built environment phd thesis pdf

• PhD. in Built Environment

The Ph.D. in Built Environment is an interdisciplinary program offered in four fields.

Ph.d in built environment.

The Ph.D. in Built Environment is an interdisciplinary program offered by RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University. The program provides students with a common core of extensive, integrated knowledge focused upon all the facets of the built environment specialization. The Ph.D. program can be undertaken in the following fields of knowledge and practice:

• Construction Management/Project Management
• Urban Management/Infrastructure Management
• Construction Economics & Quantity Surveying
• Real Estate Management

How this PhD program will be beneficial in your career:  

• Creates opportunities in industry as well as academics
• Develops problem-solving skillsets
• Develops skills that are applicable across industries
• Development of critical thinking
• Increases credibility in the market

Highlights of the program  

• PhD in Built Environment is an interdisciplinary program offered by RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University.
• PhD program can be undertaken in the following fields of knowledge and practice - Real Estate Management; Construction Management/Project Management; Urban Management/Infrastructure Management and Construction Economics & Quantity Surveying 
• Working professionals can also pursue this PhD program 
• The research would be done under the guidance of experienced people, i.e. Main Guide as well as an External Co-Guide
• The minimum duration of the PhD program for Full-Time and Part-Time students is 3 years and 4.5 years respectively.

Eligibilty & Selection

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Real Estate / Urban Management / Urban Regional Planning / Civil Engineering / Construction Engineering / Economics / Commerce / Law / Architecture /Mathematics / Sociology/ or MBA / MCA from any accredited Indian or Foreign University with a minimum of 55% marks or grade point average 6.

Fee and Duration

Indian Nationals: Full-time - INR 75,000 (Per semester)* Part-time - INR 50,000 (Per semester)* Foreign Nationals: Full-time - INR 1.25 Lakhs (Per semester) Part-time - INR 1 Lakh (Per semester) *Applicable for the batch starting from 2023 onwards. Minimum and Maximum Degree Duration:

Candidate will be given the time duration for submission of his / her Ph.D. thesis (from the date of registration) as per the details given below:

Admission Procedure

Candidates seeking admission to the Ph.D. program, whether full time or part time, shall have to possess requisite percentage of marks / grade point average / subjects/ specializations in qualifying examination as indicated under each Ph.D. program:

Applications for admission to a Ph.D. program at Amity University are accepted twice a year, for January and July sessions. A Ph.D. program is offered both on Full Time and Part Time basis. A ‘Full-time Candidate’ shall mean a candidate devoting full time for completing the requirements of the program and a ‘Part-time Candidate’ shall mean a candidate who is devoting only a part of his time towards the pursuit of the program while discharging his official/ employment obligations.

The admission Form is to be filled and submitted ONLINE ONLY along with required documents uploaded in the given format and an online payment of Rs 1100/- made via a Credit/ Debit card. No hard copies will be accepted.

Refer to the Amity.edu/phd for details on list of essential documents required for applying and guidelines on preliminary research idea .  To check the following related to your admission, logon to your Admission Micro site on www.amity.edu/phd (admission micro site login) by using your form no. & password generated at the time of applying online.

• Check whether your Form has been received or not
• Check the Status of your Form
• Check whether you have been short-listed for the Selection Procedure
• Select the date for appearing in the selection Procedure and download Admit Card.
• Check your selection status.
• Print Admission letter after you have been selected.
• Check confirmation of fee payment after making payment.

Candidates will be communicated about requirements related to their application form, date, time and venue of selection process (written test and / or Interview) ONLY ON THE ADMISSION MICRO SITE at www.amity.edu or in the Amity Mobile App available at www.amity.edu/app. In certain cases, options of dates will be available giving greater flexibility. It is the responsibility of the candidate to periodically check the admission microsite for updates and to select a date for PET. No separate communication will be sent in this regard.

Eligible candidates will be required to undertake PET (Ph.D. Entrance Test), on the date selected by them. PET will be a computer based test (CBT) followed by an Interview, on the same day

Selected candidates will get intimation of their selection through an Online Admission Letter which can be printed from the Admission Micro site. Details regarding payment of fees at the time of admission, date, time and venue for commencement of the academic session will be mentioned in the admission letter.

Offer of admission will be provisional & valid only for the specific program opted by the candidate as well as for the same academic session. The offer of admission will automatically stand cancelled if the conditions are not fulfilled by the specified time.

Note 1. It is mandatory for foreign nationals/ NRI to submit AIU certificate along with other documents at the time of applying . Click here for more information. Note 2. It is mandatory for working applicants to submit an NOC at the time of registration cum orientation for the program, i.e within a month of their selection. Click here for format .

Entrance Test Details

The Entrance Test shall be of one and half hour duration (i.e. 90 minutes) and of 70 marks consisting of 95 objective type of questions. The Entrance Test will have two Sections (administered in one go), as mentioned here under:

PH.D GUIDES

Prof. Dr. Deepak Bajaj FRICS (Director and Head of Institution, RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University, Noida)

Dr. Ashish Gupta FRICS (Associate Professor and Director – Research & Consulting, Noida)

Prof. Dr. Sanjay Patil FRICS (Director and Head of Institution, RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University, Mumbai)

Dr. Priti Pandey (Associate Director Programmes, School of Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure, Mumbai)

Important Points

Date of Registration

The date of registration of the candidate shall be the date of payment of fees. The registration period will end on the date of submission of Ph.D thesis.

Residency Period

The minimum Residency Period for full time as well as part time candidates in the Department / Constituent Unit shall ordinarily be one year. This period, in exceptional circumstances, can be reduced to not less than six months by URC (University Research Committee) on the recommendations of DRC (Doctoral Research Committee). Residency period does not imply that the scholar stays in the university campus. It only means that he/she resides in the proximity of the campus to enable her/him to attend coursework classes on regular basis on assigned days, since an attendance of 75% is mandatory to be able to take a comprehensive examination at the end of coursework.

Attendance Requirement 

Minimum 75% attendance is required during residency period.

Course Work 

All candidates admitted to Ph. D. programs have to compulsorily do the course work assigned and shall be required to take a written examination for the same. Coursework period will ordinarily be of minimum six months duration. A candidate will earn credits for a Course Unit only if he obtains a minimum of Grade B+ (Points 07 on scale of 10). If a candidate fails to get qualifying Grade B+, he / she will be given second opportunity to improve his/her qualifying Grade to B+, i.e. Point 7 on ten point scale failing which his/her registration is liable to be cancelled. Scholars shall be required to undertake coursework for a minimum period of one semester, not exceeding one academic year from the date of the provisional registration

Tentative class timings during coursework period:

Ph.D. Full time : All working days, 9.00 am-5.30 pm Ph.D. Part time : Saturday-Sunday, 9.00 am-5.30 pm

Comprehensive Examination 

Each candidate, on completion of course work, shall be required to take a comprehensive examination which will test his/her comprehension or knowledge in his/her broad field of research and his/her academic preparation and potentials to carry out the research work. The comprehensive examination shall be combination of both written and oral examinations and shall be conducted by the faculty. The candidate is required to secure at least Grade B (Points 06 on scale of 10) in comprehensive examination.

Minimum and Maximum Degree Duration 

Candidate will be given the time duration for submission of his / her Ph.D. thesis (from the date of registration) as per the details given above.

Research Plan

Each applicant seeking admission to the Ph.D programs of RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University is required to submit a 1,000 word typed research plan (excluding references) in PDF format. The file should be named as per the following convention - FirstName_LastName_RP.pdf. The research plan should have the following information (suggested word limit is provided alongside):

• Title of the proposed research (10 to 15 words) and name of the candidate
• Introduction and background (100 words)
• Problem statement/need statement (100 words)
• Literature review (200 words)
• Research goal and objectives (100 words)
• Research methodology (300 words)
• Research Tasks and Timeline (100 words)
• Potential research contributions (100 words)
• References (no word limit)

Kindly use a 2.54 centimeter margin on all sides of an A4 sheet with portrait orientation. The font style to be used is ‘Calibri’ where the font size is 11. Also note, text is to be double spaced with proper section headings.

Classification of Candidates

An Indian candidate applying for admission to the Ph.D. Program shall be classified under any one of the following categories:

Sponsored Candidates: Sponsored candidates getting Government / Semi Govt. / Private or other Scholarships/ Fellowships /stipends, who apply for admission through the sponsoring organizations.

Regular Self - Financed Candidates: students, self- employed or other working / non-working candidates

Corporate Research Scholar: Candidates working with reputed organizations in India and having at least five years’ experience and possessing minimum prescribed academic qualifications.

Working Faculty other than Amity: Faculty members of other Universities /schools and recognized/ approved institutions/schools in India, possessing minimum prescribed academic qualifications.

Regular Academic Staff of Amity: Regular academic staff of Department/ Constituent Units of Amity University who are allowed to register for Ph.D. on part time basis.

Regular Non-Academic Staff of Amity: Regular member of non-academic staff of the University and its Departments/ Constituent Units who satisfies eligibility qualifications and is allowed to be registered for a part-time Ph.D. program.

Scholars who are awarded National Fellowships through National Competitive Examinations.

A foreign national will apply under the foreign candidate category.

Dr. Satya N Mandal FRICS

Professor & Head of Ph. D. Programs

[email protected]

FOR UNIVERSITY MEMBERS

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Built Environment (Practice-based PhD)

The practice-based PhD is aimed at practitioners operating within or across the broad range of disciplines represented in the school, from architecture and design to planning and construction. Early and mid-career, and senior practitioners, will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills and methodologies they've developed in the field within a broader framework of critical and rigorous scholarly enquiry. The expanded range of interrogative, analytical and evaluative skills developed during their candidatures should directly enhance their own practice.

Key information

A practice-based PhD is available across all disciplines represented in the School of Built Environment: 

architecture

city planning

computational design 

construction management and property

industrial design

interior architecture 

landscape architecture.

The primary aim of the practice-based PhD is to contribute new knowledge to the field through systematic investigation. A candidate will apply the research value of the knowledge, skills and methodologies developed as a practitioner within a broader framework of critical enquiry and analysis. It's expected that the candidate will generate a new body of ideas-based, creative work (the project) and a written work (the dissertation) that will make an original contribution to knowledge within the field. 

The project may take one of a number of different forms, such as architectural design, urban design and planning, construction methods and technologies, industrial design, interior design, and landscape design. It could also cross a number of disciplines. The chosen medium can also vary, for example, it might take the form of objects, drawings, plans, prototypes, models, creative text, digital fabrication, film, virtual reality, or a combination of these. The requirement, however, is that the project can be fully documented in electronic form for the purposes of examination.

The dissertation is a substantial research-based academic essay that bears a direct relationship to the project. Together the dissertation and the project comprise the PhD thesis.

To assist commencing students in developing an appropriate research methodology, candidates are required to undertake a course in their first session - BENV7020 Research Seminar.

Candidates undertaking a practice-based PhD will also be required to undertake a specialised Thesis Writing Workshop run by UNSW Learning Centre. 

For information on the structure of the program, please refer to the  UNSW Online Handbook .

For information on how a practice-based PhD is examined, please refer to  Notes For Examiners .

 Who are the candidates?

Are you an established and passionate practitioner operating within or across the broad range of disciplines represented in the School of Built Environment like architecture and urban design, city planning, computational design, construction management and property, industrial design, interior architecture and landscape architecture? 

Are you interested in developing rigorous critical thinking and knowledge creation to improve your practice and the industry?

Based on your direct experience as an established practitioner in the built environment industry, you will generate a project through robust critical research. 

The research project would result from historically and scientifically broadening and contextualising the field of enquiry.

Reflection, experimentation and testing boundaries within your field will narrow the PhD topic to a sharp, focused and manageable research project.

Why begin a research project? 

Research projects will affect, benefit and reward industry by improving and expanding your services to clients.  

Discipline and interdisciplinary oriented research projects will shape the future of our cities and allow you, as a practitioner, to become a global leader in your field.

Your research project will encourage, promote and support collaboration between academia and industry. 

Where to look for funding sources? 

Your close working relationship with the industry can potentially lead to funding, where the research topic is aligned with the industry’s future visions. (For example, design-construction-developer companies, construction material industries/associations) 

Architecture 

Architecture and social agency .

Project aim:  the broader aim is to contribute to the growing discourse on community development and social agency in vulnerable communities. The history of humanitarian concerns in development delivery stem from colonisation and top-down practices. Practice-based PhD candidate Renate Carius’ research project focuses on participatory design processes set within the context of post-disaster reconstruction in Nepal. Current fieldwork serves as a case study to explore how reflexive design can contribute to local agency in informal settlements. 

Project findings:  Findings from the process could contribute to future knowledge on co-design strategies and policy in vulnerable communities for social agency.  

Architecture and urban condition 

Project aim:  by integrating the building to the city and its urban landscape, the aim of the practice-based PhD in architecture and the urban condition is to question the role of architecture in responding with contemporary and progressive design of volumes, spaces, public/private human activities and use of materiality to the existing urban fabric.

Project findings:  research findings from critical forward-thinking and imaginative practitioners will enhance research about ‘urban contiguity’ - how considering the existing urban context and envisioning a new project complement each other; how rethinking and integrating urban high-density and public infrastructure with multigenerational/affordable housing, public activities and educational institutions will create a more liveable community.   

Architecture and housing 

Project aim:  Diane Jones’ PhD proposal looks at the cultural shift and interest in urban settings which are not age or otherwise segregated for integrated communities embedded within the existing urban context. This intersects with the perceived benefits and realities of high density living in a compact city. The aim is to understand the architectural design attributes of wellbeing for people who are aging within purposefully designed high rise living settings- in an integrated (across generations and uses) community within an urban context. How do architectural design decisions in practice align with people’s experiences of wellbeing? 

Project findings:  the proposal will work towards the development of a suite of principles that are evidence-based - that can be organised as an evaluative matrix, which can be used to brief, design and evaluate the spatial experiences that contribute to people’s wellbeing and continuing vitality and vibrancy as they grow older. 

Construction

Construction and project management .

Project aim:  despite its contribution to the global and national economies, the construction industry is notorious for being unsafe. In such an environment, project management personnel play an important role in leading safety task implementation and creating positive safety climate in construction projects. This, subsequently, leads to accident prevention through the efforts of eliminating unsafe acts and conditions. To do so, project management personnel need to possess sufficient skills. Therefore, this present research has investigated the role of project management personnel’s skills (comprising conceptual, human, political and technical skills) in implementing safety management tasks and developing safety climate. 

Project findings:  this research has identified four essential skills and 15 skill components of project management personnel to manage construction safety. Visioning, self-awareness and apparent sincerity are the foundation skills; scoping and integration, and self-management are the first-tier mediator skills; whilst social awareness, social astuteness and relationship management are the second-tier mediator skills. A significant contribution of this research to construction safety practice is the development of a model that portrays skill applications and development processes for project management personnel to implement safety management tasks and develop safety climate. The model recommended assists construction organisations to identify skill shortages and make decisions on their human resource development strategies and plans. 

Computational design 

Project aim and findings:  computational design is moving from promise to practice. Where PhD research in the early years of computational design often engage with provocative form finding and experiments in computation and computing, a practice-based PhD in Computational Design aims to tackle problems in the industry. The Computational Design degree and its HDR extensions sees itself as the research and development department for local, national and international firms investigating third horizon challenges spanning from Machine Learning / AI, to bio-mimicry, to AR/VR, robotic and digital fabrication, to smart cities and responsive environments and performance and optimisation of design, architecture, structure and cities. 

As established practitioners, PhD applicants can bring firm-specific third horizon challenges into the PhD investigation and answer the research question through academic supervision within the school, but also, depending on the topic, within the university. The PhD student can further make use of the Design Futures Lab with its extensive range of collaborative and industry robots, AR/VR and sensing and capturing facilities, as well as conventional making.

Industrial design 

Project aim and findings:  a practice-based PhD in Industrial Design is aimed at mid-career and senior practitioners operating within the field of industrial design. Candidates will contribute new knowledge to the field through critical and rigorous self-reflection, systematic investigation, scholarly enquiry and analysis of their own design practice; including the knowledge, skills and methodologies they developed as a practitioner. 

The aim is to document, make explicit and voice this research knowledge, which is otherwise inherent and implicit in their ongoing design practice. In return, the candidates’ own practice will be enhanced with the expanded range of interrogative, analytical and evaluative skills developed during the practice-based PhD. Outcomes of a practice-based PhD are expected to be in the form of a combined project, generating a new body of ideas-based/creative work and a written dissertation that together will make an original contribution to knowledge, enabling the candidate to become a recognized authority within the field. 

City planning

Project aim:  the development of affordable housing in mixed-tenure neighbourhoods is frequently meant with opposition from local residents, planners, politicians and the media. This opposition can lead to costly construction delays and amendments for affordable housing developers and, in some cases, may even force the abandonment of projects. In the most high-profile cases, the opposition threatens to undermine political and public support for affordable housing provision. There has been much research on the phenomenon of community opposition to affordable housing development in the USA, but there is almost no equivalent research in Australia.  

Project findings: Gethin Davison’s PhD research found that most affordable housing proposals are not controversial, but a small number of high-profile cases undermine political and public support for affordable housing provision. This project also contributes to understanding the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) movement in Australia. Levels of opposition to affordable housing tend to be greater in relatively wealthy areas, especially where there is no precedent for multi-unit development or affordable housing. In particular, opposition to affordable housing is highly localised, with most submissions made against affordable housing proposals coming from people living close to the site. Planning assessment processes can generate or exacerbate community opposition to affordable housing, especially where community involvement is limited.  

Sustainable built environment 

Project aim:  in recent years, the planning, design and installation of “green infrastructure” at the local and city level have been identified as a best practice and nature-based solution to achieving greater urban sustainability and resilience. This project aims to develop an indicator-based model using a mixed-method approach to evaluate the performance of urban green infrastructure. This model is composed of a set of sixteen key indicators within four subcategories: ecological; health and wellbeing; sociocultural; and economic. Each represents key interactions between human health, ecosystem services and ecosystem health. This model is tested, validated and verified through a case study in Sydney, Australia. 

Project findings:  the significance of the research is that the derived indicator-based model provides an opportunity to understand the complex relationships of the multidimensional structure of urban green spaces. It provides a useful insight for urban designers and decision-makers in monitoring various aspects of the urban ecosystem, and it also allows for early warnings regarding any undesirable changes in sustainability levels. 

Appropriate undergraduate degree with first or upper second-class honours or a completed Masters by Research degree, or academic qualification(s) considered equivalent.

Candidates may be admitted to the PhD program after one year's full-time enrolment in a Masters by Research program with the approval of the School Higher Degree Research Committee.

In exceptional cases, an applicant who submits evidence of such other academic and professional qualifications, as may be approved by the School Higher Degree Committee, may be permitted to enrol for the degree. English language requirements apply. Please refer to  UNSW’s English Requirements Policy .

Learn more about our  higher degree research programs . 

Postgraduate Research Scholarships (RTP, UPA, TFS): allow at least eight weeks from the time of submitting your application to the School HDC to the closing date for the university’s scholarship rounds. For more information, please see the  Graduate Research School website . See deadlines for  UNSW apply online applications and scholarships .

• Centre of Research recognised by industry and wider community
• Academic support by highly qualified and experienced academics
• Supervision by some of the top researchers in their fields
• Regular knowledge-sharing workshops and seminars
• Quality research facilities
• Dedicated research space for every full-time candidate
• Financial support (additional to any scholarship).

The University of West London

Dissertation research and writing for built environment students.

Naoum, Shamil (2019) Dissertation research and writing for built environment students. Routledge Publishing, Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 9780815384625

Dissertation Research and Writing for Built Environment Students is a step-by-step guide to get students through their final year research project. Trusted and developed over three previous editions, the new fourth edition shows you how to select a dissertation topic, write a proposal, conduct a literature review, select the research approach, gather the data, analyse and present the information and ultimately produce a well-written dissertation.

The book simplifies dissertation research and writing into a process involving a sequence of learnable activities and divides the process into three parts.

Part One covers the necessary groundwork, including: identifying the problem, writing a proposal and reviewing the literature.

Part Two covers the research design and includes: approaches and techniques for data collection and constructing and sampling a questionnaire.

Part Three covers: measurement of data, analysis of data with SPSS, structuring and writing the whole dissertation, and supervision and assessment.

This new edition is packed with updated examples and research samples, making this the ideal resource for students involved in research in built environment subjects such as construction management, construction project management, facilities management, real estate, building surveying, quantity surveying and civil engineering.

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Sustainable Construction MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

With a strong multidisciplinary approach, PhD research at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction covers a breadth of topics related to management, economics and finance of the built environment.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

• Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, in a relevant subject, is essential. Exceptionally: where applicants have other suitable research or professional experience, they may be admitted without a Master's degree; or where applicants have a lower second-class UK Honours Bachelor's degree (2:2) (or equivalent) they must possess a relevant Master's degree to be admitted. We expect any successful application to include a sufficiently strong and convincing proposal, and those holding a Master's degree are typically well prepared to provide one. Relevant work experience is highly desirable.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Enterprise and Project Management

These are management and organisation studies comprising areas such as strategic management, innovation, project management, leadership and organisational behaviour. The School has a tradition of carrying out management and organisation research in the built environment, including project-based firms, construction projects, complex and mega projects, infrastructure, governance, quantity surveying, building information modelling, digital transformation, supply chain, social networks, project-based networks, organisational, social and consumer psychology, sustainability, and professionalism.

Economics and Finance of the Built Environment

This area of research includes construction economics, infrastructure economics and finance, real estate economics and finance, real estate development, housing, climate change economics, development economics, public economics, economic history, behavioural economics, big data.

Who this course is for

We welcome PhD and MPhil proposals from outstanding applicants related to the above research topics. The research degrees of PhD and MPhil are awarded for the most advanced level of study available at UCL. The aim is to make an original contribution to knowledge leading to the enhancement of academia and practice. Academic record and research interest are key criteria for candidate acceptance.

What this course will give you

In REF 2021 , 91% of research in The Bartlett was deemed ‘World Leading’ and ‘Internationally Excellent’ and it was number one for Research Power in the built environment.  Within the national results, The Bartlett accounts for the largest submission to the discipline across the UK; 725 examples of interdisciplinary and collaborative research from 332 colleagues were submitted and all of the 12 case studies submitted by The Bartlett were deemed to be internationally excellent and world leading.

We recruit students who are highly motivated and qualified, willing to push the boundaries of knowledge and effect real- world change. We are proud of the diversity of our research programmes, both in terms of student backgrounds and research projects.

We recruit students who are highly motivated and qualified, willing to push the boundaries of knowledge and effect real-world change. We are proud of the diversity of our research programmes, both in terms of student backgrounds and research projects.

The foundation of your career

The programme is intended to supply graduate PhD students with expertise in areas including economics and finance of the built environment, management of project enterprises and project-based networks.

Employability

Many of our PhD students have secured academic positions in top universities and jobs as leading practitioners in major organisations of the private and public sector.

We provide a number of networking opportunities for our students, including social events, lectures, collaborative projects and visits, team-building and student-led conferences.

Teaching and learning

Initially, you will be registered for the MPhil degree. If you wish to proceed to a PhD, you will be required to pass an 'Upgrade' assessment. The purpose of the Upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame. It is expected that a full-time student will undertake the Upgrade assessment within 18 months of registration (30 months for part-time students).

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) involves supervised research normally undertaken over a period of four years full-time (including 1-year Completing Research Status) or seven years part-time (including 2-year Completing Research Status). Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

Flexible learning and self directed study are in the direction of our students with support from staff and academics.

Research areas and structure

Research environment.

The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction is a centre for interdisciplinary research in infrastructure economics, infrastructure finance and management, construction economics, urban and housing economics, real estate finance, and project management including innovation, learning, risk management, leadership, marketing, financing, project-based enterprises. We are part of the Bartlett, UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment, the top institution in its field in the UK (REF 2021) for 'research power'.

We are proud with the diversity of our programme, both in terms of interdisciplinary research domains and student background. Our PhD students usually conduct research in the following areas:

These are management and organisation studies comprising areas such as strategic management, innovation, project management, leadership and organisational behaviour. The School has a tradition of carrying out management and organisation research in the built environment (project-based firms, construction projects, complex and mega projects, infrastructure, governance, quantity surveying, building information modelling, digital transformation, supply chain, social networks, project-based networks, organisational, social and consumer psychology, sustainability, and professionalism).

The programme emphasises close staff-student collaboration in research and offers a variety of research seminars and training activities that are intended to equip you with advanced research skills and competences. It is intended that you will take part in research events and meetings with academics and practitioners and contribute to a thriving academic community. If you are funded by the School, usually you will contribute to teaching and related duties for approximately 25% of your time. Academics and students typically interact to stimulate ideas, and develop and hone conceptual understanding and analysis, with the aim of generating original contributions to knowledge.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is normally 3 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time. You will normally register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an 'upgrade' assessment, typically at the end of your first year and no later than eighteen months from registration (full-time). 

During your first year your supervisor may advise you to attend specific skills training courses offered by UCL. In addition, the School normally offers its PhD students an Induction event, two PhD study days and regular seminars in our key research areas.

By the end of the second year, it is expected that you will have written at least half of your thesis. You are usually required to attend conferences, submit conference articles and organise PhD events.

In the third year you are normally required to analyse your key findings and form conclusions about them to write up your thesis.

The PhD programme is expected to be completed within three years for full-time students, and over five years for part-time students. Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration you may be permitted to register with Completing Research Status (CRS) while you write up your thesis (one year full-time or two years part-time registration).

Primarily, you are expected to conduct independent research, with guidance and supervision. The programme places emphasis on a close one-to-one working relationship between you and your supervisor. Your supervisor may suggest that you enrol in, or audit, an additional taught module. Taught models do not form part of your MPhil/PhD programme and so are not formally assessed. 

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course, additional costs.

There is no application fee for this programme.

As a research student, your additional costs may include expenses such as books, conference attendance and field research, in the UK or overseas.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the Bartlett Promise PhD Scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

Any additional funding available from The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction  and the  Built Environment Faculty Office  are advertised on the respective websites.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

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4 PATTERNS OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN IMPROVING HEALTH & WELL-BEING IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Related Papers

Phillip Roös

In 1984 E.O. Wilson (1984) introduced and popularized the Biophilia hypothesis defining biophilia as " the urge to affiliate with other forms of life " (Kellert & Wilson 1995: 416). Wilson's biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. More recently, in the USA, Browning et al. (2014) have proposed '14 Patterns of Biophilic Design' within a framework for linking the human biological sciences and nature to built environment design offering a series of tools for enriching design opportunities, and avenues for design applications as a way to effectively enhance the health and well-being of individuals and society. While biophilia is the theory, biophilic design as advocated by Kellert et al. (2008) and Beatley (2010) internationally offers a sustainable design strategy that seeks to reconnect people with the 'natural environment'. Overall, from what little research has been undertaken internationally in the last 10 years, there is a solid understanding as to the applied application of this theory, its principles and processes to built environment design and no research about to how to retrofit the existing urban fabric using this approach. This paper reviews the application of biophilic design in Australia, including the scope of design, health and wellbeing literature, the '14 Patterns of Biophilic Design' and performative measures now unfolding, brings forward a new Biophilic Design Pattern, and considers the value the approach offers to built environment practice as well as to human and non-human occupants.

Future City

There is an increasing awareness of the role that buildings, districts, and neighborhoods play on health in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that coincides with pressing climate concerns. This has renewed attention to the benefits of nature for both human and climate health. Buildings, cities, and regions are attempting to align regenerative design principles with human health goals but often lack the tools and knowledge to do so. This is partly rooted in a failure to understand how to apply research and policy for different contexts as well as at different scales. It is also still uncertain exactly what types of nature can lead to which types of benefit, and for whom, despite long-standing research within the environmental psychology, sustainability, and design fields. This chapter outlines key research paradigms that influence the way we understand the benefits of nature, where biophilic design theory sits in this field, and how it can be and has been applied at different scales ...

Weijie Zhong

International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies

Assistant Professor Dr. Chro Hama Radha

Biophilic design has contributed to creating built environments within a taste of nature. The tangible features offer the occupants psychological restoration, releasing stress and mental fatigue. To achieve this, previous researchers have found biophilic design amongst a list of many other design approaches to have the potential to contribute to this topic. This research aimed to examine the biophilic design practices in the current built environment in public buildings, homes, and workplaces. The study, therefore, employed a systematic review method alongside a narrative synthesis approach. In this regard, essential inputs from a body of research on the impact of biophilic design on psychology and public health were considered. The research found that elements such as natural daylight, ventilation, and living architecture have been used to develop well-designed buildings capable of improving users' health and well-being. To achieve the status of a restorative-built environment, the study suggests that designers must provide natural elements such as forest-like landscapes, natural water features, and natural light.

Journal of Urban Research

Samia F . Ebrahiem , ghada yassein

The built environment is the man-made space including our cities, neighbourhoods, offices, and homes where people live, work, and recreate daily. Several recent research studies have devoted considerable attention to how our built environment affects our health, well-being, and quality of life. The idea of this paper stemmed from a conversation with architecture students after a lecture on healing landscapes. They have been asked to take a photo of the view out of the windows of their rooms for the following week discussion. The discussion mainly focused on why viewing nature is more favourable and advantageous than viewing buildings. The answer to this question is 'biophilia', defined as the inherent human inclination to affiliate with nature. Biophilic design-an extension of biophilia-is an innovative way of design that strives to foster a deep connection with nature in places where we live, work, and learn to induce well-being effects. The present paper seeks to systematically review and address the current practices of biophilic design in interior spaces where people spend most of their time. This paper situates the emerging concept of biophilic interior design and concludes by reflecting upon a conceptual model that enriches and sustains the human-nature connection.

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

Toufic Haidamous

Bettina Bolten

Biophilic Design is an applied science that takes into account the most recent findings on the relationship between Man and Nature to render artificial spaces more coherent with innate human biophilia. It is well known that the application of Biophilic Design reduces stress, stimulates creativity and clear thinking, improves physical and psychological well-being and accelerates healing. Considering the relentless process of global urbanization, these benefits will become increasingly important in the design of our urban spaces, architecture and interiors. The aim of the present study is to develop a conceptual framework for Biophilic Design, reducing the gap between scientific research and its translation into functional applications.

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)

IJRASET Publication

Today's growing modern cities become a cause for a greater number of environmental issues like global warming, earthquake, urban heat effects, and pollution, which ends in environmental degradation. People are spending a large part of their life in a confined environment, henceforth we need to consider their perspective in those spaces and bring sustainable ideas in it. As a designer and architect, we play a major role in implementing the nature-based approaches like biophilic design in our projects to create awareness among people about sustainable built forms. This becomes a connecting component between humans and nature on an infrastructure level and becomes more effective physically and mentally for the human life to live in. This study reviews the various outcomes in different climatic zones, its advantages and its well-being in environmental behavior. This ideology would work efficiently and adaptable to its surrounding environment and helps solve environmental issues in today's world.

IRJET Journal

Physical wellness, comfort and mental wellbeing are important factor in designing a built-form. We often neglect nature in process of design. Nature has no substitute. So, it is very important to consider while designing a building. Humans have evolved their behavioural mechanism & problem-solving tactics responding to the stimulus from the surrounding spaces. Architecture, here, has an infinite power to dictate the character and stimuli generation of a space. This stimulus to be positively conceived and delivered physically, psychologically and intellectually to the surroundings, is the core of the Biophilic Hypothesis. This paper discusses the impact of biophilic design on human health and well-being and presents a unified framework for its application in the design of biophilic spaces.

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November 13, 2020

PhD in the Built Environment

The College of Built Environments consists of five departments that together provide one of the country’s few comprehensive built environment programs within one academic unit: Architecture, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, Real Estate, and Urban Design and Planning. Together, this combination of departments enable faculty and students to engage almost the entire development process, from economic and environmental planning, real estate, regulatory processes, siting and design, through actual financing and construction, to facility management and adaptive reuse in subsequent stages. Thus, the college is inherently multi-disciplinary, not only in terms of the dimensions of reality that it treats, but also in regard to the specialized disciplines, methods, and practices that it employs: history, theory, cultural criticism, engineering, design, planning, urban design, energy sciences, acoustics, lighting, environmental psychology, ecology, real estate analysis, statistics, management, horticulture, soil science, law, public policy, and ethics. In addition, because of the College’s focus on comprehensive analysis and practice concerning the built environment and its interrelation with society, it is substantially engaged in interdisciplinary work with other units on campus and outside of the campus, including mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering; with public policy and the health sciences; with art and art history; with textual interpretation in the humanities; with many of the computing and digitization activities that range from digital arts to the information school and technical communications; with education and social studies and services; with sustainability and ecological programs, including urban ecology, geography, the College of Forest Resources (especially urban horticulture and urban forestry), and Ocean Science and Fisheries; with environmental and land use law.

The College’s interdisciplinary character is a good fit with the emerging trends in today’s complex world, where only a pluralistic and collaborative approach will generate the necessary learning and teaching, research, and service. If we are to provide, in the end, both disciplinary and professional means to promote environmental well-being, the diverse environmental specializations must be fully integrated. Thus, working outside traditional disciplinary and departmental categories, the College’s faculty will advance solutions to problems that demand interdisciplinary perspectives and expertise. Other UW units bring much to bear on the built environment and students are wholeheartedly encouraged to explore possible cross-campus connections both in obvious and seemingly unlikely places. The Technology and Project Design/Delivery specialization especially connects with Psychology, the Information School, Technical Communication, Computer Science and Engineering, and Industrial Engineering; the Sustainable Systems and Prototypes field with Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, the Information School, Technical Communication, the College of Forest Resources (especially Eco-System Science and Conservation, Urban Horticulture and Urban Forestry), the Evans School of Public Affairs, Geography, Public Health, Ocean Science and Fisheries, and Social Work, Urban Ecology, and perhaps Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes and Nanotechnology; the area of History, Theory, and Representation with Textual Studies, Art History, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at Tacoma, and Comparative History of Ideas.

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• AN ACCUMULATION OF CATASTROPHE: A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WILDFIRE IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES  Dockstader, Sue ( University of Oregon , 2024-03-25 ) This dissertation is an environmental sociological study of wildland fire in what is now the western United States. It examines wildfire management from roughly the 1900s to the present time employing a Marxist historical ...
• Managing Life's Future: Species Essentialism and Evolutionary Normativity in Conservation Policy, Practice, and Imaginaries  Maggiulli, Katrina ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Folk essentialist and normative understandings of species are not only prevalent in popular layperson communities, but also end up undergirding United States conservation policy and practice due to the simplistic clarity ...
• Unsettled Ecologies: Alienated Species, Indigenous Restoration, and U.S. Empire in a Time of Climate Chaos  Fink, Lisa ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation traces environmental thinking about invasive species from Western-colonial, diasporic settlers of color, and Indigenous perspectives within U.S. settler colonialism. Considering environmental discourses ...
• Futuremaking in a Disaster Zone: Everyday Climate Change Adaptation amongst Quechua Women in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca  Moulton, Holly ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Indigenous women in Peru are often labeled “triply vulnerable” to climate change due to race, gender, and economic marginalization. Despite Peru’s focus on gender, Indigeneity, and intersectionality in national adaptation ...
• Land Acts: Land's Agency in American Literature, Law, and History from the Colonial Period to Removal  Keeler, Kyle ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation examines land’s agency and relationships to land in the places now known as the United States as these relationships appear in literature and law from early colonization to the removal period. Land Acts ...
• PALEOTEMPERATURE, VEGETATION CHANGE, FIRE HISTORY, AND LAKE PRODUCTIVITY FOR THE LAST 14,500 YEARS AT GOLD LAKE, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA  Baig, Jamila ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The postglacial history of vegetation, wildfire, and climate in the Cascade Range (Oregon) is only partly understood. This study uses high-resolution analysis from a 13-meter, 14,500-year sediment core from Gold Lake to ...
• On Western Juniper Climate Relations  Reis, Schyler ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Western juniper woodlands are highly sensitive to climate in terms of tree-ring growth, seedling establishment and range distribution. Understanding the dynamics of western juniper woodlands to changes in precipitation, ...
• Stories We Tell, Stories We Eat: Mexican Foodways, Cultural Identity, and Ideological Struggle in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles  Sanchez, Bela ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Food is a biological necessity imbued with numerous social, cultural, and economic implications for identity production and everyday meaning-making. Food television is a unique medium for the meanings of food and foodways ...
• Soil Nutrient Additions Shift Orthopteran Herbivory and Invertebrate Community Composition  Altmire, Gabriella ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Anthropogenic alterations to global pools of nitrogen and phosphorus are driving declines in plant diversity across grasslands. As such, concern over biodiversity loss has precipitated a host of studies investigating how ...
• Multispecies Memoir: Self, Genre, and Species Justice in Contemporary Culture  Otjen, Nathaniel ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Liberal humanism articulates an individual, rational, autonomous, universal, and singularly human subject that possesses various rights and freedoms. Although the imagined subject at the heart of liberal humanist philosophy ...
• Understanding How Changes in Disturbance Regimes and Long-Term Climate Shape Ecosystem and Landscape Structure and Function  Wright, Jamie ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Long-term and anthropic climatic change intersecting with disturbances alters ecosystem structure and function across spatiotemporal scales. Quantifying ecosystem responses can be convoluted, therefore utilizing multiproxy ...
• Ikpíkyav (To Fix Again): Drawing From Karuk World Renewal To Contest Settler Discourses Of Vulnerability  Vinyeta, Kirsten ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) The Klamath River Basin of Northern California has historically been replete with fire-adapted ecosystems and Indigenous communities. For the Karuk Tribe, fire has been an indispensable tool for both spiritual practice and ...
• Grassland Restoration in Heterogeneous, Changing, and Human Dominated Systems  Brambila, Alejandro ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Ecological restoration is a powerful tool to promote biodiversity and ecosystem function. Understanding underlying system variability and directional change can help predict outcomes of restoration interventions. Spatial ...
• Restoring What? And for Whom? Listening to Karuk Ecocultural Revitalization Practitioners and Uncovering Settler Logics in Ecological Restoration.  Worl, Sara ( University of Oregon , 2022-05-10 ) What does it mean to restore a landscape degraded by settler colonialism? How might a well intentionedprocess like ecological restoration end up causing harm from underlying settler colonial logics? This thesis explores ...
• Instigating Communities of Solidarity: An Exploration of Participatory, Informal, Temporary Urbanisms  Meier, Briana ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) This dissertationexamines the potential for participatory, informal urbanisms to buildcollaborative relations across ontological, cultural, and political difference. This research contributes to thefield of urban, environmental ...
• The Holy Oak School of Art and Ecology: A Proposal for Arts-Based Environmental Education Programming  Best, Krysta ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The following is a proposal for arts-based environmental education programming in elementary schools, after-school programs, and day-camp programs, entitled the Holy School of Art and Ecology. Ecophenomenological, arts-based ...
• Settler Colonial Listening and the Silence of Wilderness in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area  Hilgren, Bailey ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The Boundary Waters Canoe Area soundscape in northern Minnesota has a long and contested history but is most often characterized today as a pristine and distinctly silent wilderness. This thesis traces the construction and ...
• Species Dynamics and Restoration in Rare Serpentine Grasslands under Global Change  Hernandez, Eliza ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) Conserving rare serpentine grasslands is a challenge with ongoing nitrogen deposition. Nutrient-poor patches are fertilized by nitrogen-rich smog and exotic grasses can rapidly spread. Water resources are also being altered ...
• Place-making and Place-taking: An Analysis of Green Gentrification in Atlanta Georgia  Okotie-Oyekan, Aimée ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) Despite the benefits of urban greenspace, Atlanta’s Westside Park is causing gentrification and displacement pressures in Grove Park, a low-income African-American community in northwest Atlanta, Georgia. This study used ...
• Prairie Plant Responses to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest  Reed, Paul ( University of Oregon , 2021-09-13 ) Understanding how plants respond to climate change is of paramount importance since their responses can affect ecosystem functions and patterns of biodiversity. At the population level, climate change may alter phenology ...

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