Architectural History

Mosaic ceiling at Sutton Hall, UT Austin
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
HOW TO APPLY

The Architectural History Program at The University of Texas at Austin provides students with an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the social, cultural, and technological forces that shape the built environment. The purpose of our program is to train future scholars to produce writings in architectural history, theory, and criticism that analyze the culture of the built environment as a whole.

The focus of our program is histories of architecture in the Americas from the late eighteenth century to the present, with additional strengths in European modernism and landscape history. Our faculty is engaged in historical work that examines the racial, gendered, and nationalist rhetoric introduced by the colonization of the Americas—a phenomenon that propelled the dissemination and canonization of transatlantic theories of design within the architectural disciplines. This work recovers the distinct artistic traditions that have made the United States, Central America, and South America unique fields of cultural production.

This approach to architectural history also expands the range of figures typically considered in historical surveys by broadening the definition of authorship in the built environment, attending to themes such as build craft, labor, and capitalism. We are especially interested in fostering research that recovers the historical contributions of underrecognized women and people of color, including the role of African Americans in the United States.

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs are founded on rigorous training while offering students the flexibility to develop their own ideas and explore new fields and methodologies through independent study, academic and professional publication, and travel. Although we are committed to sound historical research, our work takes us beyond the traditional boundaries and archival sources of the discipline to investigate new perspectives, such as cultural landscapes and material culture, that arise from theoretical methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches and that can have an impact beyond our professional boundaries.

architectural history

DEGREES + PROGRAMS

The Architectural History Program at the University of Texas as Austin offers one graduate-level degree program, a doctoral-level degree, and a minor at the undergraduate level.  

GRADUATE PH.D. UNDERGRADUATE MINOR

Master of Arts in Architectural History

Ph.D. in Architectural History

Architectural History Minor

  • Instagram Post
    Scenes from our 2022-2024 Emerging Scholar in Design Fellow Tyler Swingle’s visit to Stuttgart, Germany.
    @utsoa

    Scenes from our 2022-2024 Emerging Scholar in Design Fellow Tyler Swingle’s visit to Stuttgart, Germany.

  • Instagram Post
    In this month’s issue of @txarchitects, Dean Heather Woofter outlines some of the upcoming priorities for the School of Architecture, and the evolution of architectural education in our changing world.<br />
    @utsoa

    In this month’s issue of @txarchitects, Dean Heather Woofter outlines some of the upcoming priorities for the School of Architecture, and the evolution of architectural education in our changing world.

  • Instagram Post
    Spring (break) has sprung 🪻 Don’t forget to stop and smell the bluebonnets
    @utsoa

    Spring (break) has sprung 🪻 Don’t forget to stop and smell the bluebonnets

  • Instagram Post
    If you’re heading out for SXSW this weekend, several School of Architecture community members are participating in this year’s conference!<br />
    @utsoa

    If you’re heading out for SXSW this weekend, several School of Architecture community members are participating in this year’s conference!

  • Instagram Post
    Work from our 2024-2026 Emerging Scholar in Design Patrick Danahy’s Advanced Design Studio “Post-Industrial Tower Houses,” by students Edward Bondoc @edri295 (1-4) and Luke Jerome (5-8).<br />
    @utsoa

    Work from our 2024-2026 Emerging Scholar in Design Patrick Danahy’s Advanced Design Studio “Post-Industrial Tower Houses,” by students Edward Bondoc @edri295 (1-4) and Luke Jerome (5-8).

  • Instagram Post
    Tomorrow, @rohunjararam is taking over our stories to show us what his studio got up to last month in Bogota, Colombia. <br />
    @utsoa

    Tomorrow, @rohunjararam is taking over our stories to show us what his studio got up to last month in Bogota, Colombia.

  • Instagram Post
    Tune in on tomorrow for a special student takeover highlighting Professor Juan Miro’s 2024 Studio Mexico! Architecture students @gracelevatino and @camilaveratudela will be showing us what their studio got up to in Mexico City during their week-long visit earlier this month.
    @utsoa

    Tune in on tomorrow for a special student takeover highlighting Professor Juan Miro’s 2024 Studio Mexico! Architecture students @gracelevatino and @camilaveratudela will be showing us what their studio got up to in Mexico City during their week-long visit earlier this month.

  • Instagram Post
    On Wednesday, Lindsey Wikstrom, founder of @mattaforma, joins our Spring 2024 lecture series to explore the role mass timber and renewable materials should pay in ensuring the planet’s survival.<br />
    @utsoa

    On Wednesday, Lindsey Wikstrom, founder of @mattaforma, joins our Spring 2024 lecture series to explore the role mass timber and renewable materials should pay in ensuring the planet’s survival.

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    Happy Friday 🌸
    @utsoa

    Happy Friday 🌸