PhD in Architectural Design: a five-point Algorithm or why a Computer Scientist must Produce a Program and an Architect not a Design?

The paper wished to give a brief overview of the development of the PhD program in architecture at Sapienza University of Rome, followed by a presentation of the structure of the program of study and the main areas of research. In the last part of the paper, aspects of PhD research and the design are explained, and five assessment criteria are proposed. The perspectives of doctoral research in architecture are implied through closer interrelation with design. In this final section, this paper wants to provide information and the main criteria for PhD dissertations that focus on Architectural Design and Theory. To this goal, the paper presents five assessment criteria for two cases. One according to which the dissertation has, at its center, a new design and another case according to which design is strictly related to pertinent research. More specifically: Five point assessments for a Dissertation based on «Design is research». 1. Effectiveness of results, 2. External interests for res