Program Overview

Ph.D. in Architecture

The Ph.D. in Architecture addresses the development of modern architectural form and ideas as they have been affected by social, economic, and technological change. In broad terms, it encompasses the relations between the profession, practice, civil institutions, and the society at large.

Overview

As a doctoral program, it is oriented toward the training of scholars in the field of architectural history and theory. Its structure reflects a dual understanding of the scholar’s role in the discipline at large: as a teacher and as a researcher making an original contribution to the field, with an emphasis on expanding and reinterpreting disciplinary knowledge in a broad intellectual arena.

Organization of the Program

All students entering the PhD program in Architecture receive two Residence Units of Advanced Standing, having entered with a master’s degree in architecture, architectural history, or a related field. As such, students must complete the M.Phil. degree within three years from initial registration and the Ph.D. within eight years from initial registration.

• Year 1: Students begin required coursework, including language proficiencies
• Year 2: Students complete required coursework and language proficiencies; begin required teaching apprenticeship
• Year 3: Students complete required teaching apprenticeship; complete M.Phil. Examination (by mid-February); and defend the Dissertation Prospectus (by early May)
• Year 4+: Students research, write, and defend the doctoral dissertation

Coursework

Students are required to spend four semesters in residence during which time they are expected to take thirteen courses (39 credit points), of which at least eight must be taken for a letter grade. The remaining five courses can be taken for R credit.

• Section 1: Doctoral Colloquia
  • All students are required to take two doctoral colloquia in the fall semester and at least two doctoral seminars in the spring semester over the four-semester sequence. Three of these must be taken for a letter grade.
• Section 2: Architectural History/Theory
  • To complete distribution requirements, students will be required to take graduate-level courses from the following areas of study:
    1. One pre-1750 (Western or non-Western)
    2. Two courses either in Eighteenth-Century Architecture and Theory or Nineteenth-Century Architecture and Theory
• Section 3: Social and Critical Studies
  • Students should take at least one course outside of Architecture and Art History.
• Section 4: Electives
  • Remaining coursework is completed through elective courses in students’ areas of interest, the selection of which should be decided in consultation with the student’s program adviser or the director of the program.

Teaching Apprenticeship

Students’ multi-year fellowships include participation in the Ph.D. in Architecture program’s professional apprenticeship, which includes teaching responsibilities in the second and third years of the program.

Language Proficiency

Students must demonstrate reading proficiency in two languages other than English. Language proficiency courses and exams are administered by relevant GSAS departments.

M.Phil. Examination

The four-semester program has been designed to give doctoral candidates sufficient training for the M.Phil. examination, with a special emphasis on the ability to teach classes in modern architectural and urban development and its relationship to parallel developments in material history and contemporary thought.

Ph.D. Dissertation

After successfully completing the qualifying examination, each student defends his or her dissertation proposal before a faculty committee, composed of the student’s dissertation adviser, who must be on the list of approved Architecture Doctoral Dissertation Advisors, and two other readers, at least one of whom should be from the list of Architecture dissertation advisors or associated faculty.

Advising

Upon entering the program, each student is assigned a program advisor from within the Ph.D. committee, with whom they will consult for the duration of their coursework.

Funding and Support

For information on Ph.D. student employee compensation and benefits, available resources for parents, the GSAPP PhD Travel, Conference, and Exhibition Participation Support program, and the GSAPP PhD Language Study Support program, please refer to the relevant university resources.

People

• Felicity Scott, Program Director
• Current Faculty:
  • Lucia Allais
  • Barry Bergdoll
  • Ateya Khorakiwala
  • Reinhold Martin
  • Mary McLeod
  • Felicity Scott
  • Mark Wigley
  • Mabel Wilson

Fall 2025 Courses

• Course: ARCH8904-1
• Semester: Fall 2025
• Title: Architecture Doctoral Colloquium I
• Instructor: Felicity Scott

Recent News

• Dean Emeritus Mark Wigley and Dean Andrés Jaque present "We the Bacteria: Notes Toward Biotic Architecture" at Princeton SoA
• Faculty Mary McLeod participates in "How did women change Modern Architecture?" at "Inspirations--Five Practices" at Tulane

Events

• Fall 2025 Online Info Session: PhD in Architecture
• PhD in Architecture & PhD in Historic Preservation Application Deadline

Other

• Architecture
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    • Master of Architecture
    • M.S. Advanced Architectural Design
    • M.S. Computational Design Practices
    • M.S. Critical, Curatorial & Conceptual Practices
    • New York / Paris
    • Intro Program