PhD in Architecture and Design Cultures

Academic Year 2026-2027
Subject area Engineering Studies
Cycle 42
Coordinator Prof. Matteo Cassani Simonetti
Language English, Italian
Duration 3 years
Scholarship amount

Minimum

€ 1,250 net per month (the amount may vary if you are a member of Italian professional pension funds or if you have other employment income that leads to a reduction in the social security rate)
PhD website (for information on research topics and programme organization)

Application deadline: Mar 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Call for Applications - First Round - 42nd cycle

Doctoral programme start date: Nov 01, 2026

Operating centre
Bologna
Main Department
Department of Architecture - DA
Research topics

Architecture

  • Architectural composition
  • Theory of architectural design
  • Autonomy of architecture
  • Space, form and structure in architecture

Planning and Urban Design

  • Sustainability in planning and in urban design
  • Relations between planning and environment/landscape protection and promotion
  • Urban and rural regeneration: techniques, tools and experimentations
  • Theories of planning and urban design

Construction Technologies and Building Performances

  • Sustainable building design
  • Energy efficient building
  • Architectural building renovation
  • Project construction management
  • Innovation Technologies
  • Indoor quality and building performances
  • Outdoor quality, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies
  • Acoustics

Advanced Design

  • Design driven product and service innovation
  • Advanced design cultures: beyond processes and thinking
  • Design thinking social innovation
  • Industry 4.0
  • Cultural and Creative Industries
  • Social Innovation
  • Visions of the futures in material forms: a dynamic relationship between past, present, and future

Cultural Heritage

  • Protection, Restoration and Preservation
  • Technologies for conservation
  • Digital Heritage
  • Design for Cultural Heritage in the digital era
  • Humanities and Technology for Cultural Heritage
  • Cultural Heritage and sustainability

Architectural Humanities

  • History of architecture
  • History of design
  • Aesthetics of design and architecture
  • Aesthetics of everyday life
  • Philosophy and architecture
  • Architecture and arts
  • Architecture and literature, film, tv
  • Urban and visual culture
Job opportunities and potential areas of employment
Job opportunities are directly related to research activities in the field of architecture with particular reference to the areas here described in general terms: Architectural composition; Urban Design; Construction Technologies; Advanced Design; Restoration and Preservation; Humanities and Technology for Cultural Heritage; History of architecture; Aesthetics of design and architecture.