About the DBE Program
The Ph.D. Program in Design and Built Environment (DBE) in the School of Architecture is a three to four-year postgraduate research degree recognized as the highest level of academic achievement. Coursework leading to the doctoral degree is planned to give students a comprehensive knowledge of the field of specialization and a mastery of the methods of research. The degree is not awarded solely based on coursework completed, residence, completion of preliminary or comprehensive examinations, or other routine requirements. The final basis for granting the degree is a student’s grasp of the subject matter across a broad field of study, their competence in planning and conducting research and the ability to express oneself adequately and professionally, both orally and in writing. Ultimately, only a student’s advisory committee can certify that you have earned this degree.
In most cases, students enter the program with a master’s degree in a design discipline, such as architecture, landscape architecture, or planning. Additionally, exceptional students with a bachelor’s degree may be accepted into the doctoral program and are required to take a foundational year of coursework. Students from other disciplines, such as engineering, business or the social sciences, may be required to take prerequisite coursework.
There are two paths to earning a Ph.D.: A bachelor’s to Ph.D. pathway and the most common master’s to Ph.D. pathway. Graduates of the program often become leaders in their selected fields and find employment in academia, government, public and private research centers and institutes and different industry sectors.
Vision
The vision of the Ph.D. Program in Design and Built Environment (DBE) is to be a forward-thinking academic community of faculty and students working across disciplinary boundaries to create new knowledge to advance the design of the built environment.
Mission Statement
The Ph.D. Program in Design and Built Environment (DBE) aims to prepare the next generation of academics and professionals to address diverse and complex issues involving the built environment. The doctoral program leverages the complementary strengths of architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and related fields that collectively contribute to new knowledge that improves the design of built environments, design disciplines and professional practice.
Goals
The DBE Program is guided by two overarching goals:
1. The program aims to teach students research competencies related to the design of the built environment.
2. The program aims to create the next generation of academics, researchers and practitioners who utilize research and scholarship to improve our built environment.
Pedagogy
The method and teaching in the program follow some core principles:
- Encourage cross-disciplinary research opportunities where students can learn how to conduct research using different approaches, methods, data collection tools and analytical procedures.
- Offer a flexible curricular platform to investigate various topics of interest
- Cultivate the specialist and the generalist
- Harness the strengths in the shared intersections across design disciplines, leveraging both the breadth that comes from collaborations in a program and the depth gained from being within a specific research area.
- Identify cross-cutting themes that address critical issues influenced by the built environment such as health, climate change, sustainability and social equity.
- Connect students to real-world research and practical applications.
Target Audience
The DBE program attracts applicants from various design-related fields who are interested in critical investigations into the built environment. Most students in the program come directly from national and international graduate programs, from professional practice, the military and different industry sectors.
Employment Opportunities
Graduates of the program are expected to become leaders in their selected fields and typically find employment in academia, government, public and private research centers and institutes and different industry sectors. Academic programs in architecture, landscape architecture and other planning and design-related disciplines have traditionally hired most of our recent graduates.
Another increased employment opportunity is for researchers in professional practice as the evidence-based design movement expands, prompting clients to ask for proof of design decision-making and metrics that measure design impact. Related job opportunities are promising as new outlets open for our graduates related to research in sustainable building practices, healthcare facility design, emerging building technologies, urban and community development patterns and cultural landscapes.
