Doctor of Architecture

The School of Architecture at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is proud to offer the Doctor of Architecture (DArch) degree, the highest professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board  (NAAB). This prestigious program is designed to prepare future architects with the comprehensive education and skills necessary for leadership in the field, fostering innovation and excellence in architectural practice and research. 

The DArch program focuses on guiding students through critical interrogations of architectural approaches, concepts, application, and practicum. This includes asking students to:

• frame architectural inquiries within social, cultural, and interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on Asia and the Pacific;
• investigate local/global relations evidenced in theory and practice with an emphasis on the quality of the built and natural environment;
• critically test and expand the definitions of and relationships between the academy and the profession;
• use research as a basis for the grounding of design and as a primary means of expanding knowledge in the discipline; and
• participate with local and international partners in applied design research and community outreach projects.

The program integrates coursework with professional office practice (Practicum), culminating with a capstone project based on research and design (DArch Project). A specific Asia-Pacific requirement is built into the curriculum that is reflected in the studio, architectural history, and elective courses. This effectively prepares the future professionals that emerge from this program to address architectural issues specific to the Asia-Pacific region.

DArch Mission

The School of Architecture responds to our unique tropical location in the Asia Pacific Region and practices its kuleana [“the right or value to a virtuous purpose, responsibility, duty, or obligation”] to advocate cultural, environmental, and social diversity.

Program Information

The NAAB-accredited DArch degree integrates professional education with advanced research (DArch  projects) and onsite practical experience (Practicum). The DArch degree prepares students for active and critical engagement to advance the quality of the built environment, including design and professional practice, teaching, research, and civic leadership.

This graduate professional architecture program integrates clear comprehension of advanced queries and emphasizes high quality student research presented in the final year as a singled authored DArch project. Students demonstrate expertise in a recognized body of knowledge, through innovative design, research and advance inquiry addressing global challenges in the world today.

To accommodate candidates’ varying levels of preparedness through their undergraduate education, the DArch program includes two closely intertwined tracks*.

Students entering the track who hold a four-year pre-professional baccalaureate degree (e.g., BS architecture studies, BA architecture studies, BA environmental design) enter the 3-year, 90-credit professional DArch track. (Fall semester start date is recommended).

DArch PROGRAM CHART with Pre-Professional Undergraduate Degree
*The School of Architecture has implemented a Stop-Out for Track II, of the 108-credit track of the Doctor or Architecture degree program effective immediately. The Stop-Out is anticipated to continue through the Spring 2027 semester. No admissions to this track will be accepted during this period. Please continue to monitor our website for updates regarding the Stop-Out.

We recommend that applicants holding a four-year pre-professional baccalaureate degree in architecture (e.g., BS in Architecture Studies, BA in Architecture Studies, BA in Environmental Design) apply to only one program—either the DArch (90-credit track) or the MArch—since admission to one constitutes admission to both. Once admitted, applicants may request a one-time change between the DArch and MArch prior to the start of their first semester of attendance.

UHM Graduate Division application fees are not refundable.

Students entering the track who hold a baccalaureate degree in a field unrelated to architecture or environmental design (non-pre-professional degree) enter the 108-credit professional DArch track. (Summer semester start date recommended)*.

STEM Designation

The DArch is a STEM-designated 04.0902 Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology degree. This STEM-designation allows international student graduates to apply for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for international students holding F-1 visas. It allows the extension of the OPT period from the regular one year to three years, gives eligibility for STEM specific scholarships, and offers expanded GI Bill benefits for U.S. veterans.

DArch Program Admissions

Graduate admissions procedures for the Doctor of Architecture (DArch) degree program is handled by the UHM Graduate Division.

All applicants to the professional Doctor of Architecture (DArch) program must hold a baccalaureate degree or higher in order to be considered for acceptance.  Based on their degree, the students will enter one of two tracks.

Professional Fee

In addition to tuition and standard university fees, all students are assessed a professional fee of $500 per semester. This fee supports essential, shared academic resources that are foundational to the school’s teaching, research, and professional training mission.

Revenue from the professional fee helps cover the operational costs, staffing, maintenance, and ongoing improvement of the school’s IT infrastructure and Fabrication Lab—resources that are integral to coursework and available to all students. These facilities function as core academic infrastructure and are not tied to individual usage.

Materials used for individual projects are charged separately and provided at cost.

National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Accreditation

In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The School of Architecture at the University Hawai’i at Mānoa offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program: Doctor of Architecture (DArch). The program offers the following tracks:

• Track I: (preprofessional degree in architecture [126/120 credits] + 90 graduate credits).
• Track II: (non-professional degree [120 credits min.] + 108 graduate credits)*

Next accreditation visit: spring, 2027

Student Financial Support Information

Various forms of merit-based financial support are available to graduate students at UHM, including Graduate Division Achievement Scholarships, intramural graduate fellowships, extramural funding, and graduate assistantships.  Questions on need-based financial aid should be addressed to the Financial Aid Services Office.

The University of Hawaiʻi System Common Scholarship Application is available online in the fall semester for the following academic year.  For example, in order to be considered for a scholarship in the 2021-2022 academic year, you must apply in the Fall 2020 semester.  Typically, the timeframe for the open application period is between October and March.  Students attending any University of Hawaiʻi campus are encouraged to apply in order to be considered for system and campus scholarship.

UHM participates in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP), a Student Access Program administered by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education WICHE).  This program enables legal residents of WICHE member states to enroll in selected out-of-state graduate programs at a reduced tuition of 150 percent of the institution’s regular resident tuition. Eligible applicants may qualify for reduced tuition rates through WRGP/WICHE programs.

Career Development Information

The UH Mānoa Career Center partners with both on-campus and off-campus employers to empower UH Mānoa student to engage in career life planning through awareness, exploration, experience, and reflection. Career Counselors are available to assist in achieving academic and career goals, and in exploring career options and opportunities.

University Employment:  There are nearly 4,000 students working on the UHM campus in a variety of positions, at convenient on-campus locations and with flexible hours.  The Student Employment Office maintains a database of jobs that can meet your needs.

Federal Work Study Program: The Federal Work Study is a financial-aid based program offering employment in career or community service positions in the community and at the university.  It is a form of federal financial aid awarded to students who demonstrate financial need.  Opportunities are available in various UH Mānoa on-campus departments or off-campus in a private non-profit or public agency on the island of O‘ahu, based on availability of funds.

DArch Projects

The University of Hawaiʻi School of Architecture has the only NAAB professionally accredited Doctor of Architecture Program in the country. The program prepares future architects skillful to practice in global settings and reflective as practitioners of their profession. The program, among other unique curricular requirements, has a year-long self-directed, comprehensive Architecture Doctoral Project. These projects incorporate a research component aim to focus the students’ interests and prepare a path to the making of contributions in their future practice and the profession.

The collection of doctoral projects from the UH Mānoa School of Architecture are saved at ScholarSpace at the University of Hawaiʻi, which is an open-access, digital resource for intellectual research and publications. It allows students to discover any project through the author’s name, subject/key terms, and year.  Additionally, each one contains the document for view/download, faculty advisor’s name, and full abstract.

DArch Committee Composition

At least 3 committee members including its CHAIR.

CHAIR
Regular DArch Graduate Faculty

Member
Regular DArch Graduate Faculty OR
Cooperating Graduate Faculty OR
Affiliate Graduate Faculty

Member
Graduate Faculty (University Representative)
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/graduate/select-committee-member/   OR
Professional/Community Expert

Regular Graduate Faculty (RGF)
RGF are SOA Graduate Faculty and are eligible to serve as DArch Committee Chair.

• Mo Zell, AIA, ACSA; Dean
• William Chapman, DPhil, Assoc AIA; Professor, American Studies
• Simon Bussiere, ASLA, AILA; Associate Professor
• Martin Despang, Professor
• Felipe Igualt, Assistant Professor
• Yasushi Ishida, Assistant Professor
• Bundit Kanisthakhon, Associate Professor
• Ho Kyung Lee, AIA; Assistant Professor
• Clark Llewellyn, FAIA; Professor and Director, Global Track
• Laura McGuire, PhD; Associate Professor
• Wendy Meguro, AIA, LEED AP BD+C; Associate Professor
• Kevin Nute, PhD; Professor
• Hyoung-June Park, PhD; Professor and Director, DArch, MArch Program
• Ben Parker, Assistant Professor
• Eric Peterson, PhD; Assistant Professor
• Marc Roehrle, Instructor
• Karla Sierralta, AIA; Associate Professor and Director, Undergraduate Studies
• Judith Stilgenbauer, ASLA; Professor and Director, MLA Program
• Erin Voss, Assistant Professor
• Lance Walters, Associate Professor

Affiliate Graduate Faculty (AGF)
AGF has a specific expertise or background that may contribute to a students’ work, but are not employed by UH.

• Sean Baumes, AIA, LEED GA
• Fiske Crowell, FAIA
• Jason DeMarco, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C; Partner, CFO/COO+Director of Sustainability
• Chris Hong, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
• Kyung Hoon Hyun, PhD, MS in Industrial Design; Assistant Professor
• Kody Kato, DArch
• Karen Lee, AIA
• Geoffrey S. Lewis, AIA
• Purmina McCutcheon, AIA,LEED AP BD+C, CSI
• Dwight Mitsunaga, FAIA, ArchD, NCARB
• Kevin Miyamura, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
• Daniel M. Sandomire, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP
• Linda Schatz, DArch
• Andrew Tang, AIA, SBA; Partner and Design Principal
• Grace Zheng, ASLA; Lecturer
• Hongtao Zhou, PhD, MFA; Professor

Cooperating Graduate Faculty (CGF)
Faculty with a primary appointment outside the SOA, but inside UH, who are eligible to serve on doctoral committees.

• Roger Chen, PhD, MS; Assistant Professor
• Priyam Das, PhD, MLA, BArch; Associate Professor
• Antoinette Konia Freitas, PhD, MA; Special Project Coordinator, Program Chair
• Philip M.D. Garboden, PhD, MSE, MA; Assistant Professor
• Andrew Kaufman, Associate Specialist
• Paul Lavy, PhD, MA; Associate Professor
• Chae Ho Lee, MFA; Associate Professor
• Daniel Harris McCoy, PhD; Associate Professor
• Scott Robertson, PhD, MA; Professor
• Jeffrey Allen Trip, PhD, MA; Instructor

Practicum

Practicum is a hybrid educational studio module combining paid employment in a commercial or non-profit office with unpaid independent research on topics relevant to contemporary practice and the profession. This required studio course in the DArch curriculum—ARCH 747—serves as a bridge between preparatory coursework and the two-semester design dissertation, the capstone of our professional degree program.

In this context, internship provides invaluable experience that strengthens student understanding and awareness of the conditions and requirements for practice; at the same time, it provides a rich laboratory for research and the advancement of architectural knowledge of benefit to both the firm and profession.

Practicum Firms: The Practicum program is a scholarly and research activity integrated into a professional office environment occurring in an off-campus location. Practicum integrates theory, practice, and research in the comprehensive context of paid internship in a professional office environment. We define the term “professional” broadly; it is a goal of this studio to critically engage the ways professional design and building production may be conceived and practiced now and in the future. In addition to technical knowledge, Practicum emphasizes the cultivation of core responsibilities—leadership, professional ethics, critical thinking, and cultural understanding.

Contact

For additional DArch information, please contact:

Hyoung-June Park
Graduate Chair and Director of Graduate Architecture Programs and Professor
hjpark@hawaii.edu

Student Work