The PhD School

A PhD school for Aarhus School of Architecture and Design School Kolding

The PhD School is a joint PhD school for Aarhus School of Architecture and Design School Kolding. The PhD School is run by the Head of the PhD School and a PhD committee with members representing both supervisors and PhD students.

PhD students are enrolled at the PhD School which is responsible for the training elements of the PhD programme and provides a working environment for PhD students. The PhD School offers courses and seminars for both PhD students and PhD supervisors and the school organizes open biannual presentation seminars, where the PhD students present their projects and discusses the progression with each other and the school’s PhD supervisors.

About the school’s courses

The PhD School offers courses organised by Aarhus School of Architecture and Design School Kolding. The courses are organised into the following three main categories:

Basic courses in research that provide a conceptual, methodical, and tool-oriented introduction to the PhD study. The courses include an introduction to research in the area of design and architecture with a special emphasis on research through design, the theory of science, research methodologies, the writing process and academic text production, good research practice, and an introduction to pedagogy and didactics
Architectural research courses focusing on the traditions of knowledge and research that are specific to the architectural discipline
Individual seminars and master classes based on topical research themes and issues.
The basic courses are repeated in fixed one and two-year cycles, whereas the discipline-specific courses are offered according to need and demand. For PhD students enrolled in the PhD School, the courses are supplemented with internal activities that are assigned ECTS credits. Such activities include joint biannual presentation seminars and individual half-way or final seminars.

The PhD School’s course programme offers PhD students a general theoretical and methodological foundation and an insight into the research traditions of the architecture and design fields that qualify students to complete their PhD projects. However, PhD students are also expected to participate in courses offered by other research-based institutions to ensure the best possible support for the topics and methods of individual research projects.

The PhD School’s courses are also open to PhD students from other institutions through the national catalogue of PhD courses. This helps ensure that knowledge exchanges and networking take place across academic subject areas. All PhD students enrolled in a Danish institution that awards PhD degrees may sign up for courses held by The PhD School free of charge.

The PhD Programme

The PhD programme is a research education lasting 3 years. You perform an independent PhD project under the guidance of experienced researchers and become part of a group of PhD students who meet regularly and contribute to a lively research environment.

The study is largely an individual programme organized jointly by you and your supervisors and described in a PhD plan. The study is progressing primarily as a self-study course supplemented in part by generic doctoral courses, partly by courses on specific topics of particular relevance to individual PhD projects.

Career opportunities

A PhD degree in architecture can be the beginning of a career as a researcher or lecturer at a university or research institution, or it can provide a basis for specialization and professionalization aimed at industry and practitioners of the architectural profession.

View current PhD projects