At the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning it is possible to gain a doctoral degree in engineering (Dr.-Ing.).
Architects and urban planners tend to be a rare commodity because – unlike many other academic disciplines – proof of an academic qualification in the form of a doctoral degree is not a prerequisite for a successful career in architecture or urban planning. There are thus comparatively few doctoral researchers at our Faculty. However, interest in doctoral degree studies has grown over the past few years.
In scarcely any other subject is the spectrum of dissertation topics as broad as in architecture and urban planning. Likewise, the diversity across the Faculty's institutes is reflected in the broad spectrum of research topics and methodology of our research. There are dissertations in engineering which experimentally address issues related to building physics and structural design; dissertations on history of art and architecture which study historic buildings, architectural styles, construction techniques or master builders or matters of monument protection; and dissertations investigating architectural and planning theory, architectural sociology, building economics, building, urban and landscape ecology, design and planning methods, building studies and urban and landscape planning.
The doctoral procedure is set out in the current Doctoral degree regulations of the University of Stuttgart. Doctoral studies at our Faculty are also open to applicants with a university degree in a subject other than architecture and urban planning provided their chosen topic is relevant and supervised by a member of the Faculty's teaching staff. Past doctoral researchers have included civil engineers, geographers, art historians and biologists.
Non-German applicants must prove beforehand that the university degree from their home country is regarded as equivalent to that of a German university.
If you wish to enroll as a doctoral researcher, you should discuss your chosen topic with a member of the Faculty teaching staff who specializes in a field relevant to your planned area of research. You will finalize the topic of your doctoral study with your prospective supervisor and submit an application for acceptance to the Faculty as a doctoral researcher. Decisions on matters related to doctoral studies are taken by the doctoral committee.
So far the Faculty has only admitted individual doctoral researchers and has not yet set up a research training group or graduate schools. Some institutes organize regular Doktorandenkolloquien at which doctoral researchers can present, report and discuss the progress of their work. In 2004 the Faculty introduced cross-institute discussion forums specifically for doctoral researchers whose dissertation topics are related to urban development and urban planning (Doktorandenkolloquium Stadt).
The participating institutes are the Institute of Urban Planning and Design, the Institute for Housing and Design, the Institute of Architectural History and the Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning (Faculty 2).