College Of Architecture, Planning & Design
Boasts Three Top 10 Programs

Application Deadline: February 1

About the PhD program

The Environmental Design & Planning PhD at the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University is, first and foremost, an interdisciplinary degree program. Our doctoral students are members of the College at-large, rather than a particular department, allowing students to draw from the sizeable and wide-ranging knowledge of faculty from all three of our departments: Architecture, Interior Architecture & Product Design, and Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning. 

Each PhD student chooses an area of emphasis, but the program allows for, and even requires, learning in several areas. The four concentrations of the doctoral program – Design, Planning, Sustainability, and Place Making – are expansive, and they encompass and embrace the interconnected and complex nature of the design and planning professions.

When practicing in any of the many, diverse design and planning professions, the practitioner benefits from the interaction of their different approaches to the (re)shaping and augmenting of the built environment. Our program takes advantage of the diverse but interrelated nature of the College’s design and planning disciplines to give our PhD students a well-rounded education.

The doctoral program supports advanced graduate research utilizing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view of design and planning to better contribute to a more livable and ecologically sustainable society.

Program goal

This program is designed to prepare professionals and researchers to teach at the graduate level or conduct research. In addition to teaching, our graduates also are well equipped to design and/or create policy for government environmental and planning agencies, developers, professional design firms, and international corporations that focus on environmental stewardship, to name a few. The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows students to develop conceptual and problem-solving skills that have application in numerous and varied practical design and planning situations. For example, designing more livable communities, planning for more efficient energy and resource use, or restoring natural environments. 

Generally, student research examines how different aspects of design and planning might contribute to a more functional, sustainable environment and society for Kansas, the United States, and the world. Conducting such research allows students to gain experience and insight into a variety of design and planning professions.

Graduate faculty

The following APDesign faculty are certified to serve as major professors for our doctoral students: 

• Katherine S. Ankerson, MS, Professor of Interior Architecture & Product Design
• Eric Bernard, MLA, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
• Wayne “Mick” Charney, PhD, Associate Professor of Architecture
• Robert Condia, MS, Professor of Architecture
• Timothy D. Keane, PhD, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
• John W. Keller, PhD, Professor of Planning
• Larry Lawhon, PhD, Associate Professor of Planning
• Stephanie A. Rolley, MCP, Professor of Landscape Architecture
• David R. Seamon, PhD, Professor of Architecture
• Lee R. Skabelund, MLA, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
  

Areas of emphasis

To draw upon the wide-ranging expertise of the APDesign faculty, we offer four concentrations from which PhD students can choose. The program offers the following concentrations: 

• Design emphasizes the role of the designed environment in contributing to human well-being and provides opportunities, through practice and research, to explore issues that range from design pedagogy to design production, history, and theory.
• Planning considers the theory and methods of public decision-making and the development of models and tools to understand and improve decision-making processes, both public and private.
• Sustainability explores ways by which the design and planning professions can better provide for the environmental and resource needs of people without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• Place Making explores the importance of place in human life and considers ways by which design and policy might better make physical environments that work as robust human places and evoke a powerful sense of place.

These four concentrations are interconnected by their very nature, and this interconnection provides a topical and educational venue for interdisciplinary participation and collaboration between doctoral students and the diverse faculty of APDesign.

Program requirements

The application deadline for all applicants to the APDesign Environmental & Design PhD program is February 1.

Applicants are expected to have either earned a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree coupled with equivalent professional, research, or creative work experience. The PhD requires at least three years of full-time study beyond the bachelor’s degree, equivalent to at least 90 semester hours, or a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master’s degree.

One member of the core PhD faculty must accept mentorship responsibility for any student prior to their admittance to the doctoral program.

Prospective students without a previous degree in the design or planning fields are encouraged to apply; they may be required to complete a set of courses that will provide the appropriate professional background, as determined by the core PhD faculty in the student’s selected area of concentration. Courses taken to strengthen the student’s background in design and/or planning may count toward the 30 credit hours of course work required for the PhD, but only if approved by the student’s graduate committee.

All international students applying to the PhD program must meet the same level of achievement as U.S. students.

Students will complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework and 30 credit hours of dissertation research. PhD candidates must complete a research tool requirement, pass a preliminary written examination, submit an approved dissertation, and complete an oral dissertation defense. Students will be expected to complete at least one full academic year in residence.

To strengthen program coherence, all first-year doctoral students will take two research core courses — ENVD 900 (Conceptual Approaches to Design and Planning Research) and ENVD 901 (Research Methods in Design and Planning). They also will take two research tools courses and a cross-disciplinary elective seminar.

As soon as possible after each student begins the program, the director of the PhD program will help him or her set up a supervisory committee of three faculty members that will give the student guidance in selecting two research tool areas and appropriate course work to develop competency in each area. Tool areas include but are not limited to: foreign languages; quantitative methods; qualitative methods; GIS; remote sensing; cultural and contextual perspectives; communication skills; graphic and digital media or representational skills; design development methods; and instructional techniques.

To see a sample course of study, and to view potential electives within each area of emphasis, visit:
http://catalog.k-state.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=2&poid=311&returnto=132

Completing your PhD examination and dissertation

• PhD comprehensive examination—Students who have filed their program of study with the Graduate School and have completed at least 21 of the 30 hours of coursework with a GPA of 3.33 or better are eligible to take the preliminary written examination, which covers the student’s field(s) of specialization, as defined by the student’s doctoral committee. Performance on the examination must provide evidence of the student’s mastery of the subject matter in three sub-fields, knowledge of related literature, an understanding of research theory, and an understanding of research methods. Successful completion of the preliminary examination is required for the student to become a doctoral candidate.
• Dissertation prospectus defense. At the start of the student’s third semester, s/he will complete a written dissertation proposal, about which the student’s doctoral committee will provide written feedback. After the student revises the prospectus, s/he will make an oral defense before the doctoral committee, other faculty, and students.
• Writing the dissertation. The PhD student will complete 30 credit hours of ENVD 999 (Dissertation Research). The dissertation will be comprehensive, original, and an independent contribution to scholarship. The research will be performed under the guidance of the major professor and the supervisory committee and must be deemed acceptable by them. The dissertation must follow guidelines outlined by the Graduate School.
• Dissertation defense. A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation will be conducted and evaluated by the doctoral committee. Two weeks prior to the dissertation defense, the written dissertation will be available for review by the doctoral committee, other faculty, and graduate students. Other faculty and students are encouraged to attend the defense.
  

Admission Procedures

Admission to the APDesign PhD program requires the following: 

• A 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) in all higher education work to-date
• K-State Graduate School application
• Application fee ($80)
• Statement of intent—Statement of intent should be one to two pages and should include the prospective student’s interests and objectives as well as explicitly state area(s) of emphasis.
• Letters of recommendation—Three letters of recommendation, with a mix of professional and academic references
• Transcripts – Please include transcripts from any institution of higher education you have attended
• GRE score report—PhD applicants should have attained a score of 1100 or better on the combined verbal and quantitative components of the GRE
• Portfolio—This non-returnable portfolio should include the prospective student’s work, whether design projects, research projects, samples of written work, or other examples of creative and/or research efforts.
• TOEFL report (international students)—Prospective international students are required to complete the TOEFL examination, with an essay score of at least 600 and a computer-based score of at least 250.
• Financial statement (international students)
• Graduate teaching assistant/graduate research assistant application, if applicable (Application for Graduate Assistantship form  )
  

Graduate assistantship opportunities

Several graduate teaching assistant and graduate research assistant positions may be available each year on a competitive basis. 

The positions are nine-month appointments, however research faculty may have support available for the summer months as well. Graduate students appointed to a 50 percent assignment receive a tuition waiver for a maximum of 10 hours in the fall and spring terms. Funds are provided for tuition benefits only; students will be responsible for campus privilege fees (student health, activity fees, etc.) GRAs, supported by APDesign faculty research grants, will receive a stipend and a reduction of tuition to in-state tuition rates.

The director of the PhD program takes the following factors into account when making GTA and GRA assignments: teaching needs of the College, faculty research needs, and the background of each individual graduate student.
Graduate assistantships are typically awarded for three years, contingent upon satisfactory performance of required duties as a GTA or a GRA, plus academic progress, including the achievement of a minimum cumulative 3.33 grade point average in graduate studies at Kansas State University.

Responsibilities and assignments for GTAs are allocated by the director of the PhD program, who works in consultation with the department heads and the faculty. Tasks generally include teaching first- or second-year courses and providing other assistance for faculty teaching large enrollment classes.

Generally, the duties of a GRA include: data analysis, report writing, preparation of graphics, participating in professional presentations, attending meetings on the research project, and other items deemed necessary by the principal investigator.

To be appointed as a GTA or a GRA, the student must have a social security number. Paychecks are distributed biweekly.

Application for Graduate Assistantship form

Want to learn more?

For more information, or to schedule a College visit or informational tour, please contact the Director of the PhD program:
Associate Dean Wendy Ornelas
115 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas 66506
( 785) 532-5950
wornelas@k-state.edu
http://apdesign.k-state.edu