UO’s architecture department launches doctoral program in sustainable design

The University of Oregon announces the state’s first PhD in architecture, focusing on the art and science of sustainable design. The new doctoral program offers students pursuing an advanced degree the opportunity to examine sustainability at multiple scales—city, building, and material. The Oregon University System board approved the program at its meeting on October 28. Applications will be accepted starting November 15. Application postmark deadline is January 3, 2011 for fall term admission.

The UO’s Department of Architecture is ranked number one in the U.S. in sustainable design education by DesignIntelligence, a journal that ranks the country’s top architecture and design schools. With over forty years of environmental design teaching and research, the UO program will prepare and mentor tomorrow’s leaders in sustainable design in both academia and practice.

The doctoral program will engage students in interdisciplinary investigations focused on the creation of new knowledge in compelling and time-sensitive research topics such as

• sustainable cities and livable communities design and policy
• design for climate change and adaptation
• cultural, social, and economic sustainability
• net-zero buildings and eco-districts design
• resource forecasting and simulation of place and building performance
• energy-efficient, adaptive re-use of existing buildings
• indoor environmental quality and occupants’ health
• high-performance building envelopes and green technologies;
• life-cycle building analysis design and modeling

The curriculum fosters close collaborations between prospective doctoral students and the active research agenda and signature labs directed by the architecture department’s faculty. This mentorship and collaboration ensures that doctoral students are engaged in teaching and research fellowships that provide them with up to four years of funding support.

“Research conducted by architecture faculty members and doctoral students address issues most critical to the built environment and provide creative solutions to problems associated with building performance, resource conservation, urbanization, ecology and quality of life,” says Christine Theodoropoulos, department head. “Our goal is to further environmental sustainability through collaboration between architectural research and practice for the benefit of our communities.”

Prospective students include tomorrows’ visionaries, design principals, design academics, and design scientists who have previously completed a master’s level professional degree in architecture (MArch) or equivalent (e.g., BArch and MS in a related field) and show evidence of academic, practice experience, and research potential. The UO invites U.S. and international professionals and academics to apply.

Depending on their preparation and research goals, doctoral candidates can expect to complete their degree in three to five years, which includes time for required coursework, qualifying exams, and completion of a dissertation with one to two years of residency requirement to complete required coursework.

For more information about the program and to obtain application material and requirements please visit our website at http://architecture.uoregon.edu/programs/arch/phd/, or email at archadms@uoregon.edu, or call us at 541-346-3656.