Overview

The School of Architecture and Urban Design is widely recognised for innovative leadership and contribution to excellence in design research.

At RMIT we contend that research is conducted through designing and that the process of designing, as a means of increasing knowledge, parallels research in other areas in fascinating ways.

The province of the PhD is the exploration of new territories of design research, contributions to the knowledge base of the discipline, and steps toward the redefinition of aspects of design. The program also develops advanced technical research skills to prepare you for a career in industry, academia and other settings in which systematic and critical analytical skills are required.

Research is conducted through designing and the process of designing as a means of increasing knowledge. Candidates are supported and engaged in communities of practice where learning is fundamentally a social phenomenon; where knowledge is integrated in the life of these communities that share interests, ideas, discourses, ways of doing things and exploring the boundaries of design thinking.

The Doctor of Philosophy may be undertaken in a project, thesis by publication or thesis mode.