Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Architecture

The program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the College of Architecture has been developed to enable students of exceptional ability to undertake advanced study and original research in the fields of study within the College of Architecture. Currently the program includes several fields of study:

  1. Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism
  2. Architecture, Culture, and Behavior
  3. Building Construction
  4. Building Technology
  5. City and Regional Planning
  6. Design Cognition
  7. Design Computing
  8. Industrial Design
  9. Spatial and Architectural Morphology

Several areas of study within city and regional planning are available for dissertation research: environmental planning, economic development, transportation planning, land and housing economics, urban and regional development, information systems, and land use planning.

The field of Architecture, Culture, and Behavior explores how individual, organizational, and cultural behavior, performance, and experience relate to the design of buildings and urban space. Current studies explore the following topics, among others: healthcare facilities that support higher quality care; workplaces that support new models of work; building and urban designs that promote health and active living; public buildings that promote functional and symbolic needs; wayfinding and environmental cognition and perception, and others.

The Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism (HTC) field is oriented toward historical and critical inquiry of architectural practice, thought, and criticism. Studies on topics related to interpretive methodology such as representation, meaning, and style are a distinctive focus of the HTC program at Georgia Tech.

Studies in Building Technology are concerned with the lifecycle performance of technical building systems, including the development and application of advanced knowledge in design processes, evaluation methods, intelligent and adaptive technologies, and indoor environmental factors.

Building Construction has several areas of research including: construction management; risk management and decision support systems; integrated construction project delivery systems (design-build, construction management, negotiated team, cost-plus with gmp, bridging, and others); integrated facility management; indoor environment; international construction; construction robotics and automation; e-business in construction; and life cycle cost analysis.

Design Computing focuses on the development of information technologies in support of design and construction. Current areas of research include building repositories, electronic design environments, human computer interfaces, building product models, formal approaches to composition, smart buildings and objects, direct fabrication of designs (building CAD/CAM), and parametric modeling.

Design Cognition is concerned with the reasoning, processes, models, and methods about how design skills, information, behaviors, and expertise are learned, applied, and represented. Research areas include sketch understanding, visual and spatial reasoning, mental imaging, cognitive process of problem solving, design moves, and creativity.

Spatial and Architectural Morphology is concerned with the principles that govern layouts and their meaning, functions, and social implications at urban and building scales. It includes analytical studies of spatial form.

Industrial Design is concerned with the understanding of design as a process of identifying, analyzing, and solving design problems of human interface with the physical environment.

For further details on the program, contact:

PhD Program Director
College of Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0155
Phone: 404.894.3476
Web site: www.coa.gatech.edu/phd/