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The University of Edinburgh: Architecture by Design

Institution The University of Edinburgh View institution profile
Department Edinburgh College of Art
Web https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying
Study type Research

Summary

The Architecture by Design PhD offers you the opportunity to pursue design-led research at the highest level. The words ‘by design’ refer to your mode of:

  • research

  • practice

  • interpretation

Therefore, it is important to understand how your ‘by design’ method informs and directs a thesis over a particular research duration, and how the development of your ‘by design’ methodology is not only an important aspect of the thetic process, but also important to how your thesis is finally presented.

Research topics This PhD can be pursued through many lines and techniques of architectural inquiry, spanning:

  • design

  • buildings

  • technology

  • history

  • sustainability

  • conservation

  • theory

  • criticism

  • city

  • visuality

  • communication

  • philosophy

  • politics

  • environment

  • landscape

  • information technology

  • digital media

Research output Your output must contain original works such as:

  • designs

  • built work

  • drawings

  • models

  • photographs

  • video

  • sculptures

  • installations

  • websites

You must include documentation of the processes by which the work was produced.

Your research culminates in a professionally presented text of not more than 50,000 words and a comprehensive record of the exhibited material (images, drawings, photographs) contained in a coherent and archivable format (bound thesis and/or CD/DVD).

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await.

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50, and placed 27th in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.

Our position as one of Britain’s leading research universities was reaffirmed by the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, ranked 4th in the UK for research power (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions), with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Our …

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