Continue with FacebookLooking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here.
We have 14 Built Environment PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Reading
Built Environment PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Reading
We have 14 Built Environment PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Reading
A PhD in Built Environment is closely related to Architecture, but takes a slightly more technical view of the subject area, incorporating research in Construction and Engineering alongside traditional architectural topics.
What’s it like to do a PhD in Built Environment?
PhDs in Built Environment offer doctoral students the chance to undertake interdisciplinary research in Architecture, Construction and Engineering, exploring the ways in which these subjects inform one another. Possible research topics include:
- Air quality
- Building acoustics
- Building quality management
- Civil and structural engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction law
- Energy efficiency
- Surveying
- Sustainability
- Thermography
The nature of Built Environment as a study area means that there are likely to be many real-world applications resulting from your research, such as the use of concrete as a building material.
Entry requirements
The entry requirements for a typical PhD in Built Environment usually involve a Bachelors and a Masters degree in a related subject. You’ll also need to submit a compelling research proposal detailing your study plans. Any professional experience in Built Environment or Architecture that you have will strengthen your application.
PhD in Built Environment funding options
In the UK, PhDs in Built Environment are funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), depending on the focus of your research. This funding will provide a tuition fee waiver and a living cost stipend. You may submit your own research proposal before being considered for funding, or apply for a project that already has funding attached.
It’s also possible to apply for a PhD loan to help with the costs of a doctorate in Built Environment (although this can’t be combined with Research Council funding). Other options for financial support include university scholarships, graduate teaching assistantships and charities.
If you’re considering a part-time PhD in Built Environment, it may also be worth asking your employer if they’re happy to sponsor you.
PhD in Built Environment careers
A PhD in Built Environment prepares you for employment in a range of industrial sectors, from construction and civil engineering to architectural practice and urban consultancy work. It also provides you with a great platform to begin a full-time career in research or university teaching.
PhD saved successfully
School ventilation and indoor environment quality
Children are a particularly vulnerable section of society. They are physiologically less able to regulate their temperature and are more vulnerable to exposure to air pollution than adults. Read more
Net zero housing retrofits - assuring a sustainable low-carbon transition in the domestic sector
The UK has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The UK's 29 million houses represent 14% of total emissions (CCC, 2019), with nearly 90% of these built more than 20 years ago before stricter energy efficiency standards came into force (Ince & Marvin, 2019). Read more
Organisational implications of robotics and automation in construction supply chains
Over the next 20 years around 50% of construction work could be automated using new and emerging technologies to support advancing automation in the construction sector. Read more
Adaptive thermal comfort in office buildings: an Adaptive Predict Mean Vote model
In recent years, adaptive thermal comfort studies played a positive role in sustainability in buildings. The exploration of thermal adaptation in different regions, different types of buildings, and different demographic groups are the research trend internationally. Read more
Speculative space: Architectural imaginaries and utopian practice through science fiction
This research project looks at how the representation of architecture and built environments in sf might be used to inform and enact spatial alternatives within the present. Read more
Process and information modelling for managing risk in infrastructure projects
Infrastructure projects are critical to foster countries’ economic development, prosperity and growth. It has been reported that till 2030, there will be a need to invest on average 3 trillion USD annually to keep pace with population growth. Read more
Modular and industrialised solutions for building retrofit
More than 85% of the 2050 building stock is already built and almost all will require some form of retrofit/renovation in order to meet global carbon emissions reductions goals. Read more
Managing Risk in Projects with Digital Twins
A digital twin is a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart of a physical object or a system, such as a built asset or a socio-technical system. Read more
Exploitation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Quantity Surveying Practice: Using AI as an opportunity to improve Cost Certainty
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) often tends to go hand in hand for its propensity to mimic human cognitive functions such as problem solving, pattern recognition and respond to certain actions accordingly. Read more
Climate change adaptation in construction organisations
The effects of climate change, including extreme weather conditions, temperature increases, and floods, are increasingly evident worldwide. Read more
Post-Oil Imagination: creative practices as prefigurative actions towards post-fossil fuel worlds
This research project investigates how oil capitalism is contested at the scale of creative practice. Read more
Decarbonisation of the Food System
As the world transitions to a low carbon economic system, dramatic changes will be required across the all sectors. The food system, which is currently estimated to be responsible for 20-30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is one where particular urgency is required. Read more
Human-centric, data-driven model predictive control strategies for buildings
There is significant potential for big data and data science (e.g. Read more
Problem-solving in cross-sector collaboration between technology companies and the construction industry
New technology development within the construction sector often stems from the appeal of replicating efficiencies seen in other sectors such as automation and manufacturing. Read more
- 1