Architecture, Ph.D.

All applicants must hold either (1) a professionally accredited baccalaureate degree in architecture or landscape architecture from a regionally accredited U.S. institution and a master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or related field or (2) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a professionally accredited bachelor’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture from a regionally accredited U.S. institution and a master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or related field; both degrees must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which they operate. Alternatively, the applicant can hold (3) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution plus a professionally accredited master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture or (4) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution plus a professionally accredited master’s degree in architecture or landscape architecture; these degrees must be from officially recognized degree-granting institutions in the country in which they operate. Outstanding candidates who do not hold a professional architecture or landscape architecture degree but who satisfy all other entrance requirements may be admitted at the discretion of the program.

An overall minimum grade-point average of 3.20 for graduate and undergraduate degrees is required for admission. Exceptions to the minimum 3.20 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests at the discretion of the program.

All applicants for admission to the Ph.D. degree program must submit the following:

• a completed Graduate School application and payment of the application fee
• official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
• names of three faculty members or professionals acquainted with the applicant’s academic history who can be contacted and invited to provide reference letters
• a Ph.D. Essay that (1) articulates the reasons for pursuing graduate training; (2) demonstrates that the Ph.D. program has been carefully considered and a relevant faculty member has been identified; (3) presents a clear research focus; and (4) highlights how previous education, academic background, and/or professional experience provide a foundation for pursuing graduate training in this research field
• a Curriculum Vitae

https://bulletins.psu.edu

https://bulletins.psu.edu

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Architecture (ARCH) Course List

https://bulletins.psu.edu

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of The Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by The Graduate School.

All applicants who are accepted are considered for departmental financial aid.

https://bulletins.psu.edu

The Department of Architecture and the College of Health and Human Development offer a dual-title graduate degree program in Architecture and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (TREES), both at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. The TREES program is a transdisciplinary, intercollege program at the intersection of natural resources and societal challenges, which exposes students to issues including, but not limited to global climate change; sustainable energy, food, and fiber supplies; threats to biodiversity; water pollution and availability; genetic modification; and sustainable design.

The purpose of this dual-title degree is to provide architecture graduate students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct architecture research in relationship to socio-environmental challenges that revolve around managing ecosystems and natural resources in ways that continue to promote human well-being.

Once admitted in the Ph.D. in Architecture degree program, a student can apply for admission to TREES. Admission process and requirements can be found here. Doctoral students must be admitted into the dual-title degree program in TREES no later than the end of the fourth semester (not counting summer semesters) of entry into the graduate major program.

The Qualifying Examination, Dissertation Committee formation, coursework selection, Comprehensive Examination, Dissertation, and Final Oral Examination (dissertation defense) must be carefully planned to satisfy the requirements of the dual-title degree in Architecture and TREES. To complete the dual-title degree, students must satisfy the minimum requirements of the Ph.D. in Architecture degree program and, in addition, the minimum requirements of the dual-title intercollege degree program.

More information

• University Policy on Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs GCAC-208
• College of Health and Human Development TREES
• Graduate Bulletin TREES
• Graduate Bulletin Dual-Title Ph.D. in Architecture + TREES

This Ph.D. focuses on the opportunities afforded by interdisciplinary collaboration through the Stuckeman School’s Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The curriculum is highly individualized: students first must complete the requirements of the M.S. in Landscape Architecture (or equivalent); then they undertake one year of required resident coursework, after which they complete dissertation research as required.

This curriculum benefits from potential alliance with award-winning faculty University-wide. Opportunities include our Hamer Center for Community Design, the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, and E+D: Ecology plus Design, which merges ecology and design in ways that improve the ecological function of the designed world. Students may also pursue a dual-title degree Ph.D. in Architecture with a focus in Landscape Architecture + Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (TREES).

Dima Abu-Aridah
Research Focus: Refugee camps and socio-spatial dimensions
Research Clusters: Culture, Society, Space and Design Computing
Academic Adviser: Rebecca Henn
dfa5278@psu.edu

Mahsa Adib
Landscape Architecture Focus
Research Focus: Community engagement for green stormwater infrastructure development
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Hong Wu
mva5844@psu.edu

Sana Ahrar
Research Focus: Mixed-income informal settlements in the global south
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Alexandra Staub
sxa5735@psu.edu

Maryam Aman
Research Focus: Energy-efficient building design
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Advisers: Ute Poerschke and José Pinto Duarte
mka5911@psu.edu

Elizabeth Andrzejewski
Research Focus: Konrad Wachsmann, prefabrication, building technology, automation, robotics
Research Cluster: Material Matters
Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer
ema5162@psu.edu

Ali Baghi
Research Focus: Digital fabrication, concrete printing
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Academic Adviser: José Duarte
axb6183@psu.edu

Abhinandan Bera
Landscape Architecture Focus
Research Focus: Colonial urban history, urban morphology, socio-economic development, neoliberalism, globalization, urban planning
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Andy Cole
aub279@psu.edu

Özgüç Bertuğ Çapunaman
Research Focus: Interactive and adaptive fabrication, computational making, tool development
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Academic Adviser: Benay Gürsoy
Personal website | ozgucbertug@psu.edu

Yuxiang Dong
Research Focus: Landscape Architecture
Research Cluster: Hong Wu
yqd5528@psu.edu

Paniz Farrokhsiar
Research Focus: Computational design, the role of making in the design process
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Adviser: Benay Gürsoy
Personal website | puf69@psu.edu

Lara Garcia
Research Focus: The role of human spatial and thermal perception in extreme heat events and urban heat island effect adaptation
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Advisers: Travis Flohr and Stephen Mainzer
lag812@psu.edu

Amir Ghasemi
Research Focus: Digital fabrication
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Academic Adviser: José Duarte
akf5785@psu.edu

Elnaz Ghasemi
Research Focus: Urban energy use, carbon emissions
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari
exg5335@psu.edu

Keerthana Govindarazan
Research Focus: Virtual reality, spatial cognition and perception, performance art
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Advisers: Yasmine Abbas and José Pinto Duarte
kmg6763@psu.edu

Ankita Karmakar
Landscape Architecture Focus
Research Focus: Globalization and neo-liberalization, women and culture, global feminism, right to the city, everyday city, peri-urban cultural-resilience across global south, gender equity, current practice of design, planning and policy framework
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose
amk7900@psu.edu

Tiffanie Leung
Research Focus: Earthbag construction
Research Cluster: Material Matters
Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer
til5226@psu.edu

Jie Li
Research Focus: How to close the performance gap in sustainable buildings
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Lisa Iulo
jxl6569@psu.edu

Eric Mainzer
Research Focus: Virtual reality, design education, spatial cognition
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Adviser: José Pinto Duarte
emm130@psu.edu

Zia Mohajerzadeh
Research Focus: Dynamic façade configurations for reduced energy consumption and improved thermal comfort and indoor air quality
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari
zjm5337@psu.edu

Alale Mohseni
Research Cluster: Design Computing
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
abm6706@psu.edu

Mahan Motalebi
Research Focus: Material aging
Research Cluster: Material Matters
Academic Adviser: Marcus Shaffer
mqm6717@psu.edu

Michael Nowak
Research Focus: Security in architectural space
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Ute Poerschke
Personal website | msn141@psu.edu

Hanin Othman
Research Focus: Monitoring indoor environment quality and controlling building façade operations using assistive robots
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari
hao5085@psu.edu

Houman Riazi Jorshari
Research Focus: Moving images, media studies, and architectural theory
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Pep Avíles
hqr5205@psu.edu

Krista Schneider
Research Focus: Land grant university and place-based economic development
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose
kls126@psu.edu

Nusrat Tabassum
Research Focus: Additive manufacturing with concrete in extreme climatic conditions
Research Cluster: Material Matters
Research Affiliation: Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Academic Adviser: José Pinto Duarte
nqt5207@psu.edu

Tasneem Tariq
Research Focus: Thermal environment, urban heat island, green infrastructures, thermal comfort, sustainable cities
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Advisers: Ute Poerschke and Lisa Domenica Iulo
tbt5252@psu.edu

Nicolás Verdejo Bravo
Research Focus: Architecture education, 20th Century authoritarianisms, politics
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Denise Costanzo
nzv5124@psu.edu

Nan Yang
Landscape Architecture Focus
Research Focus: Social-spatial dimension of the garment industry in China
Research Cluster: Culture, Society, Space
Academic Adviser: Mallika Bose
nzy8@psu.edu

Jingshi Zhang
Research Focus: Artificial leaf-based cladding system performance evaluation
Research Cluster: Sustainability
Academic Adviser: Rahman Azari
jfz5431@psu.edu

Yuhan Zhou
Research Focus: Landscape Architecture
Academic Adviser: Hong Wu
yxz6026@psu.edu