phd architecture mit

Degree Requirements

Graduate programs.

MArch Curriculum Chart

As the first program of its kind in the United States, the professional degree program at MIT also has a particular responsibility to the future. Defined by the intersection of design and research, our professional program serves as a laboratory for all the innovation and scholarship within the department — while also serving as a laboratory for the future of architectural education itself.

In this laboratory, our students are leaders. The small size of MIT’s MArch program, with 25 students in each class, allows for unique trajectories through MIT into the profession of architecture and beyond. The program’s size also ensures that our experiments together are conducted in an atmosphere of engaged debate — with ourselves, with guests, and with the larger communities that we serve. As well as within the classroom, this culture extends through public lectures and programs within the department, the School of Architecture and Planning, and all of MIT — with students curating the most agile platforms for dialogue.

Though it feeds on everything that surrounds it, the MArch laboratory derives its energy from its key testing ground: the studio. Studio is a key site of iterative, embodied, design learning, where cultural meaning animates methods and materials with urgency. MIT’s MArch studio sequence is both surrounded by and infused with deep disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking, sometimes in support of — and other times deliberately at odds with — studio concerns. It comprises three distinct units: (3) Core Studios, (3) Research Studios, and a Thesis Project. The collective mission of the three Core studios is to offer fundamental architectural methods to students, while opening up a series of different entries into the vocation of an architect, such that students can begin to develop their own positions and become well versed in initiating other entries and paths through the discipline. Each of the Core studios is oriented toward the contemporary conversations and the future of the discipline, which means that they are constantly updated. Though each of them delimits a different set of cultural, technical, and disciplinary issues, together they deliver approaches, attitudes, and questions we deem essential for students establishing their own research projects and agenda.

For a large part of the population of every incoming class of MArch students, these three studios will be the first experiences in navigating uncertainty in the creative process, the exhilaration of giving form to ideas, imagining material assemblies with specific properties, and searching for the appropriate ways to align architecture’s agency with their own cultural and social ambitions: These will be experienced with increasing levels of control throughout our creative lives. Enabling a lifelong process of iteration and experimentation is the underlying ethos of all three core studios.

Following Core, the Research Studios offer an array of topics at scales that range from 1:1 experimentation in assembly to the geographic scale. They fit — though, never neatly — into several categories of inquiry: architectural, which includes design of buildings and urban life; urban, which includes design of landscape, territories, and the urban fabric; and cross studios, which focus on interdisciplinary topics and open up the possibilities for the final deliverables of the studio to take place in various media suited to the focus of their research.

Seminars and Lecture courses drill down into historical and disciplinary expertise, which contextualize, challenge, and sometimes enable studio’s instrumental thinking, while Workshops provide a platform for faster, more discrete experimentation than is normally conducted in studios. All of these are mechanisms by which faculty involve students in the deep depths of their own research.

The Thesis semester caps the MArch studio sequence. It provides to students a precious and sustained space for their own experimentation with framing the terms of engagement with the world. The size of the program becomes relevant here once again. Many forms and formats of work are possible for this self-directed project: a student could choose to see their contribution at this stage as feeding into a larger project already well under way in the department, or one of the labs currently operating, or as a more intimate dialogue with individual faculty. The buzz, the energy, and the production that take place during the MArch thesis ferment into material artifacts, processes, statements — knowledge — that probes the edges of architecture. The final Thesis presentation, set to be the last event of the semester, is when the faculty involved in the MArch program, together with students and guest critics, celebrate our students’ ideas, risks taken, decisions made in the course of their thesis projects, and all those yet to come.

Those who have not yet studied in a department of architecture and are admitted to MArch at Year 1 require 3½ academic years of residency to fulfill the degree requirements.

Faculty Advising

A faculty advisor with a design background will be assigned to each MArch student before the first term of registration. The advisor will monitor the student’s progress through completion of the degree.

Subjects and Credit Units

The MArch is awarded upon satisfactory completion of an approved program of 282 graduate units and an acceptable 24-unit thesis for 306 total graduate credits.

Subjects required for the 3½-year program include the following:

Six architectural design studios (3 core studios and 3 research studios)
Geometric Disciplines and Architectural Skills I (4.105)
One Computation restricted elective (4.117, 4.511, 4.521, or 4.567)
Three Building Technology subjects (4.464, 4.462, and 4.463)
Architectural Assemblies (4.123)
Precedents in Critical Practice (4.210)
Professional Practice (4.222)
Architecture from 1750 to the Present (4.645)
One History, Theory and Criticism restricted elective (4.607, 4.612, 4.621, 4.647, 4.241, or 4.652)
One History, Theory and Criticism elective
One Computation/Media Lab elective (4.5xx or MAS.xxx)
Urban Design elective (11.xxx)
ACT elective (4.3xx)
Three open elective subjects (or 24 total credits)
Preparation for MArch Thesis (4.189)
Graduate Design Thesis (4.ThG)

All elective subjects must be at least nine units.

Credit for Previous Academic Work

MArch students who have successfully completed the equivalent of one or more required architecture subjects outside MIT (or within MIT as undergraduates) may be given advanced credit for those subjects by submitting a petition for curriculum adjustment with as much relevant material as possible (including a transcript, syllabi, reading lists, problem sets, paper assignments, or portfolios). Petitions are submitted to Kateri Bertin before the first day of class and are then reviewed by the MArch Program Committee by the end of the first month of term. The Committee is composed of one faculty member from each of the four discipline groups. Depending on the subject for which MIT credit is requested, students may substitute an elective in the discipline group or substitute a free elective. All requests must be resolved by the beginning of the penultimate semester.

English Proficiency Requirement

All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required units but will prove helpful to students who need to develop the skills necessary to write a thesis.

Jumpstart

MIT Architecture's Jumpstart is designed to prepare incoming MArch students for the rigors of the first design studio and to develop basic skills. The course is intended for students with little architectural studio experience but is also open to others who would benefit from introductory exposure to unfamiliar software. Jumpstart is created for our MArch student community by our MArch student community. This experience is taught through exercises that have been handed down from year to year and taught by our esteemed teaching fellows (recent graduates).

Policy on Incomplete Subjects and Thesis Semester

MArch students may have no more than one incomplete in a required subject when they register for thesis (4.THG). This incomplete can be no older than one term (received the term prior to thesis registration).

Students who have incompletes from several subjects or incompletes from earlier terms will be denied registration until those subjects are finished and graded. This policy applies to incompletes in subjects required by the degree curriculum or necessary for units toward the degree.

Academic Audits

A chart indicating progress through the academic requirements will be maintained as part of each student’s file. The administrator of master’s degree programs will distribute this audit to students and to faculty advisors each term.

Thesis Preparation and Thesis

An MArch thesis at MIT operates as an independent thesis project, interrogating the discipline of architecture. The thesis is developed by the student and is supported by a committee of readers and an advisor. In the next-to-last term of registration (the semester prior to thesis), students enroll in Preparation for MArch Thesis (4.189). This course guides students towards declaring a thesis statement as well as forming the thesis committee. The result of this 9-unit subject is a thesis proposal.

The MArch thesis committee is composed of three members. The thesis advisor must be a permanent member of the Department of Architecture faculty with an architecture design background. The second and third members (also known as readers) may be any member of the MIT faculty or research staff, an outside professional, or a faculty member from another institution. Download the Thesis Committee Guidelines here.

Thesis co-advising is permitted as long as one of the advisors is a permanent member of the Department of Architecture faculty with an architecture design background. The other advisor may be any member of the MIT faculty or research staff, an outside professional, or a faculty member from another institution.

MArch students are required to register for 24 units of thesis (4.THG) the final term. The thesis proposal, including a thesis proposal form signed by all the thesis committee members, is due the first week of the term in which the student registers for thesis.

The MArch Thesis Review Schedule includes deadlines for proposal review, public mid-review, penultimate review, final review, and final thesis document.

The MArch degree is awarded after all the degree requirements have been met and the approved, archival-ready thesis has been submitted to the Department of Architecture by the Institute deadline for master’s theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar . Students must adhere to the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

SMACT Degree Requirements

The minimum required residency for students enrolled in the SMACT program is two academic years. SMACT students do not register for summer term.

A faculty advisor from the Art, Culture and Technology Program is assigned to each SMACT student at matriculation. The advisor will consult on the student's initial plan of study and on each subsequent term's choice of subjects. This individual should be a faculty member with whom the student is in close contact; changes in advisor may be made to make this possible. The advisor monitors the student's progress through completion of the degree.

A minimum of 135 units of graduate-level coursework is required, not including thesis. Subjects to be taken:

4.390 Art, Culture and Technology Studio is taken each of the four terms of enrollment in the program
Two ACT graduate subjects, one of which must be taken with an ACT core faculty member
Two elective subjects that support student's area of study
4.387, SMACT Theory & Criticism Colloquium, taken during first term
4.388, SMACT Thesis Preparation, taken during second term
4.389 SMACT Thesis Tutorial, taken during third term
4.THG, Thesis (registration for thesis), taken during fourth term

Art, Culture and Technology Studio

Art, Culture and Technology Studio (4.390) is restricted to SMACT degree students and serves as the core of the curriculum. It is coordinated by an ACT faculty member and involves the participation of all faculty currently advising SMACT candidates. Students are expected to participate in all class meetings. Attendance at the ACT Lecture Series and other ACT events is expected.

SMACT Thesis

For requirements visit the ACT Website .

SMArchS degree requirement chart

The Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) is a two-year program of advanced study founded on research and inquiry in architecture as a discipline and as a practice. First established at MIT in 1979, the program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study. The degree may be pursued in one of six areas: Architectural Design, Architecture & Urbanism, Building Technology, Design & Computation, History, Theory & Criticism, and the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture. With one of these areas as an intellectual home, students are encouraged to explore connections in their research across these areas, and beyond to other programs and departments throughout MIT. SMArchS students work closely with one or more faculty who guide them in planning their courses of studies and in directing them purposefully towards a thesis. Notable strengths of the program are its range of concentration areas of study, its curricular flexibility and cross-disciplinary research focus, as well as its high faculty-student ratio.

Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture

The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) at MIT is a unique international graduate program designed to promote, sustain, and increase the teaching of architecture in the Islamic world. It prepares students for careers in research, design, and teaching. With strong links with the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Aga Khan Programs at Harvard, AKPIA concentrates on the critical study of the history and historiography of Islamic architecture; the interaction between architecture, society, and culture; strategies of urban and architectural preservation; design interventions in disaster areas and environmental and material-sensitive landscape research. The siting of AKPIA at MIT's Department of Architecture is intended to negate the polarizing dichotomy between the discipline of architecture (derived from Western architectural history and praxis) and Islamic Architecture, which is routinely relegated to area and cultural studies.

Architecture and Urbanism

Architecture and Urbanism is a special program for students interested in the development of critical urban design, as well as its history and theory. Consciously locating itself in the contemporary debate about what constitutes good city form with expansive metropolitan regions and systems of cities, the program teaches students to develop articulate and intellectually grounded positions. Students are expected to interrogate current positions within the field in order to explore critical alternatives to existing paradigms of urbanism. The assumption is that design inquiry is an intellectual act with the capacity to yield both critique and alternative possibilities.

The program aims to nurture well-versed, intellectually-robust, and historically-conscious architects who understand the relationship between architecture and urbanism, not as a question of taste and fashion, but as form, process, and associated socio-culturalwith meaning. The program emphasizes a unique combination of both design and scholarship. Our students are unique in their capacity to relate to both. The particular interests of faculty and students may vary, but the goal is always the achievement of the most advanced and effective methods of shaping the form, sustainability, and social condition of the built environment. The design, theory, and elective subjects are also formulated in support of this goal.

The first year of the program builds a student’s foundation with a required sequence of two studios and two theory courses. All incoming students participate in an introductory urban design studio in the fall, and a choice of urban design studio options in the spring. A course in urban design theory is taught in the fall and theory of city form in the spring. In the fall of second year, students take a thesis preparation course and have the option of enrolling in a third studio course. All students complete a master’s thesis. Students may tailor their work to a diverse array of interests, and are encouraged to engage intellectually with surrounding disciplines.

Architectural Design

The Design program offers both a theoretical foundation in the history and development of architectural design pedagogy and praxis and a platform for applied research into new design methodologies. To nurture independent theses related to the notion of design, the program aims to equip students with a critical understanding of different modes of creative synthetic production with particular focus on emerging modes of design activity, conceptual or technical, and on the potential for radicalizing current modes of architectural and building praxis.

The program encourages interdisciplinary engagement with other areas of specialist research within the Department and across the entire Institute, seeking to benefit from the remarkable academic and research environment of MIT. We see Design as a potentially integrative activity and support work that is collaborative or that bridges to other domains of knowledge.

The rich graduate design studios and workshops in the Architecture Department and Media Lab are open to SMArchS students, but the program intends to offer a distinctly post-graduate opportunity for individual design enquiry structured by seminars and lectures that give critical depth to such independent research work.

Building Technology

Building Technology offers students the opportunity to explore critical topics for the future of the built environment and resources. This area explores ways to use design and technology to create buildings that contribute to a more humane and environmentally responsible built world. Strategies employed toward these ends include integrated architectural design strategies, resource accounting through material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, building and urban energy modeling and simulation, human comfort analysis and control design and engineering and other technologically-informed design methods. Students interested in any of these strategies will be challenged to address topics of clear and important relevance to the future of the built environment through creative and analytically rigorous approaches.

Research areas supervised by the faculty address innovative materials and assemblies, emerging and nontraditional building materials, low-energy and passive building energy strategies, innovative analysis and modeling of historic structures and various issues of energy and material resources at the urban scale, including urban environmental sensing, the urban heat island effect and urban metabolism. Ideally, students entering into the program will be incorporated into active and ongoing research projects while pursuing their own intellectual and career agendas. These projects change regularly and individual faculty are best informed of current research position opportunities.

Students will often work alongside students from other departments, including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Urban Studies and Planning and others. The only class requirement stipulated by the BT group, 4.481 Building Technology Seminar, is offered during the first semester. BT SMArchS students will be accommodated in the Building Technology student lab area and will have the opportunity to work with and share their interests with BT students in other degree programs.

These areas of study are offered with the primary intention of providing the tools and perspectives necessary for changing the nature of the built environment toward a resource-efficient future. Students of diverse educational backgrounds and interests are considered.

Design and Computation

The Computation Group inquires into the varied nature and practice of computation in architectural design, and the ways in which design meaning, intention, and knowledge are constructed through sensing, thinking, and making computationally. It focuses on the development of innovative computational tools, processes and theories, and applying these in creative, socially meaningful responses to challenging design problems.

History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art

SMArchS students in History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art will expand upon prior experience (which can be in design, theory, history, practice, or other post-undergraduate work) to explore compelling research that links historical or contemporary topics with methodological issues. Working alongside doctoral students in the program, SMArchS students will be exposed to a wide range of historical periods and theoretical approaches. It is expected that research topics will be developed in close discussion with HTC faculty, building on the required Methods seminar (taken twice) to clarify the appropriate scope and original sources required for the master's thesis. The HTC program is intensely interdisciplinary, and students are expected to enrich their core disciplines of history and theory with inquiry into other fields as appropriate for their research interests. Opportunities occasionally emerge for HTC students to become involved in editing, organizing research symposia, and preparing exhibitions; students will also be brought into discussion with colleagues from across the discipline groups in the SMArchS program.

The following information applies to SMArchS degree programs in all disciplines.

The minimum required residency for students enrolled in the SMArchS program is two full academic years, to be completed in four consecutive semesters of enrollment.

A faculty advisor from the Department of Architecture is assigned to each SMArchS student at matriculation. The advisor weighs in on the student's initial plan of study and on each subsequent term's choice of subjects. This individual should be a faculty member with whom the student is in close contact. The advisor monitors the student's progress through completion of the degree.

The SMArchS degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of an approved program of at least 96 graduate units, and an acceptable thesis.

Students, with their advisors, construct individual programs of study focused on their particular interests. Subjects that must be taken include:

4.221, Architecture Studies Colloquium (1st term)
One or two core subjects in methods from the list below depending on the student’s area of study (1st and/or 2nd semester): Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture : 4.619 Historiography of Islamic Architecture and 4.621 Orientalism and Representation Architectural Design : 4.130 Architecture Design Theory and Methodologies Architecture and Urbanism : 4.228 Contemporary Urbanism Proseminar: Theory and Representation, and 4.163J Urban Design Studio Building Technology : 4.481, Building Technology Seminar Design and Computation : 4.580, Inquiry into Computation and Design History, Theory and Criticism : 4.661, Theory and Method in the Study of Architecture and Art (HTC students are required to take this subject both fall terms of their residency)
Six subjects within the student’s area of interest; in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, one additional required subject is 4.612 Islamic Architecture and the Environment; in Architecture and Urbanism, two of the subjects must be 4.241J Theory of City Form and one approved option design studio
4.288 SMArchS Architectural Design Pre-Thesis Preparation, 4.286 SMArchS Urbanism Pre-Thesis Preparation, 4.587 SMArchS Computation Pre-Thesis Preparation, 4.686 SMArchS AKPIA Pre-Thesis Preparation, 4.688 HTC Pre-Thesis Preparation, 4.288 Preparation for SMArchS Thesis for SMArchS AD only (2nd term)
4.288, Preparation for SMArchS Thesis; SMArchS AD students register for 4.ThG Graduate Thesis (3rd term)
4.THG, Graduate Thesis (final term)

All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required units but will be necessary for students who need to develop the language skills suitable for a written thesis.

SMArchS students may have no more than one incomplete in a required subject when they register for thesis (4.THG). This incomplete can be no older than one term (received the term prior to thesis registration).

SMArchS Thesis Preparation and Thesis Schedule

Thesis Preparation

Students enroll in Preparation for SMArchS Thesis (4.288) their third term of registration.

By Week 7, students finalize selecting a thesis advisor. The result of this 9-unit subject is a well-formulated thesis proposal and a department-scheduled presentation of the thesis proposal at the end of the term. By Week 14, students must submit a signed copy of the thesis proposal form and thesis proposal to the degree administrator for master's programs in the headquarters of the Department of Architecture. Once the SMArch Committee has approved the thesis proposals in consultation with the thesis advisor, students are permitted to register for thesis the following semester. Any student who is not able to produce an acceptable thesis proposal by the end of the term will be given until the end of IAP to produce a thesis proposal. If the proposal is still not acceptable, the student will be required to retake Preparation for SMArchS Thesis (4.288) their fourth term of registration.

The SMArchS thesis committee is composed of at least two and no more than three members. The thesis advisor must be permanent member of the Department of Architecture faculty. The first reader must be a permanent faculty member of the Department of Architecture or a related department at MIT. The third member (second reader) may be any member of the MIT faculty or research staff, an outside professional or a faculty member from another institution.

Co-thesis supervision is permitted as long as one of the advisors in a permanent member of the Department of Architecture faculty. The other advisor may be any member of the MIT faculty or research staff, an outside professional or a faculty member from another institution.

SMArchS students who have an approved thesis proposal are required to register for 36 units of thesis (4.THG) in their fourth and final term.

During Week 7 (before Spring Vacation), each discipline area will schedule the thesis review for its students. At the review, students will submit a draft or prototype or complete conceptual design of the thesis to his/her thesis committee, and reviewers from across the discipline areas will attend the reviews. If a student's progress is not satisfactory, the student will not be permitted to present at the final review.

During Week 11, SMArchS students will submit one copy of the thesis book to their thesis committees and meet with their thesis committees to formally defend the thesis.

NOTE: The Week 11 defense is a penultimate review. Presenting at the final review is seen as a privilege, not a right. Faculty is under no compunction to pass inadequate work. If a student's work is found wanting, s/he will not be allowed to present at the public final review. The committee may decide not to pass the thesis, or alternatively, pass it only after the student undertakes additional work to meet targets set by the committee, on a date agreed on by the latter. An extension beyond the academic year will only be granted in response to a written petition by the student concerned. The petition must be addressed to the SMArchS committee, upon which the committee will reach a decision in consultation with the thesis advisor.

By Week 14, students will submit two copies of the final approved, archival-ready thesis to the headquarters of the Department of Architecture by the Institute deadline for master's theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar. Consult the SMArchS Degree Administrator to confirm the thesis submission deadline. Students must adhere to the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

The SMArchS thesis final presentations are scheduled by the Department during the last week of the term (Week 15). These presentations, also known as final reviews, are made to the Department of Architecture community, faculty, students, and invited external reviewers. A copy of each thesis book submitted during Week 14 will be available at the reviews.

The SMArchS degree is awarded after all the degree requirements have been met, and after two copies of the approved, archival-ready thesis have been submitted to the headquarters of the Department of Architecture by the Institute deadline for master's theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar . Consult the SMArchS Degree Administrator to confirm the thesis submission deadline. Students must adhere to the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

SMBT Requirements form

The minimum required residency for students enrolled in the SMBT program is three terms, one of which may be a summer term. However, many take two academic years to complete all the requirements.

Each student in Building Technology is assigned a faculty advisor at matriculation. The advisor weighs in on the student's initial plan of study and on each subsequent term's choice of subjects. This individual should be a faculty member with whom the student is in close contact; changes can be made to make this possible. The advisor monitors the student's progress through completion of the degree.

A Report of Completed SMBT Requirements form is kept by the degree administrator in the headquarters of the Department of Architecture. It is the student's responsibility to work with the thesis advisor to keep this report updated and on file.

A minimum of 66 units of graduate-level coursework is required. Credit received for thesis (4.THG) registration does not count toward this minimum.

Subjects to be taken include:

4.481, Building Technology Seminar, taken in the fall of the first year of registration. It is expected that the thesis proposal will be a product of this subject.
2 subjects in a single field of specialization (major), chosen from thermal science, structures, materials, controls, lighting and systems analysis.
1 subject from another field of specialization (minor) in Building Technology. Other fields may also be accepted for specialization with advisor approval.
1 subject in applied mathematics.
Thesis registration, 4.THG, is allowed only if the thesis proposal has been approved and the Report of Completed SMBT Requirements has been submitted.

A thesis is required for the SMBT degree. The topic is selected from a subject currently being investigated by the faculty, and research is carried out under the direct supervision of a faculty member in the program. This faculty member will be the student's advisor and must approve the thesis proposal prior to thesis registration. Thesis readers are optional.

The SMBT is awarded after two copies of the defended, approved, archival-ready thesis have been submitted to Department of Architecture headquarters by the Institute deadline for master's theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar. Students must adhere to the Specification for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required units but will prove valuable in helping students develop the skills necessary to comfortably write a thesis.

PhD- Building Technology

BT/PhD Requirements

It is the student's responsibility to fill out the appropriate section of the Report of Completed BT/PhD Requirements upon completion of the requirements listed below. This document is submitted to the degree administrator and kept in the student's official departmental file. The degree administrator informs the MIT registrar when the degree requirements have been fulfilled.

Qualifying Paper

The qualifying paper, which often emerges from the Building Technology Seminar (4.481), should demonstrate the student's potential for work at a high standard of scholarship. The paper must be completed and accepted by the dissertation committee before a student can continue to the general examination. Insufficiencies in the qualifying paper may require remedial subject work on the part of the student.

Dissertation Proposal

The PhD dissertation is a major work that makes an original scholarly contribution to the field of investigation. Most BT/PhD dissertation research will be a portion of a sponsored research project. The dissertation is the main focus of the doctoral program and the primary indicator of a PhD student's ability to carry out significant independent research. The Building Technology dissertation must result in advances in the state of the art that are worthy of publication in a respected technical journal in the field.

Approval of the dissertation topic is gained through a proposal submitted to the dissertation committee no later than the end of the second term of registration. Once the proposal has been approved, the student may register for Graduate Thesis (4.THG).

Coursework: Major and Minor Fields

Coursework is selected in consultation with the faculty advisor. A normal registration load is 36 units, which would be a combination of specific subjects and research. Though the core group of subjects will be within the department, students are encouraged to take outside subjects. Building Technology Seminar (4.481) is the only specific subject required for the degree and is taken during the student's first term. Typically a student's program will include at least five graduate subjects in the major field and three in the minor field. Preparation for Building Technology PhD Thesis (4.489) is used as registration for research until the dissertation proposal has been approved. After that point, Graduate Thesis (4.THG) is used as registration for research.

General Examination

The purpose of the qualifying examination is to determine whether the student possesses the attributes of a doctoral candidate: mastery of the disciplines of importance to building technology and ingenuity and skill in identifying and solving unfamiliar problems. The examination consists of two parts. (1) A demonstration of mastery in three areas through coursework and (2) a presentation of research as explained below.

Subject Area Mastery Allowable subjects are listed in Discipline areas for the Building Technology PhD General Exam / Record of subject mastery. To pass the subject area mastery portion of the doctoral general exam, students must earn three As and one B (or four As) in at least four subjects chosen across three of the seven areas from Table 1. Substitutions of subjects not included in the table will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will require approval from all BT faculty.

Research Presentation The research presentation exam will take place over 120 minutes, and should include a 45 minute formal presentation by the doctoral student, followed by 45-60 minutes of questions and discussion with all BT faculty. The research presented should be ongoing research or recently completed research carried out in Building Technology. The presentation should put the work in context, present research findings and propose future work. It will be evaluated both for intellectual content and for clarity of communication. The discussion portion of the exam led by BT faculty may cover both the presented work specifically as well as a broader range of related topics to gauge the student's familiarity with their research content.

Logistics Examinations are offered in January (last week of IAP) and May (the week after final exams). Students must obtain permission of their advisor to take the exam. In case a student is working on a multidisciplinary research topic with a significant component falling outside the expertise of any BT faculty, an expert (ideally MIT faculty) representing the topic area should participate in the general exam. The advisor will invite this expert in consultation with the student. All students must complete the coursework and research presentation portions of the exam by the end of their fourth semester in the PhD program. Advisors of PhD students will submit to the BT faculty the proposed plan for coursework completion for each of their advisees at least three months before the research presentation. Students who do not pass may be invited to retake certain subjects or repeat the research presentation, or they may be asked to terminate their enrollment in the PhD program.

Dissertation Defense

A dissertation committee of three or more people, generally assembled in the first semester of registration, supervises research and writing of the dissertation. The student's advisor is always a member of the dissertation committee and typically serves as its chair. The chair must be a member of the Building Technology faculty. In special circumstances, one of the three members of the dissertation committee may be selected from outside the Department of Architecture. The student is responsible for arranging meetings with the committee at least once each term.

A final draft of the completed dissertation must be delivered to each committee member one month prior to the scheduled defense. The dissertation is presented orally in an open meeting of the faculty of the department; at least three faculty members must be present. After the presentation, the dissertation is either accepted or rejected.

The PhD is awarded after two copies of the defended, approved, archival-ready dissertation have been submitted to the Department of Architecture at its headquarters. The copies must be submitted by the Institute deadline for doctoral theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar . Students must adhere to the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

Nonresident Research Status

Students are expected to carry out thesis research while in residence at the Institute. It is rare that a PhD candidate in BT will need to apply for nonresident status. However, should a student who has completed all requirements except for the dissertation need to continue thesis research in years beyond the awarded funding, he or she may opt to apply for nonresident research status with the permission of the dissertation advisor.

All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required degree credits but will prove valuable in helping students develop the skills necessary to comfortably write a dissertation. It is expected that required ESL subjects will be taken within the first year of the student’s program.

PhD- Design and Computation

Computation/PhD Requirements

It is the student's responsibility to fill out the appropriate section of the Report of Completed Computation/PhD Requirements upon completion of the requirements listed below. This document is submitted to the degree administrator and kept in the student's official departmental file. The degree administrator informs the MIT registrar that the degree requirements have been fulfilled.

Subject Work

PhD Students are expected to complete at 144 units of subject work while in residency at MIT. This is usually accomplished over two years by enrolling in an average of 36 units per term, which equals three or four subjects per term. In those special cases where the student is awarded advanced standing at admission, the unit requirement is lowered accordingly. The only specific subject requirement is 4.581 Proseminar in Computation. All other subjects are selected in consultation with the faculty advisor and may be taken both in and out of the Department of Architecture. Registration in 4.THG, Graduate Thesis, does not count toward the 144-unit requirement.

PhD students in Computation are expected to enroll in 4.581, Proseminar in Computation, during their first year in residence. The Proseminar is meant to provide a rigorous grounding in the field with a focus on specific research topics related to architecture and design practice.

Major and Minor Fields

Major and minor fields must be approved by the student's advisory committee, which is selected with the assistance of the advisor in the first year of enrollment. Normally, the minor field requirement will be satisfied by outstanding performance in three related subjects (not less than 27 units). The major field requirement is satisfied upon successful completion of the general examination.

The general examination is given after required subject work is completed and is taken no later than the third year of residency. The general examination is meant to show broad and detailed competence in the student's major field of concentration and supporting areas of study. The content and format of the general examination are decided by the student's advisory committee in consultation with the student. The committee evaluates the examination upon completion and may 1) accept the examination, 2) ask for further evidence of competence, or 3) determine that the examination has not been passed. In the event that the general examination is not passed, the committee may allow the student to repeat the examination or may recommend that the student withdraw from the PhD program.

The PhD dissertation is a major work that makes an original scholarly contribution. It is the main focus of the doctoral program in Design and Computation, and it serves as the primary indicator of a PhD student's ability to carry out significant independent research.

The dissertation committee comprises a minimum of three members — one thesis advisor, who also serves as the dissertation committee chair, and two readers. The chair must be a permanent member of the Computation faculty and the student's advisor. The first reader must be a permanent faculty member of MIT. The second reader may come from Computation or may be a faculty member appointed from outside the department or the Institute. Students may add more members in consultation with their advisor. The student is responsible for arranging meetings with the committee members on a regular basis.

Formal approval of the dissertation topic is gained through a proposal, which the student submits and defends to his or her dissertation committee prior to the completion of the sixth semester of registration. The proposal should contain these elements:

General statement of scope of the thesis
Significance of the thesis
Survey of existing research and literature with critical comments and an assessment of the extent to which this material will be utilized
Method of the thesis work
Outline or brief sketch of the thesis
Working bibliography
Resources for primary material
Plan of work, including a timetable

An oral examination in which the candidate meets with the dissertation committee to discuss the proposal marks the formal acceptance of the topic. The result of the defense can be that the thesis proposal is accepted, accepted with revisions or rejected.

Students will often register for Preparation for Computation PhD Thesis (4.589) in the term leading up to their proposal defense. Once the proposal has been approved, the student may register for 4.THG, Graduate Thesis. The student may be asked to present his or her dissertation proposal in the class Research Seminar in Computation (4.582).

Students are advised to meet with committee members to obtain comments and guidance throughout the writing phase of the project. Regular contact with committee members during the process of drafting the thesis can ensure a student's readiness for thesis defense. The final draft should be submitted to committee members at least one month prior to the defense. The defense should be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the published Institute PhD thesis deadline.

The dissertation is defended by oral presentation in front of the dissertation committee. At least three faculty members must be present. If a member of the committee is not able to attend, he or she must contact the committee chair with comments and questions. That member must also inform the committee chair of a vote.

Students are expected to carry out thesis research while in residence at MIT. It is rare that a PhD candidate in Design and Computation will need to apply for nonresident status. However, should a student who has completed all requirements except for the dissertation need to continue thesis research in years beyond the awarded funding, he or she may opt to apply for nonresident research status with the permission of the dissertation advisor.

All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required degree credits but will prove valuable in helping students develop the skills necessary to write a dissertation.

PhD- History, Theory and Criticism

PhD students complete 204 units (not including registration in 4.THG) during their residency at MIT. This is usually accomplished over the first three years of residency by enrolling in an average of 36 units per term, the equivalent of three subjects. The breakdown of required subjects is as follows:

4.661, Methods Seminar, is taken each fall term for first two years—2 x 12 = 24 units
Nine subjects completed by the end of the second year: lecture, seminar and/or independent study—9 x 12 = 108 units
4.683, Preparation for HTC Qualifying Paper = 15 units; taken in the 4th or 5th semester
4.684 Preparation for HTC Major Exam = 27 units; taken in the 5th semester
4.685 Preparation for HTC Minor Exam = 15 units; taken in the 6th semester
4.689 Preparation for HTC PhD Thesis = 15 units; taken in the 6th semester

Independent study subjects may be taken with advisor approval after the first year of residency. No more than one independent study project may be taken per term, and no more than 12 units may be devoted to any one research project. Registration for an independent study project requires completion of a departmental Independent Study Project form, this constitutes a contract for the deadlines and deliverables for the subject and the definition of supervisory involvement.

Advancement to Candidacy:

A student is advanced to doctoral candidacy on completion of the following “hurdles,” which should be completed by the end of the third year of studies:

Qualifying paper—register for 4.683 (15 credit units)
General exam: major field—register for 4.684 (27 credit units)
General exam: minor field—register for 4.685 (15 credit units)
Language requirement
Dissertation proposal—register for 4.689 (15 credit units)

Students are responsible for planning their hurdles in consultation with their advisor in a timely manner, in order to complete the planner for HTC degree requirements available from the HTC office (Room 3-305). The planner must be submitted in the fall of the second year, with updates submitted as needed. The sequence of hurdles completion can be determined by the student in consultation with his/her advisor. All pre-thesis requirements* must be completed and approved by the first week of the fourth year. Failure to complete pre-thesis requirements by the end of the third year (term 7) may result in the suspension of funding. [* “Pre-thesis” includes the dissertation proposal. When that document is completed and filed, assuming all other hurdles are completed, then the student may enroll in “Thesis,” 4.THG.]

Additional paperwork must be submitted to confirm completion of each of the above hurdles; this paperwork is signed by the student’s advisor and by the Director of HTC. The HTC faculty meet at the end of each Spring semester to review student progress in general and advance students to the status of candidacy (also known as “ABD”). Once approved, copies of the internal HTC documents are submitted to the Department of Architecture degree administrator and filed in the student's official departmental file. The degree administrator communicates with the Registrar when degree requirements have been fulfilled, and allows the Institute to certify candidacy.

It is strongly recommended that work on the QP be completed within one month. The paper must be the result of a seminar or directed research conducted during the student's HTC study at MIT and may not be part of thesis research. The instructor for the class administers the paper, but if this faculty member is outside HTC, the paper should also be read by a member of the HTC faculty to administer the grade. The core criterion for the paper is that it should be ready for publication in a scholarly journal. Since this requirement should be completed before the general exams, the paper topic should be discussed with the advisor no later than the third semester. Register for 15 credit units of 4.683 the term in which the qualifying paper is submitted.

General Examination: Major and Minor Fields

The fields of examination are set by mutual agreement between the student and their advisor. The purpose is to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the student's critical awareness of the discipline in which he or she works. Most universities, research institutions and other potential employers require assurance that a graduate has areas of competency beyond his or her specialization.

It is strongly recommended that work on the minor exam be completed in three months. The minor exam may cover a different time period from the major exam, or it may have a theoretical focus that complements the historical focus of the major exam, or it may cover in depth a topic within the broader field covered in the major exam. The minor exam may be a three-hour written test, or it may consist of preparing materials for a subject: specifically, a detailed syllabus, a bibliography, an introductory lecture and at least one other lecture. Register for 15 credit units of 4.685 the term in which the minor is completed.

It is strongly recommended that work on the major exam be completed in three months. The major exam is a three-hour written test covering a historically broad area of interest that includes components of history, historiography and theory. Preparation for the exam will focus on four or five themes agreed upon in advance. Register for 27 credit units of 4.684 the term in which the major is completed.

Although it is possible for one professor to give both exams, such an arrangement limits the student's exposure to the faculty. With approval, a faculty member outside HTC may administer the exam. In this case, an HTC faculty member must also read the exam.

Topics and examiners should be finalized no later than the fourth semester. One exam can be taken as early as the end of the fourth semester.

Language Requirement

It is recommended that students complete their language requirement by the end of the fourth term. Because of the foundational role French and German have played in the discipline of art and architectural history, successful study or testing in these two languages constitutes the usual fulfillment of this requirement. For students working on topics for which there is another primary language, a substitution may be approved by the student’s advisor. The MIT Global Studies and Languages department administers graduate language examinations.

The language exam can only be waived under the following circumstances:

The student is a native speaker of the language needed
Two years of university courses (two years minimum) have been completed for a language not administered by the language department, and a “B” or better average grade was maintained

Credits accumulated from language subjects taken to fulfill this requirement cannot be used toward the 204 credits of coursework required for the degree.

A dissertation advisor should be selected by the end of the fourth semester. During the fifth semester, the Thesis Topic Workshop will be held for the student to present the broad outlines of a topic, to identify relevant archives, and to review methodologies. It is estimated that the writing and revising of the proposal should take no more than four months.

Immediately following the Thesis Topic Workshop in the fifth semester, an appropriate dissertation committee should be proposed by the student and approved in principle by the advisor. (The committee may be changed with the approval of the advisor up to the eighth semester.) The dissertation committee comprises a minimum of three members; two must be MIT Department of Architecture faculty members, and the chair must be a member of the HTC faculty (and the student's main advisor). The third member may come from HTC or may be appointed from outside the department or outside the Institute. Students may add additional members in consultation with their advisor.

The dissertation proposal should be drafted and defended by the end of the sixth semester. Formal approval of the dissertation topic is gained through a proposal, which the student submits and defends to his or her dissertation committee prior to the end of the sixth semester of registration. The student is strongly advised to have an informal meeting of the committee some weeks prior to the formal defense, to reach a consensus that the thesis topic is of the right scale and the prospectus itself is ready to be defended. Register for 15 credit units of 4.689 the term in which the dissertation proposal is submitted.

A dissertation proposal (also called a prospectus) should contain these elements:

General thesis statement
Scope, significance or “stakes” of the thesis
Outline or brief sketch of the dissertation, e.g. summaries of proposed chapters
Archives and proof of access; IRB approval if required

The formal defense of the prospectus consists of an oral examination in which the candidate meets with the dissertation committee; the committee decides whether the prospectus is approved as is, requires further revision, or does not pass the defense.

When the appropriate paperwork is filed with the HTC administrator in acknowledgment of successful completion of this exam, the dissertation topic and proposal are considered approved. The student is passed to candidacy. Once the proposal has been approved, the student may register for 4.THG, Graduate Thesis.

Regular contact with committee members during the process of drafting the thesis can ensure a student's readiness for the final thesis defense. Students are advised to meet with committee members to obtain comments and guidance throughout the writing phase of the project. The final draft should be submitted to committee members no later than one month prior to the defense. The defense cannot be scheduled any later than two weeks prior to the published Institute PhD thesis deadline.

The dissertation is defended in the presence of the full dissertation committee. If a member of the committee is not able to attend or participate by virtual means (speakerphone, video call), he or she must contact the committee chair with comments and questions. That member must also inform the committee chair of a vote.

The result of the defense can be that the thesis is accepted, accepted with revisions or rejected. If the thesis is accepted with revisions, the student makes the necessary changes to the document and submits them within an agreed time frame to all or some of the committee members, as determined at the defense. If rejected, the student must re-defend according to a timetable agreed upon at the defense. Students are strongly advised to set a defense date three months before the Institute’s deadlines to allow for revisions and avoid compressing the time given to the committee to read the dissertation.

The PhD is awarded after two copies of the defended, approved, archival-ready dissertation have been submitted to the Department of Architecture at its headquarters. The copies must be submitted by the Institute deadline for doctoral theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar. Students must adhere to the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

Thesis Research in Absentia

Acceptance into the program is granted with the presumption that students will remain in residence at the Institute while completing the degree. However, on occasion, work away from the Institute may be essential for such tasks as gathering data. Students who have completed all requirements except for the dissertation may therefore apply to take one or two semesters in absentia. A proposal for thesis in absentia , which outlines work to be accomplished, should be delivered to the director of HTC no later than the drop date of the semester prior to the one in which the student plans to be away. (The student should consult with the Academic Administrator in Headquarters as well as HTC staff for a review of the financial and academic implications of TIA status.) Both the HTC faculty, the Department, and the dean of the graduate school must grant approval. Students must return to regular registration status for the final term in which the dissertation is to be submitted to the Institute. However, the dissertation draft may be submitted to the student’s primary advisor and committee members at any time during the TIA period. Similarly, the defense can also be scheduled at any time (as long as the committee has at least 4 weeks to read the full and final draft). Regular registration status is required only in order to file the archival copy and apply for the degree.

Students are expected to carry out thesis research while in residence at the Institute. However, should a student who has completed all requirements except for the dissertation need to continue thesis research in years beyond the awarded funding, he or she may opt to apply for nonresident research status with the permission of the dissertation advisor (the student should consult with the Academic Administrator in Headquarters as well as HTC staff for a review of the financial and academic implications of non-resident status).

Faculty and Staff

News + events, publications, building technology.

Jennifer Roesch Discipline Group Assistant [email protected]

Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Structural Components for Housing in India , Digital Structures Group.

Introduction to Structural Design - taught by John Ochsendorf.

Structural lattice additive manufacturing , Digital Structures Group.

Mapdwell Solar System - Sustainable Design Lab.

Guastavino Vault Replica- John Ochsendorf, Suk Lee, Nicky Soane, Simon A. Okaine.

Frozen Forces IAP: Lightweight Structural Ice Shells - led by Caitlin Mueller.

Courtyard Vault , built by Jonathan Dessi-Olive for workshop led by Mark West and John Ochsendorf.

Urban Modeling Interface - Sustainable Design Lab.

The Building Technology (BT) Program at MIT is a group of students, faculty and staff working on design concepts and technologies to create buildings that contribute to a more humane and environmentally responsible built world. Our work ranges from fundamental discovery to full scale application. Strategies employed toward these ends include integrated architectural design strategies, resource accounting through material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, structural design and optimization, building and urban energy modeling and simulation, human comfort analysis, control design and engineering, and other technologically-informed design methods. Students interested in any of these strategies will be challenged to address topics of clear and important relevance to the future of the built environment through creative and analytically rigorous approaches.

Research areas supervised by the faculty address innovative materials and assemblies, emerging and nontraditional building materials, low-energy and passive building energy strategies; innovative analysis and modeling of historic structures; performance-driven computational design approaches; and various issues of energy and material resources at the urban scale, including urban environmental sensing, the urban heat island effect, and urban metabolism. Students entering into the program are able to engage with active and ongoing research projects while pursuing their own intellectual and career agendas. These projects change regularly and individual faculty and research lab pages are the best resources for finding current research position opportunities.

See Graduate Programs for degree requirements.

Caitlin Mueller

Christoph Reinhart

John Ochsendorf

Leon Glicksman

John E. Fernández

Les Norford

Benjamin Markham

Paul mayencourt, jennifer roesch, using nature’s structures in wooden buildings.

Spring 2022 Public Program

MIT’s Department of Architecture is pleased to announce our spring 2022 public program; a continuing conversation on where we are now.

Explore Imprint 02

Building Technology Fall Open House

Highlights from IAP 2021 Workshops

Putting Leonardo da Vinci’s bridge design to the test

PhD in Building Technology

The program is open to qualified students with a suitable background in technology and a degree in engineering, science or architecture. It provides a focus for those interested in the development and application of advanced technology for buildings. Students in this program take subjects in engineering disciplines along with subjects that deal with the application of these topics to buildings.

The minimum residency requirement for the PhD degree is two years; two or three years in residence beyond the SM degree are likely to be necessary. Those entering the program with only a bachelor's degree, should plan on completing the program in five years. Candidates are expected to be registered at MIT until the PhD dissertation is completed. Only under special circumstances will students be allowed to carry out any of their research while not in residence at MIT.

Each admitted applicant immediately begins research under the supervision of a faculty member while also taking course work. Most PhD research projects will be a portion of a sponsored research project.

Faculty Advising

Each student is assigned a Building Technology faculty advisor upon admission. Generally the same faculty member also supervises the student's research. The advisor weighs in on the initial plan of study, including the selection of a major and minor field, and on each term's choice of subjects. The advisor monitors the student's progress and assists the student in selecting a dissertation committee.

Doctoral Research Opportunity in Building Technology and Advanced Urbanism The Norman B. Leventhal Center of Advanced Urbanism and Departments of Architecture and Urban Studies and Planning have established a collaborative doctoral-level concentration in Advanced Urbanism. Urbanism is a rapidly growing field that has many branches. At MIT, we speak of Advanced Urbanism as the field which integrates research on urban design, urbanization and urban culture.

The concentration in Advanced Urbanism seeks doctoral applicants (one to two per year) who have: 1) at least one professional design degree (in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, etc.); 2) research interests in urbanism that would draw upon both ARCH and DUSP faculty advising; and 3) a commitment to engage with the research community at the LCAU and within their home department throughout their time at MIT. Applicants should apply for admission to an existing ARCH or DUSP PhD program and must meet all specific admissions requirements of the respective PhD program. Admissions committees nominate applicants who fit the urbanism program to a joint advanced urbanism admissions committee. The selected applicants are admitted by their home department discipline group (DUSP; AKPIA, BT, Computation, HTC) with financial support and research assistantships from LCAU.

Prospective students with questions pertaining to the doctoral studies in Advanced Urbanism should reach out to their prospective home doctoral program and to LCAU doctoral committee members: Rafi Segal and Brent Ryan. Or to the mailing list [email protected].

Master of Science in Building Technology

The Master of Science in Building Technology (SMBT) provides a focus for graduate students interested in the development and application of advanced technology for buildings. Students in this program take relevant subjects in basic engineering disciplines along with subjects which apply these topics to buildings. The program accepts students with undergraduate degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines, in the physical sciences, or in architecture – with a suitable background in technology. Students also come to the program with diverse job experiences, from the design of space-conditioning equipment for buildings to the Peace Corps. All share both a keen interest in buildings and a thorough education in mathematics, physics, and other technical subjects.

Each student admitted to the SMBT program will take part in a research project. A major contribution to the student's education in this program comes from the experience gained carrying out research and design on the fundamentals of new technologies and their application to buildings. The research project will normally be on a subject under current investigation by an interdepartmental team of faculty and students from the Departments of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or by an individual faculty member. This research is used to fulfill the thesis requirement for the SMBT degree. The research projects, sponsored by industry and the government, give the students exposure to practitioners dealing with important issues in the building field.

SMArchS in Building Technology

Building Technology offers students the opportunity to explore critical topics for the future of the built environment and resources. This area explores ways to use design and technology to create buildings that contribute to a more humane and environmentally responsible built world. Strategies employed toward these ends include integrated architectural design strategies, resource accounting through material flow analysis and life cycle assessment, building and urban energy modeling and simulation, human comfort analysis and control design and engineering, and other technologically informed design methods. Students interested in any of these strategies will be challenged to address topics of clear and important relevance to the future of the built environment through creative and analytically rigorous approaches.

Research areas supervised by the faculty address innovative materials and assemblies, emerging and nontraditional building materials; low-energy and passive building energy strategies; innovative analysis and modeling of historic structures and various issues of energy; and material resources at the urban scale, including urban environmental sensing, the urban heat island effect, and urban metabolism. Ideally, students entering into the program will be incorporated into active and ongoing research projects while pursuing their own intellectual and career agendas. These projects change regularly and individual faculty are best informed of current research position opportunities.

Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate theses.

Ballina, Mariana … BSA 2016, document title: Illuminating Education: Composition and Use of Lighting in Public K-12 Classrooms (Leslie Norford and Christoph Reinhart)

Bukauskas, Aurimas … BSA 2015, document title: New Structural Systems in Small-Diameter Round Timber (Caitlin Mueller)

Clonts, Kelly … BSAD 2011, document title: Methods to Improve School Design in Sierra Leone (Leslie Norford)

Coston, Brianna … BSA 2015, document title: Comfort Analysis of Differences in Classroom Designs Between Socioeconomic Statuses (Leslie Norford)

Fennessy, Kristian … BSA 2014, document title: Addressing the Problem with Natural Ventilation: Producing a Guide for Designers to Integrate Natural Ventilation into the Early Stages of Building Design (Leslie Norford)

Ferriss, Lori … BSAD 2009, document title: Preservation of Early Wrought Iron Trusses: The 1848 Roof of the Cochituate Gatehouse (John Ochsendorf)

Garbis, Leonidia … BSA 2013, document title: Lightweight Concrete: Investigations into the Production of Natural Fiber Reinforcement (John Fernandez)

Gochenour, Sharon … BSAD 2010, document title: Witness to the Light: The evolution of Church Sanctuary Design and Standards of Comfort in the Last Century in Harrison County, Iowa (Marilyne Andersen)

Granville, Alina … BSA 2012, document title: Sonic Facade: Creating a Sounding Architecture (John Fernandez)

Gutierrez, Octavio … BSAD 2001, document title: Building Community While Building Responsibility: A Sustainable Housing Complex for Central Los Angeles (John Fernandez)

Irani, Ali … BSA 2016, document title: Urban Building Energy Modeling and Retrofit Design as a Means to Inform Effective Public Policy: Boston Case Study (Christoph Reinhart)

Jordan, Alexander … BSAD 2011, document title: Designing for Forces: An Early-Stage Design Program for Axial-Force Structures (John Ochsendorf)

Kwack, Elizabeth … BSAD 2006, document title: Church Housing: A Symbol of Hospitality (John Fernandez)

Mroszczyk, Lisa … BSAD 2004, document title: Rafael Guastaviono and the Boston Public Library (John Ochsendorf)

Sparks, Devon … BSA 2013, document title: The Design and Implementation of a Smartphone Illuminance Meter (Christoph Reinhart)

Strathairn, Ebberly … BSAD 2009, document title: Distributed Generation in the Urban Neighborhood (Leslie Norford)

Voros, Jamie … BSA 2016, document title: One Size Does Not Fit All: Innovation in Emeergency Housing with a Focus on Nepal 2015 (Caitlin Müeller)

Wagner, Mali … BSA 2014, document title: Structural Connections in Plywood Friction-Fit Construction (John Ochsendorf)

MArch Theses

Akbarzadeh, Masoud … MArch 2011, document title: Hydropower Cities: a New Candidate for Eco-utopia (Nader Tehrani)

Bentcheva, Yuliya … MArch 2012, document title: Modernizing the Passing Joint: A Standardized Building System to Facilitate Contemporary Bamboo Housing Construction in Regions of Economic Constraint (John Fernandez and Jan Wampler)

Butler, Britta … MArch 2003, document title: ReWorking the City of Workers: A New Housing Paradigm for the Immigrant City (John Fernandez)

Crane, Justin … MArch 2005, document title: An Indoor Public Space for a Winter City (John Fernandez)

Cyphers, Scott … MArch 2003, document title: Field Crossings Hybridizing the Urban Park (John Fernandez)

Davis, Lara … MArch 2010, document title: The 4-Dimensional Masonry Construction (Nader Tehrani and John Ochsendorf)

Giesecke, Ken … MArch 2004, document title: Deployable Structures Inspired by the Origami Art (John Ochsendorf and Carol Burns)

Greene, Aaron … MArch 2004, document title: Flux: Adaptable Architecture for a Dynamic Society (John Fernandez and John Ochsendorf)

Griffith Zimmerly, Laurie … MArch 2001, document title: A Re-Connection: Modeling Built Works After Natural Systems (John Fernandez)

Guiraud , Florence … MArch 2012, document title: Energy Flows: Empowering New Orleans (John Fernandez)

Li, Bin … MArch 2014, document title: Earth to Earth: Reconcile Earth Housing with Soil Erosive Landform (Mark Jarzombek and John Ochsendorf)

Mackey, Christopher … MArch 2015, document title: Pan Climatic Humans: Shaping Thermal Habits in an Unconditioned Society (Skylar Tibbits and Christoph Reinhart)

Miller, Christopher … MArch 2013, document title: Deleveraging Domesticity: Incremental Design Forays on Middle Income Housing (John Ochsendorf and Brandon Clifford)

Namkung, Kenneth … MArch 2003, document title: TALL: Rethinking the systems of the contemporary highrise (John Fernandez)

Peinovich, Ella … MArch 2012, document title: Localized Design-Manufacture for Developing Countries: A Methodology for Creating Culturally Sustainable Architecture (John Fernandez)

Ramage, Michael … MArch 2006, document title: Catalan Vaulting in Advanced Material: New Approaches to Contemporary Compressive Form (Fernando Domeyko and John Fernandez)

Razvi, Amina … MArch 2002, document title: A Multilateral Design Methodology for Development Contexts: A Framework for the Dharavi Potters (John Fernandez)

Skerry, Nathaniel … MArch 2002, document title: Transformed Materials: A Material Research Center in Milan, Italy (John Fernandez)

Voiland, Luke … MArch 2008, document title: Risk Complex: Preparing the Body for New Hardware (John Fernandez)

Weathers, Thomas … MArch 2007, document title: Opportunities for Building Design and Construction Resulting from Local Resources (John Fernandez)

SMBT and SMArchS Theses

Ackerman, Christopher … SMBT 1996, document title: Structural Quality Assurance of Wood Light-Frame Construction Subject to Extreme Wind Hazards (Leonard Morse-Fortier and Sarah Slaughter)

Arboleda, Gabriel , web page Assistant Professor of Environmental Design, Hampshire College … SMArchS 2004, document title: Houses in Heaven Are Made of Steel: Understanding Change in Ecuadorian Amazon Secoya Structures (John Ochsendorf) received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley

Arons, Daniel … SMBT 2000, document title: Properties and Applications of Double-Skin Building Facades (Leon Glicksman)

Block, Philippe , web page Associate Professor of Architecture and Structure, ETH Zurich … SMArchS 2005, document title: Equilibrium Systems. Studies in Masonry Structure (John Ochsendorf) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Blum, David , web page Postdoctoral Researcher, The Berkeley Lab … SMBT 2013, document title: Analysis and Characterization of Ancillary Service Demand Response Strategies for Variable Air Volume HVAC Systems (Leslie Norford)

Bosko, Kristie … SMBT 1996, document title: Metered Energy Consumption and Analysis of Energy Conservation Techniques in Desktop PCs and Workstations (Leslie Norford)

Brown, Nathan , web page PhD Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology … SMBT 2016, document title: Multi-Objective Optimization for the Conceptual Design of Structures (Caitlin Müeller)

Bueno, Bruno , web page … SMBT 2010, document title: An Urban Weather Generator Coupling a Building Simulation Program with an Urban Canopy Model (Leslie Norford) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Carbone, Christopher … SMBT 2003, document title: Mainstreaming straw as a construction material; understanding the future of bio-based architectural materials (John Fernandez)

Carrilho Da Graca, Guilherme , web page Assistant Professor in Building Energy Systems, University of Lisbon … SMBT 1999, document title: Ventilative Cooling (Qingyan Chen)

Charlson, Joseph … SMBT 1997, document title: Straw Insulation Materials to Address Heating Fuel Requirements, Termal Comfort, and Natural Resource Depletion in Developing Regions (Leslie Norford)

Chen, Max Developer, Epic! … SMBT 2001, document title: Interactive Specification and Acquisition of Depth from Single Images (Julie Dorsey)

Chen, Shaw-Bing … SMArchS 1996, document title: Natural Ventilation Generates Building Form (Leslie Norford)

Cheng, Haofan , web page … SMBT 2013, document title: Evaluating the Performance of Natural Ventilation in Buildings through Simulation and On-site Monitoring (Leon Glicksman)

Cooke, Timothy , web page Architect, Payette … SMArchS 2012, document title: Lightweight Concrete: Investigations into the Production of Variable Density Cellular Materials (John Fernandez)

Cordero, Elizabeth Senior Associate, Integrated Design 360, LLC … SMArchS 2001, document title: Sustainability in Architecture (Leon Glicksman)

Costanza, David , web page Technology Fellow, Rice University … SMArchS 2015, document title: Fibrous Tectoniques (Joel Lamere)

Dandridge, Cyane … SMBT 1994, document title: Energy Efficiency in Office Technology (Leslie Norford)

Davis, Noel , web page Assistant Director of Planning, Facilities Management, Northwestern University … SMBT 2012, document title: Effects of Planning and Policy Decisions on Residential Land Use in Singapore (John Fernandez)

De Wolf, Catherine , web page Research Assistant, University of Cambridge, UK … SMBT 2014, document title: Material quantities in building structures and their environmental impact (John Ochsendorf)

Dean, Brian Energy Efficiency Division Analyst-Educator, International Energy Agency, Paris France … SMBT 2001, document title: Natural Ventilation Possibilities for Buildings in the United States (Leon Glicksman)

Dee, Rocelyn Senior Asset Manager and Vice President, Wells Fargo & Company … SMArchS 2002, document title: Financial Analysis of Energy Efficient Facade Systems for Application in Commercial Office Developments (Leslie Norford)

Dentz, Jordan … SMBT 1991, document title: The Design of a Panelized Roof System for Residential Construction (Leonard Morse-Fortier)

Durschlag, Hannah , web page Enclosure Consultant, Vidaris, Inc. … SMBT 2012, document title: Air Leakage of Insulated Concrete Form Houses (John Ochsendorf and Leslie Norford)

Gao, Yang … SMBT 2002, document title: Coupling of a Multizone Airflow Simulation Program with Computational Fluid Dynamics for Indoor Environmental Analysis (Qingyan Chen)

Gayeski, Nicholas Partner, KGS Buildings … SMBT 2007, document title: New Methods for Measuring Spectral, Bi-Directional Transmission and Reflection Using Digital Cameras (Marilyne Andersen) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Geisinger, Jeffrey , web page Critic, Rhode Island School of Design … SMArchS 2015, document title: Improving In Place: A Passive Solar Design Approach to Public Housing Redevelopment (Christoph Reinhart and Brent Ryan)

Goldstein, Kaitlin , web page … SMBT 2014, document title: Predicting the Potential for Energy Efficiency Retrofits in Single-Family Homes: An Exploration of Data Targeting Mechanisms (Leslie Norford and Roy Welsch)

Gradillas, Madeline , web page … SMArchS 2015, document title: Analysis and Design for Thermally Autonomous Housing in Resource-Constrained Communities: A Case Study in Bhuj, India (Leon Glicksman)

Harvey, Henry … SMBT 1997, document title: Development of Straw Insulation Board: Fabrication Methods, Structure, Thermal Performance (Leon Glicksman)

Hill, Roger … SMBT 1995, document title: Applied Change of Mean Detection Techniques for HVAC Fault Detection and Diagnosis and Power Monitoring (Leslie Norford)

Holden, Katherine … SMBT 1995, document title: A Scale Model Study of Displacement Ventilation with Chilled Ceilings (Leon Glicksman)

Hsu, Sophia … SMBT 2011, document title: Improving the Quality and Transparency of Building Life Cycle Assessment (John Ochsendorf)

Hu, George , web page Principal, Air Water Energy Engineers, Inc. … SMBT 1999, document title: Energy and First Costs Analysis of Displacement and Mixing Ventilation Systems for U. S. Buildings and Climates (Qingyan Chen)

Huang, Jeffrey Associate, ARUP … SMBT 2001, document title: Modeling Contaminant Exposure in a Single-Family House (Qingyan Chen)

Keller, Alexander , web page Senior Project Design Manager, SunPower Corporation … SMArchS 2013, document title: Recharging the Facade: Designing and Constructing Novel BIPV Assemblies (John Fernandez)

Kienzl, Nico … SMBT 1999, document title: Advanced Building Skins: Translucent Thermal Storage Elements (Chris Luebkeman)

Kleindienst, Sian Partner, KGS Buildings … SMBT 2006, document title: Improving the Daylighting Conditions of Existing Buildings: The Benefits and Limitations of Integrating Anidolic Daylighting Systems Using the American Classroom As a Model (Marilyne Andersen) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kobayashi, Nobukazu … SMBT 2001, document title: Floor-Supply Displacement Ventilation System (Qingyan Chen)

Lau, Wanda … SMBT 2006, document title: Equilibrium Analysis of Masonry Domes (John Ochsendorf)

Law, Sinyan … SMBT 1997, document title: Daylighting Design Using a Non-linear Optimization Technique (Dorsey/Norford)

Lloyd, Michael … SMBT 2010, document title: Unique Airflow Visualization Techniques for the Design and Validation of Above-Plenum Data Center CFD Models (Leon Glicksman)

Lorenzetti, Dave , web page Software Developer, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab … SMBT 1992, document title: Energy Minimization Principles and the Use of Adjustable Speed Fans in Variable Air Volume Ventiliation Systems (Leslie Norford) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Love, Andrea , web page Director of Building Science & Associate Principal, Payette … SMArchS 2011, document title: Material Impacts on Operational Energy Usage (Leslie Norford)

Low, Man-Shi … SMBT 2005, document title: Material Flow Analysis of Concrete in the United States (John Ochsendorf)

McCormick, Michael … SMBT 1994, document title: A Panelized Roof System for Residential Construction: Development, Application, and Evaluation (Leonard Morse-Fortier)

McGuire, Molly … SMBT 2005, document title: A System for Optimizing Interior Daylight Distribution Using Reflective Venetian Blinds with Independent Blind Angle Control (Leon Glicksman)

Meguro, Wendy , web page Assistant Professor, University of Hawai, Manoa … SMArchS 2005, document title: Beyond Blue and Red Arrows: Optimizing Natural Ventilatioon in Large Buildings (Leslie Norford and Andrew Scott)

Moreno, John … SMBT 1991, document title: Radiative Transfer and Thermal Performance Levels in Foam Insulation Boardstocks (Leon Glicksman)

Nagata, Rochelle … SMBT 1997, document title: Residential Building Design: Comprehensive Comparative Guidelines for Building Single Family Dwelling in Hawaii (Jerome Connor and Chris Luebkeman)

Nakamura, Takashi … SMBT 1994, document title: Technological Rules and Constraints Affecting Design of Precast Concrete Housing (Leonard Morse-Fortier)

Nakano, Aiko , web page Creative Developer, Sosolimited, Boston, Ma … SMBT 2015, document title: Urban Weather Generator User Interface Development: Towards a Usable Tool for Integrating Urban Heat Island Effect within Urban Design Process (Leslie Norford)

Neugebauer, Adam , web page … SMBT 2013, document title: Thermal Properties of Granular Silica Aerogel for High Performance Insulation Systems (Leon Glicksman)

Noiva, Karen , web page PhD Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology … SMBT 2011, document title: Modeling the Water Consumption of Singapore Using System Dynamics (John Fernandez)

Okutan, Galip Mehmet … SMBT 1995, document title: Scale Model Studies of Displacement Ventilation (Leon Glicksman and Leslie Norford)

Oliver, Eric … SMBT 1994, document title: Heat Pipe Dehumidification for Supermarket Energy Savings (Leslie Norford)

Olsen, Erik … SMBT 2002, document title: Performance Comparison of U.K. Low-Energy Cooling Systems by Energy Simulation (Qingyan Chen)

Ospelt, Christoph … SMBT 1999, document title: A Framework for Sustainable Buildings: An Application to China (Leon Glicksman)

Osser, Roselin … SMBT 2007, document title: Development of Two Heliodon Systems at MIT and Recommendations for Their Use (Marilyne Andersen and Leslie Norford)

Parsons, Austin … SMBT 2004, document title: An Analysis of Residential Window Waterproofing Systems (Leon Glicksman)

Pechacek, Christopher Chief of Criteria and Standards and Architect, Defense Health Agency … SMArchS 2008, document title: Space, Light, and Time: Prospective Analysis of Circadian Illumination for Health-Based Daylighting with Applications to Healthcare Architecture (Marilyne Andersen)

Plunkett, William , web page Senior Associate, CBRE … SMBT 2016, document title: The Roman Pantheon: Scale-Model Collapse (John Ochsendorf) received a MBA from Yale University

Quinn, David Data Scientist, coUrbanize … SMBT 2008, document title: Modeling the Resource Consumption of Housing in New Orleans Using System Dynamics (John Fernandez) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Rafiuly, Paul Chief Operating Officer, Trimegah Securities … SMBT 2000, document title: Minimizing Electricity Costs with an Auxiliary Generator using Stochastic Programming (Leslie Norford and John Tsitsiklis)

Ramos, Jose I , web page Design and Construction Program Manager, US Air Force Medical … SMArchS 2013, document title: Energy Reduction Strategies for Existing Air Force Healthcare Facilities (Leon Glicksman)

Reese-Anderson, Megan … SMBT 2008, document title: Structural Analysis and Assessment of Guastavino Vaulting (John Ochsendorf)

Revi, Frank … SMBT 1992, document title: Measurement of Two-dimensional Concentration Fields of a Glycol-based Tracer Aerosol Using Laser Light Sheet Illumination and Microcomputer Video Image Acquisition and Processing (James Axley)

Rice, Edward O , web page Project Architect, Ann Beha Architects … SMArchS 2006, document title: Daylight in Facade Renewal: Using New Metrics to Inform the Retrofitting of Aging Modern-era Facade Types (Marilyne Andersen)

Rockcastle, Siobhan , web page PhD Student, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne … SMArchS 2011, document title: Daylight Variability and Contrast-Driven Architectural Effect (Marilyne Andersen and Terry Knight)

Rose, Cody , web page Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology … SMBT 2015, document title: Towards Interactive Sustainable Neighborhood Design: Combining a Tangible User Interface With Real Time Building Simulations (Christoph Reinhart)

Saad, Omar , web page Principal, Saad Acustica … SMArchS 2004, document title: Soundfield Simulation: the Prediction and Validation of Acoustical Behavior with Computer Models (Leslie Norford and Carl Rosenberg) received a MEng from Universidad Iberoamericana

Saiyed, Zahraa Structural Designer, Mar Structural Design … SMArchS 2012, document title: Optimizing Resilience : Performance Based Assessment of Retrofits for Wood-frame Housing in San Francisco (John Fernandez) received a MEng. From Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Saldivar-Sali, Artessa … SMBT 2010, document title: A Global Typology of Cities: Classification Tree Analysis of Urban Resource Consumption (John Fernandez)

Samuels Aidoo, Fallon , web page Lecturer, Harvard University … SMArchS 2007, document title: Valuable Bridges: Cable-Stayed Bridges and Value Engineering in American Civil Engineering Culture, 1969-1979 (John Ochsendorf)

Settlemyre, Kevin … SMBT 2000, document title: Operational, Aesthetic, and Construction Process Performance for Innovative Passive and Active Solar Building Components for Residential Buildings (Chris Luebkeman and Sarah Slaughter)

Shapiro, Elaine , web page … SMBT 2012, document title: Collapse Mechanisms of Small-Scale Unreinforced Masonry Vaults (John Ochsendorf)

Sih, Shuh-Hwa … SMBT 1994, document title: Enhancing Pedestrian Access and Neighborhood Integrity in Boston's North End: A Mixed Use Approach Utilizing the Existing Highway Structure (Rosemary Grimshaw)

Stigge, Byron Director, Level Agency for Infrastructure … SMBT 2001, document title: Informed Home Energy Behavior: Developing a Tool for Homeowners to Monitor, Plan and Learn about Energy Conservation (Leslie Norford) received a MDes from Harvard University

Street, Michael , web page Director of Research, Pattern r+d … SMBT 2013, document title: Comparison of Simplified Models of Urban Climate for Improved Prediction of Building Energy Use in Cities (Christoph Reinhart)

Su, Leo , web page Control Systems Engineer, eCurv, Inc … SMBT 2015, document title: Demonstration of HVAC Chiller Control for Power Grid Frequency Regulation (Leslie Norford)

Su, Jimmy … SMBT 1995, document title: Structural Engineering for Northern Pakistan: Indigenous Architecture and Earthquake Resistance (Leonard Morse-Fortier)

Sullivan, Gregory … SMBT 1995, document title: Energy Conservation and Thermal Comfort in Buildings in Northern Pakistan (Leslie Norford)

Taneda, Makoto … SMBT 1996, document title: Application of Life Cycle Costing Method to a Renovation Project (Leonard Morse-Fortier)

Tapia, Jason Principal, Building Center No. 3 … SMArchS 2010, document title: Regionalism and the Design of Low-Rise Building Envelope Systems (John Fernandez John Ochsendorf)

Taylor, Paki President/CEO, IKAP Energy Design, Inc. … SMArchS 2001, document title: Applications of Sustainable Technology to Retrofits in Urban Areas (Leon Glicksman)

Truong, Phan , web page Building Scientist, BR+A Consulting Engineers … SMBT 2012, document title: Recommendations for the Analysis and Design of Naturally Ventilated Buildings in Urban Areas (Leslie Norford)

Truong, Phan Building Scientist, BR+A Consulting Engineers … SMArchS 2010, document title: Improving the Fanger Models Thermal Comfort Predictions for Naturally Ventilated Spaces (Leon Glicksman) received a SMBT from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Turan, Irmak , web page PhD Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology … SMArchS 2016, document title: From Sink to Stock: The Potential for Recycling Materials from the Existing Built Environment (John Fernandez)

Vazquez, Maribel … SMBT 1996, document title: The Effects of Altering Air Velocities in Operational Clean Rooms (Leon Glicksman)

Webb, Amanda , web page PhD Student, Penn State University … SMArchS 2012, document title: Mapping Comfort: An Analysis Method for Understanding Diversity in the Thermal Environment (John Fernandez)

Xing, Hai-Yun (Helen) Quantitative Trader, Cubist Systematic Strategies … SMBT 2000, document title: Desiccant Dehumidification Analysis (Leon Glicksman and Leslie Norford) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yi, Lu , web page Professor, Tsinghua University … SMArchS 2008, document title: A New Approach in Data Visualization to Integrate Time and Space Variability of Daylighting in the Design Process (Marilyne Andersen and Takehiko Nagakura)

Zakula, Tea , web page Research Assistant, University of Zagreb … SMBT 2010, document title: Heat Pump Simulation Model and Optimal Variable-Speed Control for a Wide Range of Cooling Conditions (Leslie Norford) received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Zhang, Qin , web page … SMBT 2016, document title: Modellng and Characterizing Bi-directional Airflow in Natural Ventilation (Leon Glicksman)

Zhang, Jinsong Machinery Engineer, Shell Martinez Refinery … SMBT 2001, document title: Modeling VOC Sorption of Building Materials and its Impact on Indoor Air Quality (Qingyan Chen)

PhD Dissertations

Armstrong, Peter , web page Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Masdar Institute, UAE … PhD 2004, document title: Model Identification with Application to Building Control and Fault Detection (Leslie Norford and Steven B. Leeb)

Block, Philippe , web page Associate Professor of Architecture and Structure, ETH Zurich … PhD 2009, document title: Thrust Network Analysis: Exploring Three-dimensional Equilibrium (John Ochsendorf)

Blum, David , web page Postdoctoral Researcher, The Berkeley Lab … PhD 2016, document title: Improving the Use of Commercial Building HVAC Systems for Electric Grid Ancillary Services (Leslie Norford)

Brown, Carrie , web page Senior Technical Consultant, Resource Refocus LLC … PhD 2012, document title: Toward Zero Net Energy Buildings: Optimized for Energy Use and Cost (Leon Glicksman)

Bueno, Bruno , web page Scientist, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE … PhD 2012, document title: Study and Prediction of the Energy Interactions between Buildings and the Urban Climate (Leslie Norford)

Caldas, Luisa , web page Professor of Architechture, University of California, Berkeley … PhD 2001, document title: An Evolution-Based Generative Design System: Using Adaptation to Shape Architectural Form (Leslie Norford)

Chutarat, Acharawan , King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi … PhD 2001, document title: Experience of Light: The Use of an Inverse Method and A Genetic Algorithm in Daylighting Design (Leslie Norford)

DeJong, Matthew , web page University Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK … PhD 2009, document title: Seismic Assessment Strategies for Masonry Structures (John Ochsendorf)

Dogan, Timur , web page Assistant Professor, Cornell University … PhD 2015, document title: Procedures for Automated Building Energy Model Production for Urban and Early Design (Christoph F. Reinhart)

Duckworth, Steven President of General Partner, 228 Group LP … PhD 1993, document title: Performance Implications of Corporate Real Estate Strategic Orientation (Leon Groisser and Ranko Bon)

Gagne, Jaime Principlal Building Scientist, KGS Buildings … PhD 2011, document title: An Interactive Performance-Based Expert System for Daylighting in Architectural Design (Marilyne Andersen and Leslie Norford)

Gayeski, Nicholas Partner, KGS Buildings … PhD 2010, document title: Predictive Pre-Cooling Control for Low Lift Radiant Cooling using Building Thermal Mass (Leslie Norford)

Greden, Lara Senior Director, Business Unit Strategy, CA Technologies … PhD 2005, document title: Flexibility in Building Design: A Real Options Approach and Valuation Methodology to Address Risk (Leon Glicksman)

Jakubiec, J Alstan , web page Assistant Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design … PhD 2014, document title: The Use of Visual Comfort Metrics in the Design of Daylit Spaces (Christoph Reinhart)

Jiang, Yi Group Leader, United Technologies Corporation … PhD 2002, document title: Study of Natural Ventilation in Buildings with Large Eddy Simulation (Qingyan Chen)

Kleindienst, Sian Partner, KGS Buildings … PhD 2010, document title: Time-Varied Daylighting Performance to Enable a Goal-Driven Design Process (Marilyne Andersen)

Kua, Harn Wei , web page Associate Professor, National University of Singapore … PhD 2006, document title: The Design of Effective Policies for the Promotion of Sustainable Construction Materials (John Fernandez and Nicholas Ashford)

Laughman, Christopher , web page Principal Research Scientist, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboritories … PhD 2008, document title: Fault Detection Methods for Vapor-Compression Air Conditioners Using Electrical Measurements (Leslie Norford, Steven Leeb and Peter Armstrong)

Lorenzetti, Dave , web page Software Developer, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab … PhD 1997, document title: Numerical Solution of Nonlinear Algebraic Systems in Building Energy Modeling (Leslie Norford)

Luo, Dong … PhD 2001, document title: Detection and Diagnosis of Faults and Energy Monitoring in HVAC Systems with Least-Intrusive Power Analysis (Leslie Norford)

Moon, Kyoung Sun , web page Associate Professor of Architecture, Yale School of Architecture … PhD 2005, document title: Dynamic Interrelationship between Technology and Architecture in Tall Buildings (John Fernandez)

Mueller, Caitlin , web page Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology … PhD 2014, document title: Computational Exploration of the Structural Design Space (John Ochsendorf)

Palomera-Arias, Rogelio , web page Assistant Professor of Construction Science, University of Texas at San Antonio … PhD 2005, document title: Passive Electromagnetic Damping Device for Motion Control of Building Structures (John Ochsendorf)

Quinn, David , web page Data Scientist, coUrbanize … PhD 2012, document title: Estimating Material and Energy Intensities of Urban Areas (John Fernandez)

Rakha, Tarek , web page Assistant Professor of Architectural Design and Building Technology, Syracuse University … PhD 2015, document title: Towards Comfortable and Walkable Cities: Spatially Resolved Outdoor Thermal Comfort Analysis Linked to Travel Survey-based Human Activity Schedules (Christoph Reinhart)

Srebric, Jelena , web page Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Cluster for SustainabilIty in the Built Environment, University of Maryland … PhD 2000, document title: Simplified Methodology for Indoor Environment Design (Qingyan Chen)

Tan, Gang , web page Assistant Professor of Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming … PhD 2005, document title: Study of Natural Ventilation Design by Integrating Multi-zone Model with CFD Simulation (Leon Glicksman)

Walker, Christine Manager, Development and Engineering, NORESCO … PhD 2006, document title: Methodology for the Evaluation of Natural Ventilation in Buildings Using A Reduced-Scale Air Model (Leon Glicksman)

Whiting, Emily , web page Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Dartmouth College … PhD 2012, document title: Design of Structurally-Sound Masonry Buildings Using 3D Static Analysis (John Ochsendorf and Fredo Durand)

Xing, Hai-Yun (Helen) Quantitative Trader, Cubist Systematic Strategies … PhD 2004, document title: Building Load Control and Optimization (Leslie Norford)

Yang, Xudong , web page Chang-Jiang Professor and Deputy Director, Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University … PhD 1999, document title: Study of Building Material Emissions and Indoor Air Quality (Qingyan Chen)

Yuan, Jinchao Senior Scientist, Oliden Technology … PhD 2007, document title: Transition Dynamics between the Multiple Steady States in Natural Ventilation Systems: From Theories to Applications in Optimal Controls (Leon Glicksman)

Zakula, Tea Assistant Professor and Head of Laboratory for Energy Efficiency, University of Zagreb … PhD 2013, document title: Model Predictive Control for Energy Efficient Cooling and Dehumidification (Leslie Norford)

Zessin, Jennifer , web page Internal Consultant, Ab Initio Software … PhD 2012, document title: Collapse Analysis of Unreinforced Masonry Domes and Curving Walls (John Ochsendorf)

Zhai, John Z , web page Professor Building Systems Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder … PhD 2003, document title: Developing an Integrated Building Design Tool by Coupling Building Energy Simulation and Computational Fluid Dynamics Programs (Leon Glicksman and Qingyan Chen)

First Books from Doctoral Projects

Akbar, Jamel A. , Crisis in the Built Environment: the Case of the Muslim City. Singapore: Concept Media; New York, N.Y. 1988. (Arabic version is ʻImārat al-arḍ fī al-Islām, Jiddah: Dār al-Qiblah lil-Thaqāfah al-Islāmīyah; Bayrūt: Muʼassasat ʻUlūm al-Qurʼān, 1992.)

Akšamija, Azra , Mosque Manifesto: Propositions for Spaces of Coexistence. Berlin: Revolver Publishing 2015.

al-Hathloul, Saleh Ali , The Arab-Muslim City: Tradition, Continuity and Change in the Physical Environment. Riyadh: Dar Al Sahan, 1996.

Allais, Lucia , Designs of Destruction: The Making of Monuments in the Twentieth Century. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Anderson, Christy , Inigo Jones and the Classical Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Anderson, Glaire D. , The Islamic Villa in Early Medieval Iberia: Architecture and Court Culture in Umayyad Córdoba. Burlington, VT: Ashgate 2013.

Ballon, Hilary , The Paris of Henry IV. New York/Cambridge: Architectural History Foundatioin/The MIT Press, 1991

Bhatt, Ritu , Rethinking Aesthetics: the Role of Body in Design. New York, NY and Oxon, England, UK: Routledge 2013.

Çelik Alexander, Zeynep , Kinaesthetic Knowing: Aesthetics, Epistemology, Modern Design. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017

Fenske, Gail , The Skyscraper and the City: The Woolworth Building and the Making of Modern New York. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Grignon, Marc, Loing Du Soleil: Architectural Practice in Quebec City During the French Regime. New York: P. Lang, 1997.

Grigor, Talinn , Building Iran: Modernism, Architecture, and National Heritage Under the Pahlavi Monarchs. New York: Periscope Publishing, distributed by Prestel, 2009.

Haglund , Karl , Inventing the Charles River. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press 2003.

Hamadeh, Shirine , The City's Pleasures: Istanbul in the Eighteenth Century. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008.

Hays, K. Michael , Modernism and the posthumanist subject: the architecture of Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Hilberseimer. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1992.

Isenstadt, Sandy , The Modern American House: Spaciousness and Middle Class Identity. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Jarzombek, Mark , On Leon Battista Alberti: His Literary and Aesthetic Theories. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989.

Karimi, Pamela , Domesticity and Consumer Culture in Iran: Interior Revolutions of the Modern Era. London, UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2013.

Kauffman, Jordan , Drawing on Architecture: The Object of Lines, 1970-1990. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2018.

Keyvanian., Carla L. , Hospitals and Urbanism in Rome, 1200-1500. Leiden; Boston: Brill 2015.

Koss, Juliet , Modernism After Wagner. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Kraynak, Janet L. , Nauman Reiterated. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 2014.

Kroiz, Lauren , Creative Composites: Modernism, Race, and the Stieglitz Circle. Berkeley: University of California Press; Washington, D.C : The Phillips Collection 2012.

Lamprakos, Michele , Building a World Heritage City: Sanaa, Yemen. Burlington, VT: (Ashgate) Routledge 2015.

Last, Nana , Wittgenstein's House: Language, Space, & Architecture. New York: Fordham University Press, 2008.

Lenssen, Anneka , Beautiful Agitation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2020.

León, Ana María , Modernity for the Masses: Antonio Bonet's Dreams for Buenos Aires. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX

Lopez-Duran, Fabiola , Eugenics in the Garden: Transatlantic Architecture in the Crafting of Modernity. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2018.

McLaren, Brian L. , Architecture and Tourism in Italian Colonial Libya: An Ambivalent Modernism. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006.

Moon, Iris Jee , The Architecture of Percier and Fontaine and the Struggle for Sovereignty in Revolutionary France. London; New York: Routledge, 2017.

Morshed, Adnan Z. , Impossible Heights Skyscrapers, Flight, and the Master Builder. Minneapolis; London University of Minnesota Press 2015.

Osman, Michael , Modernism's Visible Hand: Architecture and Regulation in America. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2018.

Otero-Pailos, Jorge , Architecture's Historical Turn: Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Pai, Hyungmin , The Portfolio and the Diagram: Architecture, Discourse, and Modernity in America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002.

Pedret, Annie , Team 10: An Archival History. London, UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2013.

Pezolet, Nicola , Reconstruction and the Synthesis of the Arts in France, 1944-1962 Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2018

Pollak, Martha , Turin 1564-1680: Urban Design, Military Culture, and the Creation of the Absolutist Capital. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.

Rabbat, Nasser , The Citadel of Cairo: A New Interpretation of Royal Mamluk Architecture. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995.

Rizvi, Kishwar , The Safavid Dynastic Shrine: Architecture, Religion and Power in Early Modern Iran. London, UK: I.B. Tauris, 2011.

Schwarzer, Mitchell , German Architectural Theory and the Search for Modern Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Sheren, Ila , Portable Borders: Performance Art and Politics on the U.S. Frontera Since 1984. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2015.

Siry, Joseph M. , Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1988.

Steiner, Hadas A. , Beyond Archigram: The Structure of Circulation. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009.

Stieber, Nancy , Housing Design and Society in Amsterdam: Reconfiguring Urban Order and Identity, 1900-1920. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Urban, Florian , Neo-Historical East Berlin: Architecture and Urban Design in the German Democratic Republic 1970-1990. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009.

Vicario, Niko , Hemispheric Integration Materiality, Mobility, and the Making of Latin American Art Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2020.

Vujosevic, Tijana , Modernism and the Making of the Soviet New Man Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2017.

Wheeler, Katherine , Victorian Perceptions of Renaissance Architecture. Farnham Surrey, UK; Burlington, VT: (Ashgate) Routledge, 2014.

Widrich, Mechtild , Performative Monuments: The Rematerialisation of Public Art Manchester, United Kingdom; New York: Manchester University Press, 2014

Wong, Winnie Won Yin , Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade. Chicago, IL; London, UK: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Building Technology Open House

Christoph Reinhart The Daylighting Handbook II Building Technology Press, 2018
John Fernandez, et al. Surveying the Environmental Footprint of Urban Food Consumption Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21.1, 2017
Nathaniel Jones, Christoph Reinhart Real-Time Visual Comfort Feedback for Architectural Design PLEA International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Los Angeles, 2016
Yijiang Huang, et al. FrameFab: robotic fabrication of frame shapes ACM Transactions on Graphics, Volume 35 Issue, November 6, 2016

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MIT Sloan PhD Program Admissions Requirements Common Questions

Dates and Deadlines

Admissions for 2024 is closed. The next opportunity to apply will be for 2025 admission. The 2025 application will open in September 2024.

More information on program requirements and application components

Students in good academic standing in our program receive a funding package that includes tuition, medical insurance, and a fellowship stipend and/or TA/RA salary. We also provide a new laptop computer and a conference travel/research budget.

Funding Information

Throughout the year, we organize events that give you a chance to learn more about the program and determine if a PhD in Management is right for you.

PhD Program Events

June phd program overview.

During this webinar, you will hear from the PhD Program team and have the chance to ask questions about the application and admissions process.

July PhD Program Overview

August phd program overview, september 12 phd program overview.

Complete PhD Admissions Event Calendar

Unlike formulaic approaches to training scholars, the PhD Program at MIT Sloan allows students to choose their own adventure and develop a unique scholarly identity. This can be daunting, but students are given a wide range of support along the way - most notably having access to world class faculty and coursework both at MIT and in the broader academic community around Boston.

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Profiles of our current students

MIT Sloan produces top-notch PhDs in management. Immersed in MIT Sloan's distinctive culture, upcoming graduates are poised to innovate in management research and education. Here are the academic placements for our PhDs graduating in May and September 2024. Our 2024-2025 job market candidates will be posted in early June 2024.

Academic Job Market

Doctoral candidates on the current academic market

Academic Placements

Graduates of the MIT Sloan PhD Program are researching and teaching at top schools around the world.

view recent placements

MIT Sloan Experience

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The PhD Program is integral to the research of MIT Sloan's world-class faculty. With a reputation as risk-takers who are unafraid to embrace the unconventional, they are engaged in exciting disciplinary and interdisciplinary research that often includes PhD students as key team members.

Research centers across MIT Sloan and MIT provide a rich setting for collaboration and exploration. In addition to exposure to the faculty, PhD students also learn from one another in a creative, supportive research community.

Throughout MIT Sloan's history, our professors have devised theories and fields of study that have had a profound impact on management theory and practice.

From Douglas McGregor's Theory X/Theory Y distinction to Nobel-recognized breakthroughs in finance by Franco Modigliani and in option pricing by Robert Merton and Myron Scholes, MIT Sloan's faculty have been unmatched innovators.

This legacy of innovative thinking and dedication to research impacts every faculty member and filters down to the students who work beside them.

Faculty Links

Accounting Faculty
Economic Sociology Faculty
Finance Faculty
Information Technology Faculty
Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) Faculty
Marketing Faculty
Organization Studies Faculty
System Dynamics Faculty
Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management (TIES) Faculty

Student Research

“MIT Sloan PhD training is a transformative experience. The heart of the process is the student’s transition from being a consumer of knowledge to being a producer of knowledge. This involves learning to ask precise, tractable questions and addressing them with creativity and rigor. Hard work is required, but the reward is the incomparable exhilaration one feels from having solved a puzzle that had bedeviled the sharpest minds in the world!” -Ezra Zuckerman Sivan Alvin J. Siteman (1948) Professor of Entrepreneurship

Sample Dissertation Abstracts - These sample Dissertation Abstracts provide examples of the work that our students have chosen to study while in the MIT Sloan PhD Program.

We believe that our doctoral program is the heart of MIT Sloan's research community and that it develops some of the best management researchers in the world. At our annual Doctoral Research Forum, we celebrate the great research that our doctoral students do, and the research community that supports that development process.

The videos of their presentations below showcase the work of our students and will give you insight into the topics they choose to research in the program.

Attention To Retention: The Informativeness of Insiders’ Decision to Retain Shares

2024 PhD Doctoral Research Forum Winner - Gabriel Voelcker

Watch more MIT Sloan PhD Program Doctoral Forum Videos

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Faculty Directory

Meet our faculty.

Landscape + Urbanism at MIT

Department of Urban Studies and Planning • Department of Architecture

2024 MAD Design Fellows announced

Pulling from different corners of design, the Design Fellows supported by the MIT Morningside Academy for Design explore solutions in fields such as sustainability, health, architecture, urban planning, social justice, and education. Photos: Adelaide Zollinger

The 10 Design Fellows are MIT graduate students working at the intersection of design and multiple disciplines across the Institute.

Adelaide Zollinger | MIT Morningside Academy for Design

Since its launch in 2022, the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) has supported MIT graduate students with a fellowship , allowing recipients to pursue design research and projects while creating community. Pulling from different corners of design, they explore solutions in fields such as sustainability, health, architecture, urban planning, engineering, and social justice.

On May 1, MAD announced the 2024 cohort of Design Fellows at the MIT Museum.

Meet the MIT MAD 2024 Design Fellows Video: MIT Morningside Academy for Design

Sofia Chiappero , MCP student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and MITdesignX affiliate: Chiappero is working around the intersection of community development and technology, aiming to address the challenges faced by underserved communities at risk of displacement in Latin America. Through a blend of social science and digital inclusion, she seeks to design a new approach to researching human interactions and replicating them in virtual settings, with the ultimate goal of preserving the identity of these communities and giving them visibility for resilient growth.

Clemence Couteau , MBA candidate in the MIT Sloan School of Management : Couteau is tackling the rise of postpartum depression among U.S. mothers by aiming to develop a digital solution empowering at-risk pregnant women to improve mental health outcomes. This involves a self-directed therapy chatbot in a mobile app, based on the “ROSE” protocol.

Mateo Fernandez , MArch student in the Department of Architecture : Fernandez explores how to depart from the current construction industry, designing alternatives such as growing buildings with biomaterials, and deploying advanced 3D printing technologies for building.

Charlotte Folinus , PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering : Folinus creates new methods for designing soft robots, using these tools to design soft robots for gentle interactions, uncertain environments, and long mechanical lifetimes. “I am really excited to be surrounded by people who can do things I cannot. That's when I'm the best version of myself. I think that's the community I'll find here,” she says.

Alexander Htet Kyaw , master's student in the Department of Architecture and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and MITdesignX affiliate: Htet Kyaw's current research utilizes robotic assembly, multimodal interaction, and generative AI to challenge conventional manufacturing and fabrication practices. He is working on an AI-driven workflow that translates design intent into tangible objects through robotic assembly.

Dení López PhD candidate in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning : As a Design Fellow, López uses design research to evaluate and extend the scope of Bicheeche Diidxa’, a long-standing Participatory Action Research initiative for disaster resilience focused on five Zapotec communities along the Los Perros River in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Caitlin Morris , PhD candidate in media arts and sciences : Morris’s research explores the role of multisensory influences on cognition and learning, and seeks to find and build the bridges between digital and computational interfaces and hands-on, community-centered learning and teaching practices.

Maxine Perroni-Scharf , PhD candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science : Perroni-Scharf is currently working on developing techniques that enable the discovery and design of extremal metamaterials — 3D printed materials that exhibit extreme properties arising not from their chemical composition, but rather from their structure. These can be applied to a variety of tasks, from battery design to accessibility.

Lyle Regenwetter , PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering : Regenwetter develops methods to incorporate design requirements, such as safety constraints and performance objectives, into the training process of generative AI models.

Zane Schemmer , PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering : Schemmer's research aims to minimize the carbon footprint of the built environment by designing efficient structures that consider the availability of local materials.

Published May 21, 2024

Two DUSP Students Named 2024 MAD Design Fellows

A collage of the headshots of the 10 graduate students named 2024 MAD Design Fellows

Each year, the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) supports MIT graduate students with a fellowship allowing them to pursue design research and projects while creating community. Pulling from different corners of design, they explore solutions in fields such as sustainability, health, mobility, urban planning, social justice, or education. On May 1, 2024, MAD announced the 2024 cohort of Design Fellows at the MIT Museum.

The event “Designers for the Future,” which was part of Boston Design Week, was the occasion to put in dialogue three generations of Design Fellows — the 2022 inaugural cohort, the current 2023 cohort, and the incoming 2024 cohort — to explore how to design across time, space, and disciplines.

The 2024 cohort of Design Fellows includes two DUSP students, Sofia Chiappero and Dení López, in addition to eight other MIT graduate students from across the Institute. Additional members of the cohort include: Clemence Couteau (Sloan School of Management), Mateo Fernandez (Architecture), Charlotte Folinus (Mechanical Engineering), Alexander Htet Kyaw (Architecture, EECS), Zane Schemmer (CEE), Maxine Perroni-Scharf (EECS), Caitlin Morris (Media Lab), and Lyle Regenwetter (Mechanical Engineering).

Chiappero, a Fulbright Fellow from Argentina, is currently a MCP candidate at DUSP. Her work is centers the intersection of community development and technology, aiming to address the challenges faced by underserved communities at risk of displacement in Latin America. Through a blend of social science and digital inclusion, she seeks to design a new approach to researching human interactions and replicating them in virtual settings, with the ultimate goal of preserving the identity of these communities and giving them visibility for resilient growth.

López, a PhD candidate at DUSP, studies the intricacies of disaster risk planning and governance across different scales, focusing on areas facing recurring socio-environmental challenges. Her research emphasizes participatory action research (PAR) and design as crucial tools for engaging with and addressing the needs of communities at the edge of policy and geography, fostering both immediate solutions and long-term disaster resilience. As a Design Fellow, López uses design research to evaluate and extend the scope of Bicheeche Diidxa’, a longstanding Participatory Action Research initiative for disaster resilience focused on five Zapotec communities along the Los Perros River in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Design Fellowship is an opportunity for approximately ten continuing MIT graduate students to engage in MAD’s activities and propose a research-oriented or personal design project throughout the academic year (nine months), while receiving full tuition support, a stipend, and health insurance.

Learn more about the MIT MAD's Design Fellows

Published May 13, 2024 Source https://design.mit.edu/people Related Links MIT Morningside Academy of Design MIT MAD Design Fellows Dení López Sofia Chiappero

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COMMENTS

Graduate Programs
The PhD is awarded upon submission of the defended, approved, archival-ready dissertation to the Department of Architecture, via the PhD Academic Administrator. The final dissertation is submitted by the Institute deadline for doctoral theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar.
Graduate Admissions
September 15: Applications open for all programs. November 7 (9 a.m. - 12 p.m. EST): Fall Open House (virtual) January 7 (11:59 p.m. EST): Applications due for all programs. Dec. 23—Jan 3: Staff on break (no email responses during this time) March 10—April 1: Application results released. April 2, 2024: Recording of Admitted Students Open ...
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MIT Architecture is pleased to announce our spring 2024 public program. Image credit: Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman, Mesón del Pueblo, UCSD-Alacran Community Station, 2020. ... Imprint is a publication designed and compiled by graduate students at MIT Architecture. Explore Imprint 03. Photo: Andy Ryan. Image.
Graduate Programs
First established at MIT in 1979, the program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study. The degree may be pursued in one of six areas: Architectural Design, Architecture & Urbanism, Building Technology, Design & Computation, History ...
Computation
The Computation Group inquires into the varied nature and practice of computation in architectural design, and the ways in which design meaning, intention, and knowledge are constructed through sensing, thinking, and making computationally. It focuses on the development of innovative computational tools, processes and theories, and applying ...
About
MIT Architecture is shaped by MIT's architecture. From our front door on Massachusetts Avenue, this architecture is imposing, classical, and apparently immutable. ... we housed 172 Master's students across our MArch and Master of Science degrees, 45 PhD students, and many hundreds of undergraduates across our courses, including 32 ...
History Theory + Criticism
The History, Theory, and Criticism Program was founded in 1975 as one of the first to grant the PhD degree in a school of architecture. Its mission has been to generate advanced research within MIT's School of Architecture and Planning and to promote critical and theoretical reflection within the disciplines of architectural and art history.
Computation Group, Dept of Architecture, MIT
The Computation Group offers two advanced study degrees at graduate level: a Master of Science in Architectural Studies (SMArchS) degree and a PhD degree. The group also offers a specialized stream in the Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSA) program for undergraduate majors. The following pages describe degrees and admissions information ...
Building Technology
The Building Technology (BT) Program at MIT is a group of students, faculty and staff working on design concepts and technologies to create buildings that contribute to a more humane and environmentally responsible built world. Our work ranges from fundamental discovery to full scale application. Strategies employed toward these ends include ...
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Graduate Student Handbook 2023-2024 by MIT Architecture
MIT Architecture Graduate Programs. 2023-2024. 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. School of Architecture & Planning. 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 7-337. Cambridge, MA USA 02139.
MIT Theses
If you are a recent MIT graduate, your thesis will be added to DSpace within 3-6 months after your graduation date. Please email [email protected] with any questions. ... (8196) Department of Architecture (4400) Sloan School of Management (4153) Department of Urban Studies and Planning ...
MIT School of Architecture and Planning Graduate Programs
5 reviews. School of Design - University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania. Graduate School. PHILADELPHIA, PA. Back to Full Profile. List of MIT School of Architecture and Planning graduate programs by size and degree. Browse popular masters programs at MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Find on-campus and online graduate ...
PhD Program
MIT Sloan PhD Program graduates lead in their fields and are teaching and producing research at the world's most prestigious universities. Rigorous, discipline-based research is the hallmark of the MIT Sloan PhD Program. The program is committed to educating scholars who will lead in their fields of research—those with outstanding ...
Landscape + Urbanism at MIT
Landscape+Urbanism at MIT. With five landscape architects on its faculty, the joint program in City Design and Development (CDD) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning, is exploring how landscape and design can redirect contemporary urbanization. Architects, Landscape Architects, Urban Planning, and ...
2024 MAD Design Fellows announced
2024 MAD Design Fellows announced. Pulling from different corners of design, the Design Fellows supported by the MIT Morningside Academy for Design explore solutions in fields such as sustainability, health, architecture, urban planning, social justice, and education. Photos: Adelaide Zollinger. The 10 Design Fellows are MIT graduate students ...
Two DUSP Students Named 2024 MAD Design Fellows
The 2024 cohort of Design Fellows includes two DUSP students, Sofia Chiappero and Dení López, in addition to eight other MIT graduate students from across the Institute. Additional members of the cohort include: Clemence Couteau (Sloan School of Management), Mateo Fernandez (Architecture), Charlotte Folinus (Mechanical Engineering), Alexander ...