PhD of Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management

The PhD of Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management (PhD-AECM) Program is jointly offered by the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. 

The PhD-AECM degree program is intended for practitioners, researchers and educators in engineering, architecture, construction management fields, and other professionals in the building industry who wish to be pioneers and advanced leaders in management technologies and their application to the built environment. The nominal length of the program is five years. Advanced standing during the admissions process can alter the expected time period.

Please feel free to contact Track Chair Joshua Lee with questions about the PhD-AECM program.

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The first two years are intended for the tooling up of candidates to undertake research in an academic setting and their intended areas of research, by taking classes, participating in research projects, selecting their advisory committee members, completing their “game plan” and taking the qualifier exam. This exam is administered by the candidate’s advisory committee and has two parts: written and oral. Candidates take courses tailored to their direction of research and background knowledge, as determined through conversations with their principal advisor. See the curriculum below for a checklist of subjects to be covered. For additional and up-to-date information on these and other course offerings (course descriptions, schedules, instructors, etc.) please visit the University’s Schedule of Classes (SOC) webpage.

The third year of the PhD program is devoted to the development of the PhD dissertation proposal based on the work completed in the first two years. In the fourth year, the proposal is publicly defended and work on the dissertation commences. In the fifth year, the dissertation work is completed and publicly defended. Approvals of these milestones are judged by the candidate’s advisory committee and approved by the Carnegie Mellon Architecture Graduate Committee.

For details and regulations about the Game Plan, Qualification, Proposal and Dissertation processes, as well as additional details and regulations, please see the PhD Student Handbook.

The PhD-AECM curriculum is customized based on the experience and needs of individual students. Please contact Track Chair Joshua Lee with questions about the PhD curriculum.

View the PhD-AECM Curriculum

PhD-AECM Curriculum 2021 & Earlier

PhD-AECM Dissertation Topics

Current Students

Nester, Yael (Expected December 2026). Mass Customization of Affordable Modular Housing through AI-enabled design and manufacturing. Committee: Pingbo Tang (Chair), Joshua Lee.

Ken-Opurum, Waku. (Expected May 2026). Using AI to facilitate health care in the global south.

Murray, Joseph (Expected May 2026). Developing a Continuum of Knowledge Transfer: Architectural User Interfaces in Adaptable Buildings. Committee: Joshua Lee (Chair).

Afshar Bakeshloo, Tannaz (Expected December 2025). The Stakeholder Experience of Deconstructing Condemned Buildings in Pittsburgh. Committee: Joshua Lee (Chair).

Pathak, Nihar. (Expected May 2025). Lifecycle Analysis of Emergent Bio-based Materials for Hospitality Environments. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen (Co-Chair), Joshua Lee (Co-Chair).

Priyadarshini, Shalini. (Expected May 2024). Health, Safety and Comfort of On-site Workers in Construction. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen (Chair), Burcu Akinci, John Mendeloff, Shailendra Singh.

Saadatifar, Sanaz. (Expected May 2024). Occupant-Centric Digital-Twin: An interactive real-time display, influencing human perception factor in thermal satisfaction decisions. Committee: Azadeh O. Sawyer (Chair), Daragh Byrne, Pingbo Tang.

Varma, Kushagra. (Expected May 2024). A 4-D interactive online tool to visualize urban building environmental assessment with an integrated retrofit recommendation generator. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen (Chair), Kristen Kurland, Peter Scupelli, Ellyn A. Lester.

Completed Dissertations

Swarup, Lipika. (2023). Combined Affects of Project Priority and Efficiency Factors on Project Outcomes in a Group of Multiple Projects. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen (Chair), Matthew Mehalik, Peerasit Patanakul, Sinem Mollaoglu.

Ken-Opurum, Bobuchi. (2022). Re-HOUSED Decision Support Toolkit: Promoting Flood and Heat Stress Resilience in Self-build Housing - A Coastal Nigeria Case Study. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen (Chair), Joshua Lee, Jared Cohon.

Muñoz Muñoz, Alejandra. (2021). A Tool for Sustainable Residential Water Management. Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti (Chair), Ömer Akin, David Dzombak, Jared Cohon.

Ben-Alon, Rachel "Lola". (2020). Natural Buildings: Integrating Earthen Building Materials and Methods Into Mainstream Construction. Committee: Vivian Loftness (Chair), Kent Harries, Erica Cochran Hameen.

Eldaher, Nizar. (2019). Green Storm-water Infrastructure Strategy Generation and Assessment Tool For Site Scale and Urban Planning. Committee: Erica Cochran Hameen, Jared Cohon, Chris T. Hendrickson, Ömer Akin.

Awomolo, Olaitan. (2017). Exploring Communication in Multidisciplinary Building Design Teams. Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti, Ömer Akin, Molly Wright Steenson, Erica Cochran Hameen.

Biswas, Tajin N. A. (2015). Towards a Framework for Supporting Sustainable Building Design: A case study of two credits over evolving rating standards. Committee: Ramesh Krishnamurti, Burcu Akinci, Cliff Davidson.

Bello, Mustapha A. (2012). Minimizing Impediments to Design for Construction Safety (DFCS) Implementation on Capital Projects. Committee: Ömer Akin, Burcu Akinci, Chimay Anumba.