United StatesThere are two academic graduate degrees at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design: Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Architecture. These programs produce students whose scholarship aims to provoke and operate within the multiple constituencies in the field of architecture.
Both the M.A. and Ph.D. programs are supported by the Standing Committee, made up of three faculty members: Michael Osman, interim program director, Dana Cuff, and Cristóbal Amunátegui. A number of visiting faculty teach courses to expand the range of offerings.
Colloquium
All M.A. and Ph.D. students are required to enroll in a two-year colloquium focused on methods for writing, teaching, and researching in the field of architecture. The six courses that constitute the colloquium train students in the apparatus of academic scholarship. Over the two-year sequence, students produce original research projects and develop skills in long-format writing.
Program
This program prepares students to enter the academic professions, either in architectural history, architectural design, or other allied fields. Given AUD’s professional orientation in architectural design, Ph.D. students are trained to teach courses in the history and theory of architecture and also engage in studio pedagogy and exhibition design.
Ph.D. students take a series of approved courses in addition to the colloquium, both within AUD and across the UCLA campus. They select these courses in relation to their own research interests and in consultation with their primary advisor. The priorities for selection are breadth of knowledge and interdisciplinary experience that retains a focused area of expertise. To this end, the students identify Major and Minor Fields of study. The Minor Field is generally fulfilled by satisfactorily completing three courses given by another department and the Major Field by five courses offered at AUD. Once course work is completed, Ph.D. students move to the Comprehensive Exam, Qualifying Exam, and the writing of a dissertation, and final defense, if required by the doctoral committee.
In the transition from course work to exams, Ph.D. students work on one paper beyond its original submission as course work. The paper begins in the context of a departmental seminar, but often continues either in the context of an independent study, summer mentorship, or a second seminar with faculty consent. Upon the research paper’s acceptance, students begin preparing for their comprehensive exam.
The comprehensive exam tests two fields: the first covers a breadth of historical knowledge—300 years at minimum—and the second focuses on in-depth knowledge of a specialization that is historically and thematically circumscribed. Students submit an abstract on each of these fields, provide a substantial bibliography, and prepare additional documentation requested by their primary advisor. These materials are submitted to the committee no less than two weeks before the exam, which occurs as early as the end of the second year.
The Comprehensive Exam itself consists of two parts: an oral component that takes place first, and then a written component. The oral component is comprised of questions posed by the committee based on the student’s submitted materials. The goal of the exam is for students to demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of their chosen field. The written component of the exam consists in a research paper written in response to a choice of questions posed by the committee. The goal of this portion of the exam is for students to demonstrate their research skills, their ability to develop and substantiate an argument, and to show promise of original contribution to the field. Students have two weeks to write the exam. After the committee has read the exam, the advisor notifies the student of the committee’s decision. Upon the student successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam, they continue to the Qualifying Exam.
Students are expected to take the Qualifying Exam by the end of their third year. The exam focuses on a dissertation prospectus that a student develops with their primary advisor and in consultation with their Ph.D. committee. Each student’s Ph.D. committee consists of at least two members of the Standing Committee and at most one outside member, from another department at the University or from another institution. The prospectus includes an argument with broad implications, demonstrates that the dissertation will make a contribution of knowledge and ideas to the field, demonstrates mastery of existing literature and discourses, and includes a plan and schedule for completion.
The Ph.D. dissertation is written after the student passes the qualifying exam, at which point the student has entered Ph.D. candidacy. The dissertation is defended around the sixth year of study. Students graduating from the program have taken posts in wide range of universities, both in the United States and internationally.
Research Opportunities
The intellectual life of the students in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs is undergirded by the increasing number of opportunities afforded to students through specialized faculty-led research projects. These include: cityLAB and the Urban Humanities Initiative.
cityLAB is a think tank that focuses on experimental urban architecture. Its director, Dana Cuff, initiates projects that engage research and design related to three initiatives: the postsurburban city, urban sensing, and rethinking green. Advanced research students from AUD, as well as related UCLA departments, participate in all cityLAB undertakings. Recent projects include symposia, design competitions, funded research grants, design-technology installations, and publications on topics ranging from design after disaster, to innovative housing neighborhood infrastructure, to high-speed rail’s implications for the city.
The Urban Humanities Initiative (UHI), of which Dana Cuff is one of the principle investigators, has established UCLA as an internationally recognized hub for collaborative study of urbanism that bridges design with the humanities. UHI’s focus is the comparative study of megacities on the Pacific Rim, including: Tokyo, Shanghai, and Mexico City. Seminars and studios are linked by a broad conceptual themes which demonstrate overlapping cultural and historical dynamics, including: risk and resilience, identity, and density. Several conferences have been organized, including one organized by the M.A. and Ph.D. programs of the Department, “Archiving Risk: Contributions of Architectural and Urban History,” in 2014.
A.B., B.A., or B. Arch., Architecture M.A., or M. Arch. Architecture or non-Architecture graduate or undergraduate degree.
Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Students with degrees in other fields are also encouraged to apply, but may be required to complete specific coursework in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design as a condition of admission at the discretion of the Ph.D. Program Committee. Applicants must fulfill the requirements of the Graduate Division and of the Architecture and Urban Design Program.
Degree Objective on the Application for Graduate Admission (AGA): PhD
Language Requirements
Students must satisfactorily complete three quartes of language study before they may take the qualifying exam. The particular language will be determined in consultation with the Ph.D. committee.
Ph.D. Application Dossier Must Include:
-A short biographical résumé
-Academic transcripts (one official copy)
-Examples of written research work
-Three letters of recommendation
-A statement of purpose and a proposed program of studies
-Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores
-TOEL (international students)
