The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture will offer a Ph.D. program, beginning with the fall 2014 semester.
The program will offer a Doctor of Philosophy in Planning, Design and Construction, with five areas of concentration that align with the college’s academic units: architecture, construction science, interior design, landscape architecture, and regional and city planning. These areas are related in both practice and research. The OU College of Architecture is one of few places in the country that includes this full range of built environment-related disciplines.
The title of the degree was chosen by college faculty as an expression of the core activities of the disciplines, and as one that indicates the ultimate objective of the program: generating multidisciplinary knowledge about the built environment. The program formalizes and improves existing links among the related disciplines in the college and fills the need for research that directly influences professional practice across the planning, design and construction industries.
The college has been working to organize the doctorate program for several years.
“We are so pleased to be able to advance the quality of our educational excellence with the support of university administration, Regents and the State Board of Higher Education,” said Charles Graham, dean of the OU College of Architecture.
Alluding to the vast resources for research at OU and across the state of Oklahoma available to graduate students in pursuit of advanced degrees, Graham further explained the advantages of this program over others.
“We are uniquely situated both within a multidisciplinary college and in the Midwest, and we are able to offer the doctorate degree to students who can make significant contributions in their careers in academic, government or practice,” he said. “Specializations not available anywhere else in the world make our program unique.”
Aside from the two core classes required, students will study for their chosen track through specific courses. Classes for the Ph.D. program are being planned for the fall 2014 semester, with applications expected to be available in late February or early March.
For more information about the College of Architecture Ph.D. program, email coa-communications@ou.edu or call (405) 325-2444.
