PhD Study : SuperStudio Pedagogy: Innovation through a Responsive Studio Learning Ecology

Apply and key information  

Summary

Architectural Education has changed little in the past century. Evolving from what was an historical professional apprenticeship model to that of a university-based educational system, the pedagogic approach has been slow to develop, and only in accordance with professional and legislative demands. Facing our immediate societal and environmental challenges, which require a more responsive shift in educational focus to a different skills set and value system, this study seeks to examine how architectural education necessitates a more radical, responsive and innovative pedagogy.

At Ulster BSABE the innovative pedagogy of the SuperStudio (first of its kind anywhere in architectural education) has been developed as a new learning model to question the nature of traditional approaches and such aspects as peer-group learning, socialised learning and vertical teaching.

Exploring this as an evolving responsive pedagogy for professional change this study will seek to determine new learning and teaching practices which can contribution to knowledge through this approach through:

Determine the state-of-the-art in new studio pedagogies which exist nationally and internationally

Examine how such pedagogies respond to a rapidly changing professional landscape with emphasis on the individual, social diversity, gender diversity, environmental and collective agency.

Document and disseminate an evidence base for a new learning model amidst the context of contemporary architectural education.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

  • Clearly defined research proposal detailing background, research questions, aims and methodology

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

  • Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
  • Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
  • Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

  • Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
  • Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
  • Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
  • Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Recommended reading

Emerging Practices in Architectural Pedagogy: Accommodating an Uncertain Future
Edited By Laura Sanderson, Sally Stone
July 30, 2021

Progressive Studio Pedagogy: Examples from Architecture and Allied Design Fields
Edited By Charlie Smith
December 01, 2020

Fluid Space and Transformational Learning
By Kyriaki Tsoukala
February 16, 2017

Radical Pedagogies: Architectural Education and the British Tradition
RIBA Publishing; 1st edition (2 July 2015)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1859465838

Voices in Architectural Education: Cultural Politics and Pedagogy (Critical Studies in Education & Culture) (Critical Studies in Education & Culture (Hardcover)) Publisher ‏ : ‎ Praeger (30 Sept. 1991)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 978-0897892537

Rethinking Basic Design in Architectural Education
Foundations Past and Future
By Mine Ozkar

Architecture School
Three Centuries of Educating Architects in North America
Edited by Joan Ockman. The first comprehensive history of architecture education in North America, offering a chronological overview and a topical lexicon.

The Doctoral College at Ulster University

Key dates

Submission deadline
Monday 28 February 2022
12:00AM

Interview Date
Mid March 2022

Preferred student start date
Mid September 2022

Applying

Apply Online  

Contact supervisor

Professor Paul Clarke

Other supervisors