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. 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 two minor fields, at least one of which must be from a discipline outside architecture.

The established major fields of study are:

• Design Theories, Methods, and Practices;
• Building Science;
• Social and Cultural Processes in Architecture and Urbanism;
• History of Architecture and Urbanism;
• Building Structures;
• Construction and Materials;
• Environmental Design in Developing Countries.
   

Major fields outside these fields or combinations thereof may be undertaken with the Ph.D. Committee’s approval.

Course work is individually developed through consultation with an academic adviser. Minor fields of study may take advantage of the University’s varied resources. Recent graduates have completed minor fields in anthropology, art history, business administration, city and regional planning, computer science, various engineering fields, psychology, women’s studies, geography, and sociology.

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 two one-semester courses in research methods;
• satisfaction of a foreign language requirement;
• completion of two minor field studies;
• a written qualifying examination, followed by an oral qualifying examination;
• a dissertation.
   

Students without a degree in architecture are additionally required to complete a one-semester course in architectural design (ARCH 200A).

The normal program of studies for the Ph.D. consists of a minimum of 48 units, including at least 24 graduate-level units in the Department of Architecture. For students holding the Master of Architecture degree, the normal program will consist of 32 semester units, of which 16 units must be graduate-level courses in the Department of Architecture.