Research doctorate (PhD)
PhD programme (architecture, design and conservation)
Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation · Architecture education at the Royal Danish Academy · Copenhagen, Denmark
- Official award
- PhDPhD
- Pathway
- Research
- Format
- On campus180 ECTS, three years full time (up to six years part time)
- Tuition
- Not published
About this program
A research doctorate covering architecture, design and conservation, completed mainly through supervised research plus about 30 ECTS of PhD courses.
- Subject
- Architecture
- Department
- Architecture education at the Royal Danish Academy
- Awarding body
- Not stated on the pages we checked
Qualification and professional pathway
Pathway is classified only from a statement on an official page. A degree title such as B.Arch, BA, BSc, M.Arch or MSc does not decide it, and no degree by itself grants permission to practise as an architect.
- Degree level
- Research doctorate (PhD)A research doctorate focused on architecture (PhD, Dr.-Ing. and equivalents).
- Pathway
- Research degreeA research degree. It does not qualify anyone to practise as an architect.
- Why we classify it this way
- The school describes the PhD as a research course in the fields of architecture, design and conservation.“The Royal Danish Academy offer three-year, world-class research courses in the fields of architecture, design and conservation.”Source
- Previous architecture degree required
- Not published
- Applicants without an architecture degree
- Not published
Accreditation, validation and recognition
Recorded for this program and campus, with the authority’s role. Institutional recognition, degree-awarding authority, program accreditation, professional validation and eligibility toward registration are different things; none of them is full professional registration.
Stated by the schoolDanish Accreditation Council / Danish Accreditation InstitutionInstitutional recognitionOther statusDK
Scope: Institutional accreditation decided 9 June 2020 (reported on Aarhus School of Architecture's site, which says the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture was assessed at the same meeting and awarded a positive institutional accreditation). Renewal not verified.
Dates: 9 June 2020 to not stated
Study structure
- Delivery
- On campusTaught at the listed campus.
- Study mode
- Full-time, Part-time
- Duration
- 180 ECTS, three years full time (up to six years part time)
- Credits
- 180 ECTSCredit systems differ between countries and institutions.
- Thesis or dissertation
- Thesis based on the PhD project.
- Intakes
- Not published
- Campus
- Copenhagen
Teaching language
- Taught in
- Not stated on the pages we checked
- English
- English teaching not verifiedAn English-language website does not mean a program is taught in English.
- Differences by campus or pathway
- Teaching and supervision language is not stated on the fetched pages; teaching_languages left empty.
Admissions
- Portfolio
- Not published
- Interview
- Not published
- Documents
- Project description of max. five standard pages (excluding bibliography and project time schedule), diplomas and CV, a budget, and any portfolio.
- Official instructions
- Application instructions
Research degree details
- Department
- PhD School (Royal Danish Academy)
- Research themes
- architecture
- design
- conservation
- Finding a supervisor
- Research is completed under supervision; a PhD plan must be prepared and approved by the PhD Committee within the first three months.
- Research proposal
- Project description of max. five standard pages, plus diplomas, CV, budget and any portfolio.
- Residency expectations
- Includes stays at other, primarily foreign, research institutions.
- Study modes
- Full time for three years, or part time for up to a maximum of six years.
- Deadlines
- Scholarships are advertised continuously under vacant positions; no general deadline stated.
Fees and costs
Original currency is authoritative. Each price keeps its basis (per year, per credit, whole program), academic year and student category, and is never converted. Annual tuition and whole-program tuition are different figures.
The institution does not publish tuition for this program on the pages we checked. Ask for current fees, what they include and whether studio, materials, printing, software, equipment and field-trip costs are extra.
Scholarships and funding
Funding is shown with its basis and who it is for. Competitive funding is not a guarantee.
PhD scholarship fully funded by the Royal Danish Academy Stipend
Competitive · Covers salary and all expenses · Three years
Eligibility: Scholarships are advertised under vacant positions; candidates are assessed by an assessment committee and, if employed, an employment committee.
Externally funded PhD scholarship (private/public foundations, companies or public institutions) Grant
Basis not stated
Eligibility: Budget must include the costs of enrolment in the Academy's PhD school, including supervision, PhD courses and workspace.
Sources and verification
Not published on the program’s source pages: tuition, intakes, portfolio requirement, whether a previous architecture degree is required.
Sources and how this was checked
Last checked 19 October 2026. Each fact carries a verbatim quote that is re-checked against the live page. Research methodology.
Sources (checked 19 October 2026)