Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments (PhD), Program Information

Program Description

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments is an advanced degree that focuses on preparing the next generation of academics and professionals to create innovative and transformative evidence-based solutions to address the challenges of contemporary and future urban built environments.

The low-residency program provides a strong research foundation for mid-career professionals interested in obtaining or enhancing their positions as professors, researchers, and policy analysts.

General Requirements

There are two pathways to the Ph.D. in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments:

• Candidates with a bachelor’s degree will require sixty (60) credits of coursework.

• Candidates with a master’s degree will require thirty-six (36) credits of coursework.

Admission

To be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments, an applicant must: 

• Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. 

• Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 3.0 or better to be considered for regular admission. Post-bachelor’s undergraduate credits will not be used to enhance undergraduate G.P.A. requirements for admission to graduate study. For conditional admission, you will need a minimum 2.5 G.P.A.

• Three (3) letters of recommendations 

• A statement of purpose

• A writing sample, which can include a publication and research proposal abstract if available 

For International Applicants

International transcripts, diplomas, certificates, mark sheets, etc. or copies of these documents are not admissible in the graduate admission process and will not be accepted if sent to the School of Graduate Studies.  

The School of Graduate Studies will only accept official course-by-course evaluations received directly from one of these providers: World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or Foundation for International Services (FIS) or Spantran or International Education Evaluations (IEE). Information on where to send your transcripts can be found at Testing and Foreign Transcripts.

Evidence of English Proficiency

• An official transcript showing a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. college or university, or an international college or university where English is the principal language of instruction.

• A TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Applicants from countries where English is not the medium of instruction, must demonstrate their ability to use the English language by scoring a minimum of 550 (Paper-based) or 213 (Computer-based) or 70 (Internet-based) on the TOEFL. For information on this examination, write to: TOEFL, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6155, Princeton, NJ 08541-6155, USA, or inquire at the U.S. Consulate nearest to you, or visit TOEFL’s website at (www.toefl.org).

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System).  A minimum score of 6 is required.  For information on this examination, visit IELTS’s website at (http://www.ielts.org/default.aspx)

• English proficiency testing is not required for applicants from the British Commonwealth, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. 

Program Course Requirements

Below are the program course requirements for the Ph.D. program in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments. 

En Passant (Pass Through) M.S. in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments

Students can earn their M.S. in Architecture, Urbanism, and Built Environments after completing a minimum of thirty (30) credits. 

There are two (2) options to earning the M.S. degree: 

• Complete 24-credits from the Foundational Doctoral Study Electives with AUBE 710 (3-credits) and AUBE 820 (3-credits), or

• Complete 30-credits at the Advanced Doctoral Study level excluding the requirements of CREP 792 and AUBE 997/998. 

If students decide not to continue to complete their Ph.D., they can still earn their M.S. degree. per the aforementioned options if they do not have a M.S. degree already.