinary debates. Allied faculty members and research students investigates the socio, political, philosophical and material context of architecture to understand the broader shifts of the discipline and its impact on society, and vice versa over time. The main goal of this research cluster is to identify and use novel research methods in architectural history and theory to understand the relationship among changing social dynamics, evolving technology, and built environment.

Students are highly encouraged to pursue advanced theory and methodology courses offered in the fields of humanities and social sciences, in addition to those offered in the School of Architecture, Design, and Planning, in order to develop an interdisciplinary intellectual context for their research inquiries.

The faculty members serving on the committees of our students in this area are:

A list of recommended courses for our students in History, Theory, & Criticism in Architecture

ARCH 540: Global History of Architecture I
ARCH 541: Global History of Architecture II
ARCH 542: History of Architecture III
ARCH 600: Spaces of Poverty
ARCH 600: Postcolonial Architecture
ARCH 600: HyperHistory: Digital technology and architectural historiography
ARCH 600: History of American Architecture
ARCH 600: Global Cities
ARCH 600: Theory of Vernacular Architecture
ARCH 630: Theory and Context of Architecture
ARCH 665: History of Urban Design.
UBPL 522: History of the American City I
UBPL 722: History of the American City II
HIST 302/303: The Historian's Craft
HIST 303: Sin Cities
HIST 660: Biography of a City
HA 305/505: Introduction to Islamic Art and Architecture
HA 536: Islamic Art and Architecture in Africa
HA 310: The Art and Architecture of Florence and Paris
HA 311: The Art and Architecture of the British Isles
HA 508: The Italian Renaissance Home

PhD in Architecture

Concentration Areas

Program Details

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