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Socializing Housing Phased Early Response to Impromptu Migrant Encampments In Lima, Peru , Raul E. Mayta

Knitting of Nature into an Urban Fabric: A Riverfront Development , Thant Myat

An Address, Not a Room Number: An Assisted Living Community within a Community , Gregory J. Novotnak

Ecological Coexistence: A Nature Retreat and Education Center on Rattlesnake Key, Terra Ceia, Florida , Richard F. Peterika

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Urban Fabric as a Calayst for Architectural Awareness: Center for Architectural Research , Bernard C. Wilhelm

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Successful thesis proposals in architecture and urban planning

Archnet-IJAR

ISSN : 2631-6862

Article publication date: 1 May 2020

Issue publication date: 11 November 2020

The purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of what constitutes a successful thesis proposal (TP) and as such enhance the quality of the TP writing in architecture, planning and related disciplines.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on extended personal experience and a review of relevant literature, the authors proposed a conception of a successful TP comprising 13 standard components. The conception provides specific definition/s, attributes and success rules for each component. The conception was applied for 15 years on several batches of Saudi graduate students. The implications of the conception were assessed by a students' opinion survey. An expert inquiry of experienced academics from architectural schools in nine countries was applied to validate and improve the conception.

Assessment of the proposed conception demonstrated several positive implications on students' knowledge, performance and outputs which illustrates its applicability in real life. Experts' validation of the conception and constructive remarks have enabled further improvements on the definitions, attributes and success rules of the TP components.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed TP conception with its 13 components is limited to standard problem-solving research and will differ in the case of other types such as hypothesis-based research.

Practical implications

The proposed conception is a useful directive and evaluative tool for writing and assessing thesis proposals for graduate students, academic advisors and examiners.

Social implications

The research contributes to improving the quality of thesis production process among the academic community in the built environment fields.

Originality/value

The paper is meant to alleviate the confusion and hardship caused by the absence of a consensus on what constitutes a successful TP in the fields of architecture, urban planning and related disciplines.

• Urban planning
• Architecture
• Built environment
• Postgraduate research
• Writing successful thesis proposals

Abdellatif, M. and Abdellatif, R. (2020), "Successful thesis proposals in architecture and urban planning", Archnet-IJAR , Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 503-524. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-12-2019-0281

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Mahmoud Abdellatif and Reham Abdellatif

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode .

1. Introduction

After the postgraduate student completes her/his coursework in a master programme or passes the comprehensive exam and becomes a doctoral candidate in a doctoral programme, s/he is allowed to submit a “Thesis Proposal” (TP) to her/his department whose main concern is to assess whether the topic is suitable for a graduate study and for the time and resources available ( Afful, 2008 ; Kivunja, 2016 ; Reddy, 2019 ).

The department then sends the submitted TP to higher bodies for official approval. Once approved, the TP becomes a legal binding or “a formal contract” ( Walliman, 2017 ) and “a statement of intent” ( Hofstee, 2006 ) between the researcher and the university. If the student adheres to all prescribed TP requirements within the specified time, s/he will be awarded the degree ( Leo, 2019 ).

Guided by his/her academic advisor, the student prepares the TP within which the researcher explains the research problem, questions, aim and objectives, scope, and methodologies to describe, analyse and synthesize the research problem and develop solutions for it ( Paltridge and Starfield, 2007 ). In addition, the proposal includes a brief about research significance and expected contributions; a preliminary review of literature; thesis structure and approximate completion timeline; and a list of relevant references ( Kivunja, 2016 ; Thomas, 2016 ; Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ).

1.1 Statement of the problem and research aim

After decades of writing, supervising and refereeing master and doctoral theses in the fields of Architecture and Urban Planning, the authors noticed that TP's differ in format and content from a school to another. This may be considered a healthy matter because it gives room for flexibility that absorbs the variety of research problems and techniques. Yet, the absence of a consensus on what constitutes a successful TP could cause confusion and hardship to both students and advisors ( Kamler and Thomson, 2008 ; Abdulai and Owusu-Ansah, 2014 ). The review of literature indicates that TP writing has been tackled in depth in many fields (see for instance Gonzalez, 2007 ; Balakumar et al. , 2013 ; Eco, 2015 ; Kivunja, 2016 ; Glatthorn and Randy, 2018 ; Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ). Apart from thesis proposal instruction and guideline manuals posted on universities' websites, the authors believe that there is a lack of in-depth research on the issue of producing successful thesis proposals in the fields of Architecture and Planning.

To propose a successful TP conception which determines the standard components of TP and sets specific definitions, attributes and rules of success for each component.

To apply the proposed conception on several batches of graduate students, then assess its impact on students' performance and output along the years of application.

To validate the proposed conception by getting the insights of experienced academics from architecture and planning schools worldwide, and as such, improve and finalize the conception.

1.2 Research methodology

To propose the Successful TP Conception , the authors relied on two sources: knowledge extracted from their extended experience and a review of relevant studies and instruction manuals and guidelines for preparing TP in several worldwide universities. The Conception has been applied on several batches of master and doctoral students from IAU, KSA for almost 15 years between 2005 and 2020 during their enrolment in three courses in the College of Architecture and Planning, IAU, KSA. These courses are “ARPL 603 Research Methods” and “BISC 600 Research Methods” for the master's level and “URPL 803 Seminar (3): Doctoral Research Methods” for the doctoral level.

From a total of 60 students, 39 students (65%) completed the survey; of whom 12 students (31%) were doctoral and 27 students (69%) were masters students.

- Improve their understanding of the components of a successful TP.

- Enhance their performance in developing their TP's.

- Conduct a more effective self-assessment of their developed TP's.

- Enhance their performance along other stages of producing their theses and dissertations.

- Maintain any other benefits adding to students' research capabilities.

The first part recorded the general characteristics of respondents.

The second inquired about experts' viewpoints on the definitions, attributes and the rules of success of the components of the proposed TP conception.

2. Proposing the Successful TP Conception

2.1 components of a tp for a standard problem-solving research type.

A review of thesis writing guidelines posted on universities' websites and other related literature has indicated that the number of components of a masters' or doctoral thesis proposal varies. After a thorough review of related literature and with their experience, the authors have been convinced that, in its standard form, a TP should include 13 components. Chronically arranged, as appearing in the proposal, they are: title page, abstract, keywords, background, statement of the problem, research questions, research aim and objectives, research scope, research significance and contributions, preliminary review of literature, research methodology, thesis structure and timeline, and references list ( Ostler, 1996 ; Simpson and Turner, 2004 ; Zhou, 2004 ; Davies, 2011 ; Axelrod and Windell, 2012 ; Donohue, 2018 ; Glatthorn and Randy, 2018 ; Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ). It is worth mentioning that these 13 components will differ in the case of a hypothesis-based research whose aim is to validate a specific hypothesis that a specific variable/s is/are or is/are not the main cause/s of an investigated research problem. This paper is limited only to the standard problem-solving research type.

2.2 Building the Successful TP Conception

Setting a general definition for each component including its meaning, importance, functions and contents.

Outlining the most important attributes that must be considered when writing the component.

Based on step 1 and 2, the authors extracted a list of success rules which provides a concise definition for each component of the TP, and/or describes the relationship between the component and other components of the TP (the list is summarized at the end of Part 2).

2.2.1 Research title

This is the first item that appears to the reader. It invites or detains him/her from proceeding to other contents ( Blaxter et al. , 2010 ). The research title is positioned in the title page along with several basic data, namely, the title; the names of the Department, College, University, study programme, researcher and advisory committee; and submission date.

The research title should be useful, discussing an issue critical to society; true, conveying a real message about the investigated problem ( Donohue, 2018 ); concise, presenting the message with the minimum number of words; adequate, using the right wording to explain the intended meaning; and attractive , stimulating the reader's attention. Iterations in refining the research title go hand-in-hand with refining the research question ( Groat and Wang, 2013 ).

2.2.2 The abstract

It is the first item that appears in the TP after the title and of the same significance; yet, it is the last to be written ( Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ). It has a marketing function ( Lamanauskas, 2019 ); it calls the reader in or alienates him out. A comprehensive abstract contains a summary of the problem, aim, scope, methodology, importance, contributions and outline ( Koopman, 1997 ).

The Abstract should be concise or brief with a maximum of 200–300 words; adequate, including profiles of all parts of the proposal; clear, expressing its message without ambiguity; and interrelated, serving as a body of sequential, coherent and connected ideas ( Blaxter et al. , 2010 ).

2.2.3 The keywords

These are a set of words or terms used for archiving, tabulation and electronic search on databases. They should include essential “subject terms” describing the research topic, the unique sub-specializations and focus of the research (what is researched), the contextual scope of the research (where and when), and the used research methodology (how to conduct the research) ( Lamanauskas, 2019 ). They are better written by splitting the title into its separate single words or terms which must be found in the abstract, as well ( Mack, 2012 ).

Keywords should be brief, not more than 8–12 words; adequate, conveying the research theme, scope, aim and approach; exact, focusing on the investigated topic and scope; and standard, using scientific terminology used in the field.

2.2.4 The background

This is a gradual preparation of the reader from the larger scientific field to the specific field, from the wider geographic area to the immediate area, and from the larger timeframe to the immediate one. It starts from the strategic level and general scope of the research and gradually reaches the level closer to the examined problem ( Abdellatif and Abdellatif, 2005 ). It places the study within the larger context of the research, creates interest to the reader and catches his attention, and includes quotations and statistics leading the reader to proceed ( Babbie, 2014 ).

The background statement should be striking, drawing the reader's attention to the research; brief, not lengthy; gradual, moving from the general level surrounding the investigated issue to the specific level; and careful, not speeding up in disclosing the study problem, aim or methodology to the reader ( Axelrod and Windell, 2012 ; Pautasso, 2013 ).

2.2.5 The statement of the problem

Statement of the General Research Problem is a narrative describing a negative aspect/s prevailing in the investigated urban environment/ecosystem or architectural setting; it is equivalent to the negative wording of the research aim ( Abdellatif and Abdellatif, 2005 ). It stimulates interest in the study; scientifically explained to convey a simple, clear and specific issue to which a reader can relate and is useful to the society at large ( Balakumar et al. , 2013 ). In the humanities and social sciences many dissertations endeavour to establish the conditions of the problem, not to solve it ( Dorst, 2011 ).

In formulating the research problem, it is useful to consider it a problem which hinders the natural development of the society and/or environment and leads to a decline in the Quality of Life (QOL) or Quality of Environment (QOE) or both. A development problem is a factor/cause leading to either a quantitative or qualitative deficiency in satisfying a human need or both such as a lack of certain service or inadequate provision of the service ( Abdellatif, 2015 ). To arrive at a successful statement of the general problem, the researcher should pinpoint the main cause/s behind the study problem. All what comes next depends on the clarity of the problem statement.

Technically oriented research (TOR), which places emphasis on the process and procedures as the primary basis of effective design, TOR can be either systematic, or computational, or managerial.

Conceptually driven research (CDR), which can be either psychological or person–environment. The psychological type is driven by the goal of matching knowledge with the nature of the design problem, its components, context and social and environmental requirements. Whereas, the person–environment type places emphasis on the socio-cultural and socio-behavioural factors as they relate to the design process itself and to settings, buildings and urban environments.

Classify the investigated situation to branched dimensions, e.g. demographic, planning, regulatory, economic, social, environmental, etc.

Trace the causes or the influencing factors that lead to the emergence or aggravation of the problem/s in each dimension.

Clarify the problem more by identifying the consequences or adverse effects (the symptoms of the problem) that resulted from those causes. This helps isolate the causes from the consequences to focus on treating the causes not the consequences. Using temporary painkillers will not eliminate the disease; it only tranquilizes the symptoms.

Statement of the consequences of the problem is a narrative that describes the negative effects caused by sub-problems on the investigated environment ( Goetz et al. , 2005 ).

The statement of consequences of the problem should be focused, where each consequence focuses on one independent sub-problem; articulate, not overlapping with other consequences; rooted, relating to one of the roots of the general problems; deep, providing description for specific symptom; and comprehended, could be perceived, described and determined ( Abdellatif, 2015 ).

2.2.6 Research questions

What is the nature of the development problem as defined by the latest findings of previous literature, similar studies and published statistical reports?

What are the key features of the investigated problem according to a direct field survey?

What are the appropriate links between different variables of the study (causes, consequences, etc.) according to the information gathered from the theoretical review and field surveys?

What are the extracted results and the appropriate solutions and/or recommendations to deal with the general research problem and its sub-problems?

What are the critical contributions of the research findings on the life and/or environmental qualities?

How can the research increase the benefits of research results on the ground?

What are the research areas/points that need further investigation?

Research questions should be specific, each question addresses one sub-problem; unduplicated, each question does not repeat itself in a different format; sequential, or arranged according to their importance and order; and interrelated, where each question relates to other questions.

2.2.7 Research aim, goals and objectives

The general aim of the research is a specific and clear statement presenting the overall purpose of the study. It is directed to find an appropriate and effective solution to the general research problem ( Donohue, 2018 ). It is an attempt to fill a gap between a negative reality of an environment/ecosystem/or development situation and a desired positive future to be achieved at the end of the research process ( Glatthorn and Randy, 2018 ). The aim should be properly stated to ensure the success of all the following stages of the scientific research process.

Exploring the problem by defining the research problem, formulating aim and objectives, designing the methodology, defining the scope, and highlighting the expected contributions.

Collecting secondary data by defining basic concepts and terms, reviewing relevant literature and previous studies, and describing the most important characteristics of the investigated environment from secondary sources and statistical reports.

Collecting primary data via direct field surveys and based on the views of concerned population, experts and officials to describe the characteristics of the investigated development problem.

Analysing the gathered data by using theoretical and field data to determine the appropriate links among different variables of the study (e.g. causes, consequences, etc.).

Synthesizing the gathered data by integrating the findings of analysis to build appropriate approaches or solutions to deal with the general problem.

Extracting conclusions and writing recommendations to highlight research findings and make them more useful and effective.

A micro level objective contributes to solving the specific investigated problem (e.g. a specific quantitative or qualitative problem that hinders the development of a sector of society, environment, or eco-system).

A macro level objective contributes to realizing a higher goal (e.g. improving the overall quality of life of a larger community, upgrading the quality of the larger environment, etc.).

Development objectives should apply the SMART goal rule (previously explained); and be non-overlapping by ensuring that each objective is focused and not conflicting with other objectives.

2.2.8 Research scope

Thematic scope clarifies the general and specific areas of the research (e.g. the research falls within the field of sustainable development in general and focuses on social sustainability).

Geographic/Spatial scope specifies the spatial boundaries of the physical environment within which the research is applied (e.g. a specific local or regional setting).

Temporal scope shows the past, present and future spans the research will cover indicating the number of years from the historical information inventory until the expected completion date. If the research aim is to develop future strategies or policies, the span will extend to future target point.

Research Scope should be categorized, by being classified by subject, place and time; focused, by reaching the closest limits of the investigated research problem, environment and time; and clear, by not being so general or ambiguous.

2.2.9 Research significance and contributions

They highlight the most important benefits and the main beneficiaries from solving the research problem; the potential positive impacts of the study on the life and environmental qualities ( Groat and Wang, 2013 ). Contributions differ in nature (theoretical or applied or both) and in size (huge, average, or marginal). There is a positive relationship between the size of contributions and the size of impacted beneficiaries (individuals, groups, institutions, communities, societies), the scale of the impacted geographic boundaries (local, national or global), the type of impacted development sectors (service, production, etc.) and the numbers of the impacted sectors (one, a few, or all sectors). Research significance increases as the size of contributions increases. Specifying the research significance, expected contributions and potential beneficiaries helps promote the research and provides rational justifications for conducting it. The higher the contributions and the greater the sectors of the beneficiaries, the more significant the research is ( Abdellatif and Abdellatif, 2005 ). According to Balakumar et al. (2013) research significance justifies the need for the research that is being proposed.

Research significance and expected contributions should be categorized, in terms of type (theoretical or applied contribution or both), size and nature of the beneficiaries (individuals, institutions, communities, etc.) and geographical extent (small site, district, city, region, nation, etc.); clear, simple and comprehensible to the reader; and realistic, real, accurate and not exaggerated.

2.2.10 The preliminary review of literature

This is an initial review of literature dealt with relevant problems. It aims to build an initial understanding of the problem, identify the most important variables that have been considered, cite methodologies used to deal with the problem; make use of the latest findings and record the various recommendations/solutions suggested to deal with the problem ( Hart, 1998 ; Grix, 2001 ). According to Dunleavy (2003) , it is a critical review on related recent research that is well documented, structured, analysed and synthesized. It offers the researcher an opportunity to engage with other scholars in one's disciplinary community.

In addition to having a separate part, it is useful to combine the literature review with other components of the TP (e.g. the research problem, questions, aim and objectives, and methodology). It is important that the review presents differing perspectives or contrasting views of the topic and reports the complexities of the issue ( Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ). By conducting the review, the researcher becomes able to build an initial but comprehensive understanding of the causes and consequences of the problem, the methodologies used to study and analyse the problem and the solutions proposed to deal with it by synthesizing various viewpoints of previous studies, thereby, supporting her/his principle argument about the study problem with the results derived from previous literature ( Pautasso, 2013 ).

Definitions of key terms and concepts; standard terms to appear in the research and special concepts which are not formally provided by previous scholars. The definitions must be logic and derived from scientifically recognized sources.

Review of previous studies; focusing on identifying several issues, namely, the most important dimensions and variables of the research problem (the causes of the problem; why the problem has emerged or aggravated; the most important consequences of this problem on the human and/or physical environment); the methods used to deal with the problem; the latest findings of previous studies and the various approaches/solutions suggested to deal with the problem.

Contextual aspects of the investigated development situation; including a review of relevant characteristics of the researched environment (its basic dimensions and elements) as found in previous studies. Contextual aspects may be classified into physical and human components; or into environmental, functional, aesthetic, structural, economic and social design determinants; or into demographic, planning, regulatory, economic, social, environmental sectors or other classifications.

Preliminary review of literature should be indexed, from reliable scholarly sources; categorized or documented according to standard classification system; employed, used wisely to achieve a desired purpose; up to date, recent, however, in topics which address chronological development or evolutionary aspects references could be recent and old; and related, relevant to the study problem ( Hart, 1998 ).

2.2.11 Research methodology

Data collection methods including office methods used to collect secondary data from previous literature and case studies as well as field methods used to gather original data through field visits, surveying, questionnaires, interviews with stakeholders, etc.

Data analysis methods including methods used to analyse both the secondary and primary information collected from office and the field surveys such as Statistical Analysis, Environmental Scanning (SWOT), Development Components Analysis, etc.

Data synthesis methods including methods used to compile, synthesize the analysis and develop appropriate alternative scenarios or solutions to deal with the problem.

Data presentation methods including methods to present the research process and findings such as scientific research paper containing narratives, tables, figures, forms, maps, results and recommendations as well as final visual presentation to review panel to get remarks and write the last version of the TP.

Research methodology should be appropriate, aligned with the purpose/s in which they will be used; achievable, within the reach of the researcher; effective, achieving the purpose fast and with high quality; reliable, previously tested, applied and approved in similar cases; and precise, accurate and specific.

2.2.12 Research structure and timeline

This is a brief statement of the main sections of the master's/doctoral thesis with tentative dates for completing the various stages of the research. Careful preparation of research structure and timeline ensures the effectiveness and integrity of the plan of actions towards the completion of the study ( Kivunja, 2016 ). It is also a criterion to judge the achieved progress and seriousness of the researcher.

Research structure and timeline should be sequential, arranged according to a standard scientific research process; logical, proportionate to the total period available for completion; and balanced, distributing time properly among various stages.

2.2.13 The list of references

This is a list which contains a reasonable number of relevant references on the topic which were actually cited in the TP ( Kornuta and Germaine, 2019 ). Including a list of the references about the topic demonstrates that the researcher is familiar with the basic and latest knowledge on his/her problem.

The list of references should be relevant, closely related to the investigated subject; up to date, recent yet containing old and new according the topic and context; and reliable, published in dependable vessels.

2.3 Extracting the success rules

Based on the above definitions and attributes provided for each of the 13 TP components, the authors were able to extract a number of success rules that took the form of equations, each of which describes an equality function between each component and its counterpart component/s as shown in Table 1 . For instance, rule #1 shows that “research title” is equal to “the general aim of the research” and is equal to “the negative wording of the research problem”.

3. Assessing the Successful TP Conception from students' viewpoints

They better understood the meanings of each component (97% agree and strongly agree and 3% neutral).

They better understood the attributes of each component (94% agree and strongly agree and 6% neutral).

They better understood the rules which control the relations between the various components of the TP (87% agree and strongly agree and 13% neutral).

The process of writing the proposal has become easier and more convenient (100% agree and strongly agree).

The effort, cost and time spent in submitting the proposal have been substantially saved (87% agree and strongly and 12% neutral).

The relationship with academic advisor has improved (87% agree and strongly agree and 12% neutral).

The students' confidence in advancing their own learning abilities has improved (93% agree and strongly agree and 7% neutral).

The students' abilities to address the strengths and weaknesses of their personal skills have improved (93% agree and strongly agree and 7% neutral).

The students' abilities to manage their learning process more independently have improved (90% agree and strongly agree, 7% neutral and 3% disagree).

The students have created a clearer and better mutual understanding with their academic advisors (90% agree and strongly agree and 10% neutral).

The students have reduced their distraction from the original target set out in the proposal (81% agree and strongly agree, 16% neutral and 3% disagree).

The students have been able to finish their research on time (78% agree and strongly agree, 19% neutral and 3% disagree).

They gained better analytical skills (87% agree and strongly agree, 10% neutral and 3% disagree).

They gained better problem-solving skills (87% agree and strongly agree, 10% neutral and 3% disagree).

They gained better critical thinking skills (87% agree and strongly agree, 10% neutral and 3% disagree).

4. Verifying the Successful TP Conception based on experts' viewpoints

Having proposed, applied and assessed the Successful TP Conception, it becomes important to validate it using the insights of experienced academics from Architectural and Planning schools worldwide. This part summarizes the results of the experts' inquiry survey conducted in November 2019 to February 2020. It shows the characteristics of experts and their viewpoints and remarks on the originally proposed definitions, attributes and success rules.

4.1 Experts' characteristics

They were from nine countries, namely, the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

About 75% of the experts were males and 25% were females. About 5% were 35–45 years old, 20% were 45–55 years, 55% were 55–65 years and 20% were 65 years and over.

About 5% were Assistant Professors, 10% Associate Professors and the majority (85%) were Professors.

The experts had teaching experiences in undergraduate and graduate levels (masters, doctoral, diploma, postdoctoral and continuing professional development).

The general specialization of 70% of the experts was Architecture and 30% of experts were specialized in Urban Planning. They taught in several built environment fields (Architecture, Interior Design, Building Technology, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning).

The experts had several focus areas, namely, Architecture, History and Theories of Architecture, Assessment of Designed Environments, Design Methods, Pedagogy, Architecture and Digital Technologies, Heritage Conservation, Middle East Architecture and Cities, Construction Project Management, Urban Design, Spatial Development Planning, Landscape, Built Environment and Behaviour, Urban Studies, Techniques and Quantitative Methods of Urban Planning, Urban Conflict, Urban Justice, Community Development, Environmental Management and Planning and Development Approaches.

About 10% of the experts supervised 5 theses, 5% supervised 6–10 theses, 50% supervised 11–20 theses and 35% supervised more than 20 theses.

4.2 Experts' viewpoints and remarks

Concerning the proposed definitions of the TP components, the experts expressed their agreement which ranged between 73 and 96%. Some experts provided additional remarks to help improve the definitions. Table 2 presents the originally proposed definitions, the percentages of agreed experts and their additional remarks.

Regarding the attributes of each component of the TP, the original conception proposed 38 attributes, the experts added 18 attributes resulting in a total of 56 attributes. Table 3 presents a matrix showing the percentages of experts' agreement of the originally proposed attributes as well as the added attributes. The lowest agreement percentage was 59% and the highest was 96%.

Concerning the proposed success rules which were called “equations” in the originally proposed conception, the experts suggested to change the expression into “rules”; which is more appropriate for subjective contents than mathematical expression. Table 4 presents the final 19 success rules for the components/sub-components of a TP and the percentage of experts' agreement which ranged between 57 and 95%.

5. Conclusion

Based on their experience in preparing and supervising masters and doctoral theses and after a thorough review of the literature on preparing thesis proposals, the authors drafted a conception of a successful thesis proposal comprising specific definitions, attributes and rules for each of the 13 components of a standard TP. The conception had been applied over a duration of 15 years (2005–2020) on several batches of master and doctoral students in IAU, KSA. Through an online survey, the majority of students (78–100%) have indicated that understanding and applying the conception helped them improve their performances and outputs during the TP development process and beyond.

The conception was then validated by getting the insights of 39 experienced academics from worldwide architectural schools. The experts accepted the proposed definitions with (73–96%) agreement rate. The experts also accepted the proposed attributes with (59–96%) agreement rate. As for the success rules, the experts' agreed as well with an acceptance rate ranging from (57–95%). The experts suggested constructive remarks which were considered in writing the final version of the conception.

The extracted success rules combine the definitions and attributes of each component of the TP and present them in a concise statement which defines the component and, where applicable, exemplifies its relationship to another corresponding or counterpart component of the TP. For example, rule #1 shows that “research title” should reflect “the general aim and scope of the research” and should also reflect “the negative wording of the research problem”. Extracted also is rule #14 which indicates that “the whole thesis proposal” written in future tenses, should resemble “the introduction of the final thesis” written in past tenses.

A directive tool that assists the researcher in writing a sound TP. Combining the last three tables (2, 3 and 4) into a comprehensive checklist would aid the students in preparing their TP's; enhancing the quality of their performance and outputs.

An evaluative tool that helps in assessing the validity and integrity of the submitted TP's that can be used by the researcher for self-assessment, or by the academic advisor, or by an examiner/evaluator before sending the proposal to higher authorities for approval.

The findings of this paper could be useful not only in evaluating thesis proposals, but also, with proper modifications, in assessing various scientific research documents, including scientific thesis, research papers and others; which is another research topic that will be addressed in the future.

The stages of developing the successful thesis proposal conception

Proposed list of success rules for the TP components

An extracted list of success rules for thesis proposals

Source(s) : Prepared by the authors based on the above analysis and the results of expert inquiry

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the sincere assistance provided by the team of experts from several Architectural Schools worldwide to verify and improve the TP Conception. Appreciation is also extended to the post graduate students of the College of Architecture and Planning, IAU, who have positively responded to the students' opinion survey.

Corresponding author

About the authors.

Mahmoud Abdellatif is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He received an MSc from Assuit University, Egypt in 1977 and another MSc from Iowa State University in 1981 and a PhD degree from Texas A&M University in 1985. He has taught and practiced Architecture and Urban Planning for more than 45 years in Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. His main research focus is on research methods, strategic planning and design and development approaches. He is currently the adviser of IAU Vice President for Studies, Development and Community Services. His last book (published in Arabic) entitled The Simplifying-Integrating Approach to Contemporary Design, Planning and Urban Development articulates his own problem-solving approach. He is the principle editor of the Strategic Plan of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University 2018–2025.

Reham Abdellatif is an Assistant Professor in Architecture, College of Design, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), Dammam, Saudi Arabia. She obtained an MSc degree from Assiut University in 2003 and a PhD degree from Newcastle University, UK, in 2012. She has taught and practiced Architecture and Interior Design for more than 22 years in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Her main research focus is on Architectural Education and Curriculum Development, Analysing Design Learning Activities, Distant/Online Learning, Communication and Computation, VR and Information Technologies in Architecture. She ran the interior design curriculum development committee in Assiut University and in IAU.

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Completed Dissertations

Selected work from the past decade.

Dissertations in Architecture

Grant Mosey (2014-2020). Dissertation: “Multivariate Optimization of Neighborhood Scale Problems for Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability.” Professor Brian Deal , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Thulasi Ram Khamma (2014-2020). Dissertation: “Data-Driven Models to Evaluate Root Causes of Energy Performance Gaps in Office Buildings.” Dr. Mohamed Boubekri , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Jaewook Lee (2016-2020). Dissertation: “Integration of Daylighting and Building Design for Human Health and Well-Being.” Dr. Mohamed Boubekri , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Nastaran Shishegar (2015-2020). Dissertation: “Impacts of Tuning Ambient Illumination on Sleep Quality, Mood, and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults.” Dr. Mohamed Boubekri , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Anna Marie Bliss (2012-2019). Dissertation: “The Future of the Historic City from Perceptions of the Past: Experience of Place, Authenticity, and Architectural Preservation in Barcelona.” Dr. Lynne M. Dearborn , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Tait Johnson (2012-2017). Dissertation: “Marketing Modernism: Aluminum Cladding and the American Commercial Landscape.” Dr. Kenny Cupers, Director of Research, and Dr. Peter Mortensen, Examining Committee Chair.

Cesar Cruz (2016). Dissertation: “The Phenomenology of a Modern Architect and His Sense of Place: Henry Klumb’s Residential Architecture in Puerto Rico, 1944-1975.” Dr. John C. Stallmeyer , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Wei Zhao (2010-2015). Dissertation: “Home Beyond the House: The Meaning of Home for People Living in Yanxia Village, Zhejiang Province, China.”

Majd Musa (2013). Dissertation: “Constructing Global Amman: Petrodollars, Identity, and the Built Environment in the Early Twenty-First Century.” Dr. John C. Stallmeyer , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Fang Xu (May 2013). Dissertation: “Territorial Experiences in Shanghai’s High-rise Gated Communities.” Dr. Lynne M. Dearborn , Advisor, Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Ho-Sung Kim (May 2013). Dissertation: “Advances in the Operating Condition Design Analysis of Air Based Photovoltaic Thermal Solar Roof Systems.” Dr. Richard Strand , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Doug Sturgeon (May 2012). Dissertation: “Economic Performance of Architectural Firms: An Application of Production Theory.” Dr. Richard Strand , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Young Tae Chae (May 2011). Dissertation: “Development of Hybrid Heat Source Radiant System: Embedded Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger.” Dr. Richard Strand , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Daeho Kang (May 2011). Dissertation: “Advances in the Application of Passive Down-Draft Evaporative Cooling Technology in the Cooling of Buildings.” Dr. Richard Strand , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Dissertations in Landscape Architecture

Amir Habibullah (2020). Dissertation: “Modern Islamic Gardens and Cultural Identity: Three Case Studies from North American and Europe.” Dr. D. F. Ruggles , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Yexuan Gu (2020). Dissertation: “Discerning the Role of Geodesign In Landscape Architecture: Exploring Its Relations with Systems Thinking And Resilience And Its Role In Planning Support System (PSS) Technologies.” Dr. Brian Deal , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Xiangrong Jiang (2013-2019). Dissertation: “Green Infrastructure and Human Health: Nature Exposure, Attention, and Well-Being.” Professor William C. Sullivan , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Jennifer L. Thomas (2019). Dissertation: “Landscape, Madness, and State: The Emerging Insane Asylum System of Nineteenth-Century New York State.”

Molly Briggs (2018). Dissertation: “The Panoramic Mode: Immersive Media and the Large Parks Movement.”

Steven Burrows (2017). Dissertation: “Indiana State Parks and the Hoosier Imagination, 1916-1933.”

Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn (2013-2017). Dissertation: “Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Preference, and Human Well-Being.” Professor William C. Sullivan , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Dongying Li (2011-2016). Dissertation: “High School Students’ Exposure to Nature and Their Psychological and Cognitive Well-Being.” Professor William C. Sullivan , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Chair.

Abbilyn Harmon (May 2012). Dissertation: “Determining Critical Factors in Community-Level Planning of Homeless Service Projects.” Laura Lawson, Advisor; Dr. Lynne M. Dearborn , Director of Research, and Examining Committee Co-Chair.

Sonal Mithal Modi (2015). Dissertation: “Embodied Knowledge of Landscape: Accommodating Ongoing Subjective Experience in the Presentation of Heritage Landscape.”

Douglas Williams (2014). Dissertation: “Fertile Ground: Community Gardens in a Low-Income Inner-City Chicago Neighborhood and the Development of Social Capital Among African Americans.”

Bin Jiang (2014). Dissertation: “Establishing Dose-Response Curves for the Impact of Urban Forests on Recovery from Acute Stress and Landscape Preference.”

Xiaolu Zhou (2014). Dissertation: “Investigating the Association between the Built Environment and Active Travel of Young Adults Using Location Based Technology.”

Martin Holland (2014). Dissertation: “‘Empty Chairs, Broken Lives’: The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.”

Nicholas Brown (2014). Dissertation: “Landscape, Justice, and the Politics of Indigeneity: Denaturalizing Structures of Settler Colonialism in the Alberta/Montana Borderlands.”

Selected Architecture Thesis Projects: Fall 2020

Clockwise from top left: “Citing the Native Genius” by Taylor Cook, “Pair of Dice, Para-Dice, Paradise: A Counter-Memorial to Victims of Police Brutality” by Calvin Boyd, “The Magic Carpet” by Goli Jalali, “Stacked Daydreams: Ceiling-Scape for the Neglected” by Zai Xi Jeffrey Wong, and “Up from the Past: Housing as Reparations on Chicago’s South Side” by Isabel Strauss

Five films showcase a selection of Fall 2020 thesis projects from the Department of Architecture.

Pair of Dice, Para-Dice, Paradise: A Counter-Memorial to Victims of Police Brutality

This thesis is a proposal for a counter-memorial to victims of police brutality. The counter-memorial addresses scale by being both local and national, addresses materiality by privileging black aesthetics over politeness, addresses presence/absence by being more transient than permanent, and lastly, addresses site by being collective rather than singular. The result is an architecture that plays itself out over 18,000 police stations across America and the Washington Monument at the National Mall, two sites that are intrinsically linked through the architecture itself: negative “voids” at police stations whose positive counterparts aggregate at the Mall.

The critical question here is whether or not the system in which police brutality takes place can be reformed from within, or if people of color need to seek their utopia outside of these too-ironclad structures. This counter-memorial, when understood as an instrument of accountability (and therefore a real-time beacon that measures America’s capacity to either change or otherwise repeat the same violent patterns), ultimately provides us with an eventual answer.

Author: Calvin Boyd, MArch I 2020 Advisor: Jon Lott , Assistant Professor of Architecture Duration: 11 min, 2 sec

Thesis Helpers: Shaina Yang (MArch I 2021), Rachel Coulomb (MArch I 2022)

The Magic Carpet

The Persian Carpet and the Persian Miniature painting have served as representation tools for the Persian Gar­den and the idea of paradise in Persian culture since antiquity. The word paradise derives from the Persian word pari-daeza meaning “walled enclosure.” The garden is always walled and stands in opposition to its landscape. This thesis investigates the idea of a contemporary image of paradise in the Iranian imagination by using carpets and miniature paintings as a tool for designing architecture. The garden, with its profound associations, provided a world of metaphor for the classical mystic poets. One of the manuscripts describing the Persian garden is called Haft Paykar – known as the Seven Domes – written by the 12th century Persian poet called Nizami. These types of manuscripts were made for Persian kings and contain within them miniature paintings and poetry describing battles, romances, tragedies, and triumphs that compromise Iran’s mythical and pre-Islamic history. The carpet is the repeating object in the minia­ture paintings of the manuscript. This thesis deconstructs the carpet in seven ways in order to digitally reconstruct the miniature paintings of the Seven Domes and the image of paradise with new techniques.

Author: Goli Jalali, MArch I 2021 Advisor: Jennifer Bonner , Associate Professor of Architecture Duration: 8min, 28 sec

Up from the Past: Housing as Reparations on Chicago’s South Side

Do people know what the Illinois Institute of Technology and the South Side Planning Board and the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois and the United States government did to the Black Metropolis? If they know, do they care? Is it too hard to hold these entities accountable? If we held them accountable, could we find justice for those that were displaced? What would justice look like? What comes after Mecca? What types of spaces come after Mecca? Are they different than what was there before? Are they already there? What defines them? Can Reparations be housing? How many people are already doing this work? How many people are doing this work in academia? On the ground? Is the word “Reparations” dead? What do we draw from? Who is this for? Do white men own the legacy of the architecture that defined the Black Metropolis? How personal should this work be? How anecdotal? How quantitative? Does the design need to be inherently spatial? Or atmospheric? What should it feel like? How do I draw a feeling in Rhino? What are radical ways of looking? How do we reclaim racialized architecture? Do we? Should we even talk about these things?

Author: Isabel Strauss, MArch I 2021 Advisor: Oana Stanescu , Design Critic in Architecture Duration: 4 min, 4 sec

Soundtrack Created By: Edward Davis (@DJ Eway) Production Support: Adam Maserow , Evan Orf , Glen Marquardt Collaborators: Rekha Auguste Nelson , Farnoosh Rafaie , Zena Mariem Mengesha , Edward Davis (DJ Eway) Special Thanks: Caleb Negash , Tara Oluwafemi , Maggie Janik , Ann Whiteside , Dana McKinney Guidance: Stephen Gray , John Peterson , Chris Herbert , Cecilia Conrad , Lawrence J. Vale , Ilan Strauss , Mark Lee , Iman Fayyad , Jennifer Bonner , Mindy Pugh , Peter Martinez Collage Credits: Adler and Sullivan , Bisa Butler , Carrie Mae Weems , Dawoud Bey , Deborah Roberts , Ebony G Patterson , Ellen Gallagher , Frank Lloyd Wright , Howardena Pindell , Jordan Casteel , Kerry James Marshall , Latoya Ruby Frazier , Lelaine Foster , Lorna Simpson , Mark Bradford , Mickalene Thomas , Mies van der Rohe , Nick Cave , Njideka Akunyili Crosby , Romare Bearden , Sadie Barnette More Information: architectureofreparations.cargo.site

Stacked Daydreams: Ceiling‐Scape for the Neglected

Elderly Care Adaptive Reuse of Hong Kong’s Vertical Factory

This thesis operates at the intersection of three domains of neglect:

• In the realm of building elements, the ceiling is often considered as an afterthought in the design process.
• Across building types, the vertical factory sits abandoned and anachronistic to its surroundings. It spiraled into disuse due to Hong Kong’s shifting economic focus.
• In society, the elderly are often subjected to social neglect, seen as a financial burden, and forced toward the fringes of society.

These parts experience obsolescence that led to indifference, and subsequently to boredom. I intend to draw the parallel of deterioration between the body of the elderly and the body of the vertical factory. Using a set of ceiling parts in the manner of prosthetics to reactivate the spaces into elderly care facilities, revert boredom to daydreams, and reimagine the concept of elderhood as an experimental second stage of life.

Author: Zai Xi Jeffrey Wong, MArch I AP 2021 Advisor: Eric Höweler , Associate Professor of Architecture & Architecture Thesis Coordinator Duration: 4 min, 53 sec

Citing the Native Genius

Reconstructing vernacular architecture in Hawai’i

For over 120 years, Americanization has tried to demean and erase Hawaiian language, culture, and architecture. In contemporary discourse, the vernacular architecture of Hawai’i is mostly referred to as ancient and vague. As with many Indigenous cultures, Western perspectives tend to fetishize or patronize the Hawaiian design aesthetic. Within this hierarchy of knowledge is a systemic assumption that Hawaiian vernacular architecture cannot effectively serve as a precedent resource for contemporary architects. Those who do reference the original vernacular will often classify it as utilitarian or resourceful. Regardless of intent, this narrative takes design agency away from the people involved. As a corrective, a respectful use of vernacular domestic form would benefit designers that are struggling to connect with Hawai’i’s cultural and architectural traditions.

Mining the European gaze and influence out of revivalist publications, archeological surveys and historic images reveal unique characteristics of Hawaiian domestic space. Geometric quotation and symbolic referencing are the foundational instruments in applying the discrete components, form, and organizational logic of the vernacular. The result is a design process that creates an amalgamation of decolonized form and contemporary technique. This residential project intends to revive Hawai’i’s erased domestic experience by revisiting the precolonial vernacular form and plan.

Author: Taylor Cook, MArch I 2021 Advisor: Jeffry Burchard , Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture Duration: 5 min, 13 sec

Special Thanks: Jeffry Burchard, Cameron Wu, Kanoa Chung, Nik Butterbaugh, Carly Yong, Vernacular Pacific LLC More Information: www.vernacularhawaii.com

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the galleries in Gund Hall have been turned ‘inside out,’ with exhibitions shown through a series of exterior projections on the building’s facade. View some images from the screening of these films below:

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ETSAB Barcelona School of Architecture

≡ doctoral thesis, doctoral thesis, enrolment and thesis submission.

Documents to be presented, for the reading of a Doctoral Thesis - General requirements

(It is necessary to consult also the "specific requirements” of the different Academic Committees. See below)

All  documents must be signed with an original signature and delivered on paper or with  certified electronic signature and sent by email in PDF files

(In this link you can download a PDF to keep track of the documents you have)

 All the following official forms can be found on the website of the  Doctoral School  

• ADT - Authorization by the thesis supervisor for the submission of the defense proposal .

Signed by the supervisor or supervisors.   

• ADU  – Thesis quality report and authorization by the Academic Committee for its submission Signed by the head of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program (The PhD Coordinator).
• IE- External referee report "Referees" from two Phd experts, external to the UPC. 
• (If requesting the "International doctor mention" mention, the experts must belong to an institution of higher education or research center not Spanish).
• T- Proposal for the Appointment of the Examination Panel (proposed by the Supervisor and signed by the Coordinator of the PhD). It is necessary to complete all the information requested in the T form. For the Faculty of the UPC, it suffices to indicate only name and position. The Panel should be composed of 5 members +2 substitutes or by 3 members + 2 substitutes. (Substitutes members shall be written on the last two places of the T form). Most of members of the Examination panel (or most of the members that finally act, if a substitute member is required) have to be external to the UPC and to the rest of the participating Organizations. (In the event that there is an external director, the UPC members + the members belonging to the institution of the external director cannot be a majority).  Retired teachers of the UPC count, for this purpose, as internal members. The external experts who have made the reports, can be part of the Examination panel. The directors can not. Some members of the Panel (others than President or Secretary)  may act by videoconference (Skype) if the Academic Commission of the program authorizes so. This modality must be indicated at the T Form. In this case, the thesis’s qualification will not be incorporated into the student’s file, until we have received the assessment certificate, with original signature, from the remote member (it is not enough emailing the document).  Depending on the place of origin, it could take more than 20 days. All members need to have the academic degree of PhD. In addition, the ones from UPC need to have "accredited research experience", in accordance with the rules of the Doctoral School.

              (If you request the" international doctor mention", please see the requirements, below) 

Introduction of activities

  As of the 2020-21 academic year, the DAD is no longer presented on paper and is generated on the ATENEA PhD platform, in one or two steps:

  1) DRAC (UPC Research Descriptor)

First, the activities should be entered into the DRAC. As appropriate, they must be entered by the doctoral student or by their director (the joint ones). (The transferred activities can be checked at any time by making a "preview" in AteneaPhD).

More information at DRAC / PhD students:

https://drac.upc.edu/info/ca/preguntes-mes-habituals/PhD_students

It is necessary to mark the check box , as indicated in the DRAC application: "The doctoral student activity report (DAD) is for activities related to doctoral students' training and research. So, in each reference, you have a check box to include or not include a reference to DAD. "  For any questions about the DRAC you can also write to [email protected]

2) Other activities

On the other hand, the activities that, due to their characteristics, cannot be entered into the DRAC, but also correspond to the formative stage of the doctoral student, can be listed in a single PDF and uploaded to the AteneaPhD section “other activities”. In this PDF there should be no activities already entered into the DRAC.

DAD generation and validations by the directors

When the doctoral student had entered all the activities, he/she must notify their director or tutor and ask him/her to access AteneaPHD and generate and validate the DAD.

As soon as the director generates the DAD in AteneaPhD, the activities of the DRAC become part of the DAD. Previously, you can do a "preview" to check that everything goes correctly.

If there is more than one director, the second will only have to validate (external directors cannot access this platform and should not validate).

Finally, the Doctorate office will ask the coordinator to also validate said DAD.  In due course, we will provide this validated Activity Document, to the members of the thesis committee.

• TDX: Author statement for the incorporation of the thesis to theTDX

Signed by the doctoral student. Check only one of the given options

In this case, it is recommended to indicate the personal email. This document must be submitted with the rest of the documentation for the deposit, although the date of the reading is not yet known (leave this information blank). The publication of the thesis is mandatory, in all cases, after reading. For very justified reasons, the date of publication may be postponed

• Complete doctoral thesis in PDF The thesis must be submitted in the online platform  ATENEA PhD  .File name format: "Doctoral thesis of SURNAMES, FIRST NAMES"

Once uploaded, the doctoral student must request their directors to "validate" it in the Atenea platform. 

The names of the Departments promoting the Programs, which should also appear on the cover of the final thesis, are as follows:

Doctoral degree in Architectural Design - Department of Architectural Design

Doctoral degree in Architectural, Building Construction and Urbanism Technology - Department of Architectural Technology

Doctoral degree in Architectural, Civil and Urban Heritage and Refurbishment of Existing Buildings - Department of Architectural Representation

Doctoral degree in Architecture, Energy and Environment - Department of Architectural Technology

Doctoral degree in Theory and History of Architecture - Department of History and Theory of Architecture and Communication Techniques

Doctoral degree in Urban and Architectural Management and Valuation - Department of Architectural Technology

Doctoral degree in Urbanism - Department of Urbanism and Regional Planning

Please, consult the "Specific Requirements" section of this website, to learn if the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program requires a printed copy of the thesis for their own purposes. According to the UPC's Academic regulations for doctoral degree courses, the doctoral thesis shall consist, of a minimum, of an introduction to the topic of study, the objectives to be achieved, a statement of the research as a fundamental part, the discussion of the results obtained, the conclusions and bibliography.

• Two thesis summary form (Resum de Tesi Doctoral)   The abstracts must be one in Catalan or Spanish and other in English; also, in the language of the thesis, if it is different from the previous ones. In separate documents (Max 3950 characters each summary). The same texts as in the Word file, indicated above. Include the Unesco nomenclature
• Photocopy of the DNI (Spanish) or passport in force (not a NIE) . 

  NOTE : We will review  that the doctoral students had presented, at the beginning of their studies, all the documents necessary for admission to a doctoral program, duly legalized, if necessary. If there is any missed document, it must be provided at this time.

Article-based doctoral thesi

Some PhD programs allow to submit "article-based doctoral thesis"

Interested students should start the procedure by submitting  this  Request to submit an article-based doctoral thesis

International doctor mention 

In case of requesting the “International doctor mention”, at least one doctor belonging to an institution of higher education or research, not Spanish, has to be part of the Examination Panel.

The responsible for the international stay (the person who signs the stay certificate) can not be a member of the Examination Panel.

And in addition to the documents listed above, the following ones are needed:

•  MI - Doctorate mention - Application for the International Doctorate mention
• AA- Approval and authorization for the International doctor mention mention
• Certificate in support of the stay of research or studies

With original signature of the person responsible for the stay and with the institution’s letterhead or stamp. The certificate or certificates should justify a minimum of three months of stay, which could be interrupted. In this case, one part of the thesis, at a minimum the summary and conclusions, must be drawn up and exposed in one of the usual languages for scientific communication, in your field of knowledge.  The languages must be different from those that are official in Spain. This rule shall not apply if the research stay, reports and experts come from a Spanish-speaking country.

Specific requirements of the different academic committees.

Some Doctoral Programs have established specific requirements on how to proceed. Regardless of this, all the documents listed above should be delivered to the Doctorate Office, before the registration of the thesis. You should be aware of the particularities of each program.

Doctoral degree in Architectural Design

Doctoral degree in Architectural, Building Construction and Urbanism Technology

Doctoral degree in Architectural, Civil and Urban Heritage and Refurbishment of Existing Buildings

Doctoral degree in Architecture, Energy and Environment

Doctoral degree in Theory and History of Architecture

Doctoral degree in Urban and Architectural Management and Valuation

Doctoral degree in Urbanism

T o take into account:

In the event that there has been a change in the Supervisor of the thesis or the incorporation of a co-Supervisor, you will not be able to deposit the thesis, up to one year after the change or new assignment. The duration of the doctoral studies in RD 99/2011, is a maximum of three years, if it is full-time and the minimum is two, counted from the first enrollment until the day of the deposit.  

To proceed to the reading of a Doctoral Thesis, the circuit is the following, in the order indicated:

1. The doctoral student will deliver all the documents indicated below to the Doctorate Office ("Documents to submit for the reading of the Thesis"), after having obtained the required authorizations. That is, when all the Academic Committee procedures and paperwork had been finalized. Some programs require that the doctoral student begin the paperwork two or three months before be able to enroll the thesis (next step). You should review the “Special requirements” listed below

2. We will do the enrolment of the thesis , after having reviewed the documents and having entered them into the academic computer system. We will notify the doctoral student when the enrolment had been done. (Please consult the Academic Calendar, below.)

3. The doctoral student pays the enrolment fee .

You can do it through your "e-Secretaria", by credit card, or by printing the enrolment form and presenting it in one of the bank offices that are specified on it. 4. We send the thesis to the Doctoral School 5. The Doctoral School starts the procedure to approve both the reading and the Examination panel.

6. The Doctoral School admits the Doctoral Thesis for defense and appoints the examination panel . 7. We make the official announcement of the reading day  and send it by email to the Examination panel, the directors, the student, the coordinator of the program and the Doctoral School. In addition, we publish the reading notice on our website. Also, the Doctoral School publish the announcement in its website 8. We make the reservation of the reading room and/or the public link to the videoconfeence and deliver the official forms to the members of the Examination panel. 9. After the reading, we deliver the minutes signed by Examination panel and other official documents to the Doctoral Schoo l. (If a member of the panel acts by videoconference, we need to wait until the original assessment certificate from that member – not by email- arrives at our Secretary).

10. The Doctoral School introduces the assessment of the thesis, in the academic computer system. 11. The doctoral student may apply for the Degree certificate ,  from the day on which the assessment of the thesis shows in his/her e-Secretary. Procedure:

https://etsab.upc.edu/en/studies/doctoral-programmes/title-application-degree-certification

Note: Travel and accommodation . The budget for the members of the Examination Panel residing outside of Barcelona is up to a total of 500 euros for the thesis without the "International doctor" mention and up to 1000 euros for the thesis with this mention. Although our Doctorate Office does not manage travel, only for guidance, we inform that from the moment the Doctoral School starts the procedure to approve both the reading and the Examination panel (point 6), it will be necessary to wait for a minimum of 45 days, before the thesis defense.  Only about 30 days if there is not need to make any travel arrangements. This account will stop if the Doctoral School finds any incidence with the thesis or the proposed examination panel. The reading date proposed will not be firm until the Doctoral School had formally approved the thesis reading. You can read a thesis within three months following its admission by the Doctoral School (point 7).

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Architecture with Landscape Methods (PhD plan 1st year proposal)

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Daniel Jauslin

Contemporary architecture has been strongly influenced by the concept of landscape in recent times. A new mindset evolves that changes the core of the architectural discipline: the organization and composition of architectural space as a landscape. The scope of this thesis is to investigate and understand architecture that has been designed like a landscape. In projects of OMA, MVRDV, Peter Eisenman, Foreign Office or Diller+Scofidio the building inside and landscape outside do not merely interact, but the building is designed as an artificial landscape on its own. Landscape constitutes the inside. The landscape to architecture relation is turned inside-out. The author is studying these phenomena and their design methodologies. As a first finalized and completely documented case study the analysis of the Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne by SANAA is surely an important part of our discovery of landscape methods for architectural design. Landscape is developing here as the aesthetic mediator between nature and human.

Abstract: Landscape has been used as a metaphor or conceptual reference for an increasing amount of excellent architectural projects in the last two decades. The phenomenon seems to be a substantial innovation of architecture with an interesting potential for artistic, social and ecological gains. To be able to better understand and critically review these projects, it is important to better understand the notion of landscape.

Contemporary architecture is increasingly influenced by the concept of landscape, and this is particularly the case in the Netherlands. Like at many other places, a new mindset is emerging, transforming the core values of the disciplines of architecture and urbanism with the notion of the organization of architectural space as a landscape. Through experiment our lab develops methods to analyze such phenomena in focused studies of specific cases, understanding how architects use landscape not only as a metaphor but also as a method to design buildings. 32 students selected and analyzed outstanding built work of a wide field of architects from four generations of Dutch practitioners starting with Huig Maaskant (founder of the RAvB), Huig Maaskant, Wim QUist, OMA, SANAA, Mecanoo, MVRDV, NOX, De Zwarte Hond, NL-Architects, Onix, FACT and MonderschijmMoonen. Students drew and built models of their analyses, where four layers are detachable as a separate entity, and then played a game the surrealist called Cadavre Exquis. The result is a dismantled floating olympic village for Rotterdam, which is exhibited at it’s site in the historic docklands RDM on the Heijplaat. This Book is the catalogue to the exhibition.

15 are quite recent–made within the past few years–and quite behind schedule if we consider that sustainability has grown to become a firmly established and often compelling issue in the fields of science and politics over the past two decades. On a wider scale, the United Nations committed itself to the goal of sustainable development and environmental protection on a global scale when it passed Resolution 38/161 in 1987. In the process, the UN established its own definition for sustainable development:" Sustainable development ...

Disability, Space, Architecture: A Reader

Kent Fitzsimons

In recent decades, regulations and guidance aimed at making architectural environments less disabling have improved daily life for those with mobility and sensory disabilities. This approach to accessibility clearly produces social progress. However, it also has the unfortunate side effect of casting architecture as a prosthetic device that normalizes lived experience based on an able-bodied paradigm. Rather than generate architecture whose qualities draw from the specificities of a great variety of physical conditions, it tends to reinforce what may be called the " eyes on legs " benchmark, where architectural experience is understood as a function of a body that associates the ability to walk with fully operational vision. I will argue that approaching accessibility as a compensatory measure can distract from other aspects of the complex relationships between space design and the experiences of disability. This requires challenging assumptions that imagine and interpret architectural space predominantly through a seeing and mobile body, to the detriment of other senses and of other ways of appropriating the built environment. In this chapter, I will therefore forefront disabled spatial practices that involve " more than access. " I will discuss two cases in which an architectural work provides the opportunity to conceptualize disabled experiences in ways that challenge limits in accessibility theory and practice as well as in architectural thought. Through architectural analyses of these works, I will argue that the full spectrum of bodily capacities could benefit if both architectural discourse and disability guidance and advocacy conceptualized the specificities of disabled architectural experience beyond the habitual terms of access. Both cases studies consist of architectural environments that are open to the public. In the first work, Peter Eisenman's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin (2005), I explore how access can consist of more than just functional ease of movement to a destination; rather it can be integral to our meaning-making around, and experiences of, material space. This is because the Memorial's formal and spatial organization creates the potential for an infinite number of meaning-making experiences, without prejudging their nature and by favouring the activation of all the senses. As a result, it challenges the notion that accessibility

Krystyna Januszkiewicz

The paper explores the possibilities of using Structural Optimization Tools (ESO) digital tools in an integrated structural and architectural design in response to the current needs geared towards sustainability, combining ecological and economic efficiency. The first part of the paper defines the Evolutionary Structural Optimization tools, which were developed specifically for engineering purposes using finite element analysis as a framework. The development of ESO has led to several incarnations, which are all briefly discussed (Additive ESO, Bi-directional ESO, Extended ESO). The second part presents result of using these tools in structural and architectural design. Actual building projects which involve optimization as a part of the original design process will be presented (Crematorium in Kakamigahara Gifu, Japan, 2006 SANAA " s Learning Centre, EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland 2008 among others). The conclusion emphasizes that the structural engineering and architectural design mean directing attention to the solutions which are used by Nature, designing works optimally shaped and forming their own environments. Architectural forms never constitute the optimum shape derived through a form-finding process driven only by structural optimization, but rather embody and integrate a multitude of parameters. It might be assumed that there is a similarity between these processes in nature and the presented design methods. Contemporary digital methods make the simulation of such processes possible, and thus enable us to refer back to the empirical methods of previous generations. 1. Introduction The works created by Nature have been an inspiration for building forms since time immemorial. These forms have represented a kind of bridge between men and their natural environment. In the digital age, this bridge seems to be essential both for architects and scientists alike, and a diverse development of research interests concerned with new materials and technologies to re-inform the built environment has emerged. The Nature can provide 'models and processes for the creation of artificial systems that are designed to produce forms, and perhaps even real intelligence' [1]. Today we learn from Nature about efficient energy and material management, we find effective engineering solutions and structural designs for new building materials. We also learn the ways in which the natural and built environments could best interact with each other connecting art and science. Digital instrumentation of the evolution, morphogenesis and emergence processes, along with the proposed methods and techniques, provide a possibility of using these models in the architectural and structural design. It is a key concept, which is important both for the theory and methods of digital design [2]. The interest of architects and designing engineers is increasingly focused on the use of Evolutionary Structural Optimization (ESO) in nonlinear shaping of structures. Their aim is to identify and expand the applicability of these methods in architectural design.

Marcela Aragüez, PhD

The architecture of the Japanese practice SANAA, led by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, seems to be conceived so as to be spatially and programmatically ‘uncertain’, with configurations that tend to be freed from constrictions. Characterised by multiple layers of transparent materials, their buildings establish a continuous relationship between interior and exterior. This study focuses on the analysis of one of the buildings designed by SANAA, the Rolex Learning Centre (RLC). The study provides an in-depth analysis – the first of its kind using space syntax methodology – of this building looking at both spatial properties and the social practices of users. The particular geometry of the building entails methodological challenges and the customisation of syntax tools derived from a fluid and continuous undulated interior. New methods of syntactical analysis are tested in order to overcome the particular morphology of the building. In particular, this is done by the development of a series of methodological experiments concerned with the comparison of visibility and permeability values and the role of the third dimension in space syntax theory and applied software. The study will first analyse selected buildings from diverse functional and formal typologies to provide a background analysis of the architecture of SANAA, to then later address the RLC. The first section of the study identifies a strong foreground structure in the buildings analysed, but almost no correlation between function and configuration. The analysis of the RLC shows how the spatial arrangement is determined by the use of transparent and opaque materials, which constructs different levels of privacy, and how this is reflected in a diverse combination of levels of visibility and permeability in different areas of the building. Finally, a closer look to the spatial practices of users in the RLC reveals that the places that are used in a more informal way are those characterised by a disjunction between levels of visibility and permeability. This is considered an incisive conclusion that, added to the methodological experimentation performed in the study, can provide an alternative way to understand the relationship between spatial complexity and functional uncertainty in buildings.

Huong Yeu Leung

Đinh Thương

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Download 12 PhD Thesis eBooks on Architecture and the Built Environment

Architecture and Built Environment has some pretty neat collections of PhD thesis, they publishes exclusively PhD theses in the field of Architecture and the Built Environment. It is an on-line open access PhD thesis series managed by the TU Delft Graduate School of Architecture and the Built Environment. The publications are free in digital format, for paperback version, visit their site or click on the links below.

For those in the dark, EPUB (short for electronic publication) is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum. You’ll need an app to access the book, for Android OS you can download Google Play Books app, and for Apple iOS it will be iBooks. I have no idea if ePub is readable in Amazon Kindle.

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The author is not a CAD expert nor a web genius. Just another guy spending too much time online. The tutorials featured here are meant for basic level understanding.

• Download 7 Layered Architectural Backdrops
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Hi, I have problem downloading the PDFs. They keep pop out message that the PDF is not available. Thanks for your help

I think their server crashed. Too many traffic :( we shall wait and see… maybe they will be back in a few days time.

I am curious to why an image of my thesis is illustrating the post on downloads of 12 other PhD dissertations? My thesis, ‘Architectural Prototypes II: Reformations, Speculations and Strategies within the Digital Design Field’, is also available for free as a pdf, or could be ordered directly from me, via this link: http://www.runberger.net/?page_id=1436 So, I do not mind the use of the image, but would appreciate a link. Best, Jonas Runberger

My bad, we’ve updated the post with a link back to your post. sorry. thousand apologies.

please copy the name of thesis from here and search in google with adding pdf in the end you will get all these 12 thesis for free do it one by one.

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Home > HFA > Department of Architecture > Architecture Masters Theses Collection

Architecture Masters Theses Collection

Theses from 2023 2023.

Music As a Tool For Ecstatic Space Design , Pranav Amin, Architecture

Creating Dormitories with a Sense of Home , Johnathon A. Brousseau, Architecture

The Tectonic Evaluation And Design Implementation of 3D Printing Technology in Architecture , Robert Buttrick, Architecture

Designing for the Unhoused: Finding Innovative and Transformative Solutions to Housing , Hannah C. Campbell, Architecture

Investigating Design-Functional Dimension Of Affordable Housing With Prefabrication On Dense Suburbs Of Chelsea, MA , Siddharth Jagadishbhai Dabhia, Architecture

Architecture of Extraction: Imagining New Modes of Inhabitation and Reclamation in the Mining Lifecyle , Erica DeWitt, Architecture

Utopian Thought and Architectural Design , Anthony L. Faith, Architecture

Building Hygge In-Roads into Incremental Living , Tanisha Kalra, Architecture

NATURE INSPIRED ARCHITECTURE , Salabat Khan, Architecture

Sustainable Architecture in Athletics: Using Mass Timber in an Old-Fashioned Field , Zach C. Lefever, Architecture

Off-grid Living for the Normative Society: Shifting Perception and Perspectives by Design , Patsun Lillie, Architecture

The Evolution of Chinese Supermarkets in North America: An Alternative Approach to Chinese Supermarket Design , Ruoxin Lin, Architecture

Refreshing Refinery: An Analysis of Victorian Architecture and How to Translate its Elements for Contemporary Architecture , Richard J. Marcil, Architecture

After Iconoclasm: Reassessing Monumental Practices and Redesigning Public Memorials in Twenty-First-Century Massachusetts , Lincoln T. Nemetz-Carlson, Architecture

Earthen Materials In Organic Forms: An Ecological Solution to the Urban Biosphere? , Rutuja Patil, Architecture

Adaptive (Re)purpose of Industrial Heritage Buildings in Massachusetts A Modular Strategy for Building a Community , Riya D. Premani, Architecture

Community Design: A Health Center Serving the Greater Boston Population , Brandon E. Rosario, Architecture

The Food Hub as a Social Infrastructure Framework: Restitching Communities in Boston After the Pandemic , Connor J. Tiches, Architecture

Theses from 2022 2022

Equitable Housing Generation Through Cellular Automata , Molly R. Clark, Architecture

Beneficial Invasive: A Rhizomatic Approach to Utilizing Local Bamboo for COVID Responsive Educational Spaces , Megan Futscher, Architecture

Architectural Activism Through Hip-Hop , Micaela Goodrich, Architecture

Addressing Trauma Through Architecture: Cultivating Well-being For Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma , Megan Itzkowitz, Architecture

Buildings Integrated into Landscape & Making People Care for Them: Exploring Integrated Land-Building Ecosystems and the Lifestyles Needed to Support It , Sara Mallio, Architecture

Reimagining Black Architecture , Esosa Osayamen, Architecture

Prefabricated Homes: Delivery At Your Doorsteps , Obed K. Otabil, Architecture

Memory and Resistance , Cami Quinteros, Architecture

Mycelium: The Building Blocks of Nature and the Nature of Architecture , Carly Regalado, Architecture

IN-BETWEEN SPACES: ATMOSPHERES, MOVEMENT AND NEW NARRATIVES FOR THE CITY , Paul Alexander Stoicheff, Architecture

Theses from 2021 2021

Creating New Cultural Hubs in American Cities: The Syrian Diaspora of Worcester, Massachusetts , Aleesa Asfoura, Architecture

Firesafe: Designing for Fire-Resilient Communities in the American West , Brenden Baitch, Architecture

The Beige Conundrum , Alma Crawford-Mendoza, Architecture

Cultivating Food Justice: Exploring Public Interest Design Process through a Food Security & Sustainability Hub , Madison J. DeHaven, Architecture

Physical to Virtual: A Model for Future Virtual Classroom Environments , Stephen J. Fink, Architecture

Detroit: Revitalizing Urban Communities , David N. Fite, Architecture

The Homestead Helper Handbook , Courtney A. Jurzynski, Architecture

An Architecture of a New Story , Nathan Y. Lumen, Architecture

Border Town: Preserving a 'Living' Cultural Landscape in Harlingen, Texas , Shelby Parrish, Architecture

Housing for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Creating an Integrated Living Community in Salem, MA , Tara Pearce, Architecture

From Sanctuary to Home in the Post-Interstate City , Morgan B. Sawyer, Architecture

Exploring the Use of Grid-Scale Compressed Air Energy Storage in the Urban Landscape , Connor S. Slover, Architecture

Bridging the Gaps in Public Conversation by Fostering Spaces of Activism , Karitikeya Sonker, Architecture

Re-envisioning the American Dream , Elain Tang, Architecture

Tall Timber in Denver: An Exploration of New Forms in Large Scale Timber Architecture , Andrew P. Weuling, Architecture

Theses from 2020 2020

Urban Inter-Space: Convergence of Human Interaction and Form , Clayton Beaudoin, Architecture

The Hues of Hadley Massachusetts: Pioneering Places for Preservation and Growth , Elisha M. Bettencourt, Architecture

Reinvigorating Englewood, Chicago Through New Public Spaces and Mixed-Income Housing , Givan Carrero, Architecture

Architectural Agency Through Real Estate Development , Hitali Gondaliya, Architecture

Multimodal Transit and a New Civic Architecture , Samuel Bruce Hill, Architecture

Rethinking The Suburban Center , Andrew Jones, Architecture

Resilient Urbanism: Bridging Natural Elements & Sustainable Structures in a Post-Industrial Urban Environment , Nicholas McGee, Architecture

Adaptive Airport Architecture , Yash Mehta, Architecture

Rethinking School Design to Promote Safety and Positivity , Emily Moreau, Architecture

The Built Environment and Well-Being: Designing for Well-Being in Post-Industrial Communities During the Age of Urbanization , Tyler O'Neil, Architecture

Brutalism and the Public University: Integrating Conservation into Comprehensive Campus Planning , Shelby Schrank, Architecture

Spatial Design for Behavioral Education , Madeline Szczypinski, Architecture

Theses from 2019 2019

THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY: FOR REFUGEES , Raghad Alrashidi, Architecture

From Archaic To contemporary : Energy Efficient Adaptive Reuse of Historic Building , Nisha Borgohain, Architecture

(RE)Developing Place: The Power of Narrative , Kinsey Diomedi, Architecture

Rethinking Ambulatory Care Delivery , Senada Dushaj, Architecture

Photosynthesizing the Workplace: A Study in Healthy and Holistic Production Spaces , Kaeli Howard, Architecture

Museum Design As A Tool For A City , Cunbei Jiang, Architecture

Architecture and Wilderness: An Exchange of Order , Ashley Lepre, Architecture

Cross-Species Architecture: Developing an Architecture for Rehabilitative Learning Through the Human-Canine Relationship , Jake Porter, Architecture

Intermodal Transit Terminal: Integrating the Future of Transit into the Urban Fabric , Guy Vigneau, Architecture

Theses from 2018 2018

Bangladeshi Cultural Center: for the Bangladeshi Population Living in New York City , Sabrina Afrin, Architecture

THE ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCCESS: RENOVATING THE FORT RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN AMHERST, MA , Reyhaneh Bassamtabar, Architecture

LEARNING SPACES: DISCOVERING THE SPACES FOR THE FUTURE OF LEARNING , Michael Choudhary, Architecture

ARCHITECTURAL SYNERGY: A FACILITY FOR LIFELONG LEARNING IN ACADEMIA AND PRACTICE , Ryan Rendano, Architecture

Resilient Architecture: Adaptive Community Living in Coastal Locations , Erica Shannon, Architecture

Theses from 2017 2017

New York City 2050: Climate Change and Future of New York | Design for Resilience , Abhinav Bhargava, Architecture

The Performance of Light: Exploring the Impact of Natural Lighting in the New UMass School of Performance , Dylan Brown, Architecture

Regional Expression In The Renovation Of Remote Historic Villages , Jie chen, Architecture

An Incremental Intervention In Jakarta: An Empowering Infrastructural Approach For Upgrading Informal Settlements , Christopher H. Counihan, Architecture

UMASS Dining Hall. A Path to Resiliency , Lukasz Czarniecki, Architecture

LIVING CORE OF THE FUTURE: PROPOSING NEW APPROACH FOR THE FUTURE OF RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN METROPOLITAN AREAS , Mahsa G. Zadeh, Architecture

HUMANITY IN A CHILDREN’S CANCER HOSPITAL , Sara Jandaghi Jafari, Architecture

Designing Symbiosis for the New Church Community , Evan Janes, Architecture

A Visible History: A Synthesis of Past, Present and Future Through the Evocation of Memory Within Historic Contexts , Nicholas Jeffway, Architecture

Creating A Community A New Ecological, Economical, and Social Path to Uniting a Community , Andrew Stadnicki, Architecture

Z-Cube: Mobile Living for Feminist Nomads , Zi Ye, Architecture

Theses from 2016 2016

Music and Architecture: An Interpresence , Rachel J. Beesen, Architecture

Intervening in the Lives of Internally Displaced People in Colombia , Amy L. Carbone, Architecture

Designing Waste Creating Space: A Critical Examination Into Waste Reduction Through Building Techniques, Architectural Design, and Systems , Courtney M. Carrier, Architecture

Umass September 11 Intervention , Mohamad Farzinmoghadam, Architecture

Merging Social Science and Neuroscience in Architecture: Creating a Framework to Functionally Re-integrate Ex-Convicts , Kylie A. Landrey, Architecture

From Shelters to Long Living Communities , Yakun Liang, Architecture

Building Hope: A Community + Water Initiative, La Villa de San Francisco, Honduras , Christopher D. Mansfield, Architecture

THE SPATIALITY IN STORYTELLING , Xiang Yu, Architecture

Innovation of the Residential Buildings and Community in the Emerging City Rongcheng , Xing Yu, Architecture

Art and Life - Make invisible visible in Cao changdi village, Beijing, China , peng zhang, Architecture

Theses from 2015 2015

The Dialogue of Craft and Architecture , Thomas J. Forker, Architecture

MOSQUE IN THE VALLEY: A SPACE FOR SPIRITUAL GATHERING & CULTURAL LEARNING , Nabila Iqbal, Architecture

EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN URBAN PLAZA AND MIXED USE BUILDINGS , Youngduk Kim, Architecture

Design Of A Housing For Urban Artisan-Living Work , Fahim Mahmud, Architecture

Membranes and Matrices: Architecture as an Interface , Nayef Mudawar, Architecture

Building for the Future: Revitalization through Architecture , Rebecca N. Perry, Architecture

Developing Maker Economies in Post-Industrial Cities: Applying Commons Based Peer Production to Mycelium Biomaterials , Grant R. Rocco, Architecture

Design of Children's Event and Cutural Center in Osu, Accra, Ghana , Rudi Somuah, Architecture

Sustainable Design of Student Centers Retrofitting and Adaptive Reuse of UMass Student Union , Tianye Song, Architecture

Design/Build in Architectural Education: studying community-focused curriculum , Matthew K. Sutter, Architecture

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Abstract: We present Barrier-based Simplex (Bb-Simplex), a new, provably correct design for runtime assurance of continuous and hybrid dynamical systems. Bb-Simplex is centered around the Simplex Control Architecture, which consists of a high-performance advanced controller that is not guaranteed to maintain safety of the plant, a verified-safe baseline controller, and a decision module that switches control of the plant between the two controllers to ensure safety without sacrificing performance. In Bb-Simplex, barrier certificates are used to prove that the baseline controller ensures safety. Furthermore, Bb-Simplex features a new automated method for deriving, from the barrier certificate, the conditions for switching between the controllers. Our method is based on the Taylor expansion of the barrier certificate and yields computationally inexpensive switching conditions. We also propose extensions to Bb-Simplex to enable its use in hybrid systems, which have multiple modes each with its own dynamics, and to support its use when only approximate dynamics (not exact dynamics) are available, for both continuous-time and hybrid dynamical systems. We consider a significant application of Bb-Simplex to microgrids featuring advanced controllers in the form of neural networks trained using reinforcement learning. The microgrids are modeled in RTDS, an industry-standard high-fidelity, real-time power systems simulator. Our results demonstrate that Bb-Simplex can automatically derive switching conditions for complex systems, the switching conditions are not overly conservative, and Bb-Simplex ensures safety even in the presence of adversarial attacks on the neural controller.