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Department of Architecture

 

Course requirements:

Candidates accepted for this course will have a 1st class or a high 2i honours degree and, a Masters degree with 70% overall (or equivalent) in Architecture or a related discipline.

The University requires all applicants to demonstrate competence in the English language at a very high level before they begin their proposed course of study - adherence to this requirement is strict. You must be able to demonstrate that you are able to communicate in English at a level and in an idiom suitable to the subject. You will, therefore, need to provide evidence that you meet the University’s minimum requirements for competence in English. For further information see Postgraduate Admissions Office.

How to Make an Application for the PhD in Architecture

If you do meet the course requirements, you are recommended to consult the list of our established University Teaching Officers (UTOs) and their research interests (see below for links to information about each of our UTOs). If one of our UTOs has relevant research interests to your own, please email them directly with a short research proposal of about 300 words, an example of your writing and a CV to determine whether they are potentially available to work with you as a supervisor before you make a formal application. See:

Dr Ronita Bardhan - Data-driven built-environment design, spatial analysis and climate change, Big data for sustainability in the built-environment, design for demand side energy management

Professor James Campbell - History of building construction, history of library design

Dr Ramit Debnath - Cutting-edge interdisciplinary domain of environmental data science, computational social science, and human-in-the-loop AI design to enable climate action. Applicants should be able to demonstrate excellent data science and quantitative research skills and a passion for interdisciplinary engagement

Dr Michal Gath-Morad - Exploring how architectural design impacts spatial cognition, behaviour, and social dynamics in diverse environments, from healthcare and workplaces to complex urban settings. Proposals can encompass empirical studies, the development of digital simulation tools for human-centred design, or action research investigating the influence of evidence-based design tools on design cognition

Dr Felipe Hernández - Architectural and urban design, participatory design, social urbanism, history and theory

Professor Ying Jin – City planning, urban design, and urban modelling

Dr Irit KatzSocio-politics of architecture and urbanism; transitional spaces, camps and borderscapes; spaces of displacement, migration, and climate mobilities; ethnic and cultural diversity, exclusion and inequality; conflict and violence; housing insecurities; radical spatial and urban transformations; participatory architecture and urban design

Dr Antiopi Koronaki - Computational design, architectural engineering and geometry, and design optimization principles. Potential topics may include, but are not limited to automation and design for disassembly, modular buildings and circularity in the construction sector, engineered timber construction, as well as advanced fabrication and robotics in architecture

Dr Michael Ramage – Designing and building structural masonry spans using traditional techniques and new materials

Professor Flora Samuel - Affordable housing, participatory planning, community consultation, social value and mapping data with communities

Dr Darshil U. Shah - Design and manufacture with biocomposites and low-carbon materials, Structure- property-processing relations in natural materials and structures, Biomechanics and biomimetics, History of natural materials & materials processing, and Design education and pedagogy

Dr Nicholas Simcik Arese - Social theory and urban planning, international development, property rights, youth, masculinity, migration, Middle East, Mediterranean, Mexico, legal geography, science and technology studies, anthropology of value, ethnography

Professor Emily So - Casualty estimation in earthquake loss modelling, risk in the built environment.

Professor Koen Steemers – architectural and urban implications of environmental issues ranging from energy use to human comfort

Dr Max Sternberg– architecture & philosophy, socio-politics of architecture, urban conflict, architectural history

Dr Minna Sunikka-Blank - sustainable building policies, thermal retrofit, energy use behaviour, aesthetics of sustainable architecture

Dr Matteo Zallio - Interdisciplinary research on Inclusive Design for the built environment, product, and service design

You are recommended to only make a formal application via the University’s Graduate Admissions Office, once an established UTO has confirmed that they would be interested to consider a formal application.  Please note that an offer of admission to the University is subject to final approval by the University's Graduate Admissions Office.  Do not assume that you will be made an offer on the grounds that your prospective supervisor has suggested you make a formal application – this just represents the first stage of admission administration.

All applications must be made via the Applicant Portal available on the Postgraduate Admissions Office website. It is important that you read through the information available on the Graduate Admissions Office website before submitting your application. If you are already a current graduate student at Cambridge you will be referred to as a ‘Continuer’ on the Graduate Admissions Office website.

You will need to arrange for the following documents to be submitted with your application:

  • Academic Reference(s) 
  • A Personal Reference will be required if you are applying for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship
  • Transcript
  • Evidence of Competence in English if English is not your first language
  • Sample of Work - this could be a journal publication or a chapter from your undergraduate dissertation
  • Research Proposal of 1000 - 1500 words should consist of a topic and a hypothesis, a literature review, a statement on method, and key references

Application Deadlines

The PhD in Architecture commences in October each year and applications for the course can be made from the preceding September. All applications must be made via the Applicant Portal available on the Postgraduate Admissions Office website. It is important that you read through the information available on the Graduate Admissions Office website before submitting your application.

The final deadline for applicants seeking funding is 7 January 2020. Even if you are not seeking funding, we strongly recommend that you submit your application by 7 January, as no applications will be accepted once this competitive and popular programme is full.

If places are still available on programmes beyond this deadline; self-funded applicants will continue to be considered until the final deadline of 15 May 2020.  No applications will be considered after this deadline.

Course Fees

Information relating to the fee for this course is available from the Postgraduate Admissions Office.   

Funding

If you are seeking funding for your course via one of the University’s main funding competitions, there are specific deadlines and eligibility criteria for each competition. Please check the Funding Section of the Postgraduate Admissions Office website for information and application deadlines.  

Applicants classed as 'Home' or 'EU' for fees purposes and wish to research an AHRC approved research subject are eligible to be considered for an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP studentship. Applicants wishing to be considered for these awards need to check the appropriate box on the application form. Applicants will also need to ensure that they make their application by the funding competition deadline for Home/EU students. Please see the University's AHRC DTP funding website for more information: https://www.csah.cam.ac.uk/Education/ahrcdtp together with the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP website: https://www.oocdtp.ac.uk/

The Department sometimes offers EPSRC awards for students classified as 'Home' or 'EU' for fees purposes.  These awards are advertised on the Department’s website and other media during the Easter Term (Summer Term) if available.  Applicants who have already applied for the PhD degree will automatically be considered for these awards if they meet the criteria for them.

After your Application is Submitted

When the application reaches the Department, it will be considered by the Department’s Graduate Admissions Team. Applicants may be invited for an interview in Cambridge, or, via Skype if it is not possible to travel to Cambridge.  The Faculty’s Degree Committee will then consider the application and make a recommendation to the Graduate Admissions Office as to whether an offer of a place on the course should be made, and if so, with what academic conditions.

Please be aware that this process may take several months.  You can check the status of your application at any time via your Applicant Portal.

Full information about making your application, Colleges, fees and funding opportunities is provided on the Postgraduate Admissions Office website pages.

For further information on graduate admission to the Department of Architecture contact: postgraduate.admin@aha.cam.ac.uk

At a Glance

Course length and dates:

3 years full-time/5 years part-time, October start.

Examination:

A dissertation of not more than 80,000 words. 

Academic requirement:

A 1st class or a high 2i honours degree in Architecture or a related discipline, and a Masters degree with merit (if a merit category exists).

English language requirement:

See Postgraduate Admissions Office

Applications accepted from:

The preceding September.

Application Deadlines:

The final deadline for applicants seeking funding is early January, please see Postgraduate Admissions for exact date. Even if you are not seeking funding, we strongly recommend that you submit your application by 7 January, as no applications will be accepted once this competitive and popular programme is full.

Course Fees:

Information relating to the fee for this course is available from the Postgraduate Admissions Office.  

Funding:

If you are seeking funding for your course via one of the University’s main funding competitions, there are specific deadlines and eligibility criteria for each competition.  Please check the Funding Section of the Postgraduate Admissions Office website for information and application deadlines.