Postgraduate research

Postgraduate research

The School of Property, Construction and Project Management offers both PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and Master degrees by research.

The School of Property, Construction and Project Management offers both PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and Master degrees by research.

The School of Property, Construction and Project Management offers both PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and Master degrees by research.

A research degree requires you to formulate your own topic and produce a substantial thesis or project. As a research candidate, you are allocated an academic supervisor who has expertise in the broad area of your topic. The supervisor will be available for regular consultation with you and will be responsible, with you, for ensuring the candidature progresses well.

Research degrees require a high level of commitment and are a form of systematic inquiry into some aspect of property, construction or project management. In the process, you learn research skills while contributing to the knowledge of the discipline in some new and innovative way.

You will normally be expected to submit a traditional written thesis for your degree.

Postgraduate research programs

Research areas and supervisors

Research areas and supervisors

  • Building energy efficiency and environmental performance (Priya Rajagopalan, Rebecca Yang, Tom Simko) 
  • Building information modelling, Virtual reality in construction (Guillermo Aranda-Mena, Alireza Ahankoob, Behzad Abbasnejad, Peter Wong, Ruwini Edirisinghe)
  • Building indoor environmental quality (Mary Myla Andamon, Jin Woo, Priya Rajagopalan, Nigel Goodman) 
  • Blockchain in construction business process and information integration (Rebecca Yang, Ron Wakefield, Sajani Jayasuriya) 
  • Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) products and systems (Rebecca Yang, Ron Wakefield) 
  • Energy vulnerability and housing policy (Nicola Willand, Trivess Moore)
  • Occupational health and safety, work life balance, health and well-being (Helen Lingard, Rita Zhang, David Oswald, Katrin Leifels, Kennedy Osakwe, Ruwini Edirisinghe, Azizur Rahman)
  • Life cycle costing (Sajani Jayasuriya, Pauline Teo, Peter Wong, Eric Too) 
  • Prefabrication, modulation, offsite construction, Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) (Ron Wakefield, Peter Wong, Guillermo Aranda-Mena) 
  • Public Private Partnerships, stakeholder management, construction procurement, Organisational change management, Construction dispute resolution, construction contract administration (Pauline Teo, Peter Wong, Eric Too, Sajani Jayasuriya) 
  • Sustainability education, policy and regulation (Sarah Holdsworth, Trivess Moore)
  • Urban Microclimate, urban heat island, urban greenery (Priya Rajagopalan, Mary Myla Andamon)
  • Women in construction (Sarah Holdsworth, Rita Zhang, Mary Myla Andamon, Nicola Willand, Ruwini Edirisinghe) 

Research areas and supervisors

  • Airport Development and Management (Judith Callanan)
  • Asset Management (Callum Logan, Judith Callanan)
  • Corporate Real Estate (Callum Logan)
  • Commercial property markets and its related issues (Dulani Halvitigala, Rebecca Leshinsky, Judith Callanan, Callum Logan, Dulani Halvitigala, Kwabena Mintah, Peng Wong, Wejendra Reddy, John Garimort)
  • Housing research including Housing affordability, Social and public housing (Andrea Sharam, Kwabena Mintah, Wejendra Reddy, Callum Logan, Rebecca Leshinsky, Dulani Halvitigala, Judith Callanan, Karien Dekker)
  • Measurement and Performance of Real Estate (Wejendra Reddy, Peng Wong, Woon-weng Wong, Kwabena Mintah, John Garimort, Callum Logan
  • Property law and urban planning (Rebecca Leshinsky)
  • PropTech and Blockchain, Advanced technology and their impact on the built environment (John Garimort, Dulani Halvitigala, Rebecca Leshinsky, Judith Callanan)
  • Real estate markets in emerging economies (Neville Hurst, Karien Dekker)
  • Strata and Owners Corp Disaster management (Dulani Halvitigala, Rebecca Leshinsky, Judith Callanan)
  • Sustainability in commercial and residential markets (Neville Hurst, Callum Logan, Dulani Halvitigala, Kwabena Mintah, Peng Wong, Wejendra Reddy)
  • Valuation Issues – Property, Infrastructure, Private Equity (John Garimort, Dulani Halvitigala, Rebecca Leshinsky, Judith Callanan)

Research areas and supervisors

  • Collaborative integrated project delivery, Knowledge Management and Information Communication Technologies in Construction, Project Management and AI (Tayyab Maqsood, Derek Walker, Omid Haass)
  • Disaster Management, Post-disaster Recovery and Reconstruction, Infrastructure Resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction (Bambang Trigunarsyah)
  • Early Contractor Involvement, Alliancing contracts, relational contracting, collaborative procurement methods, partnering (Farshid Rahmani)
  • Health and well-being, resilience, diversity Work-related stress (Michelle Turner, Christina Scott-Young, Katrin Leifels)
  • Human element in project management, Person environment fit of competent project managers (Ken Farnes)
  • Organisational psychology in the project context, measuring volunteer commitments to a project (Guinevere Gilbert)
  • Production planning in construction, Project scheduling, Offsite manufacturing (Ehsan Gharaie)
  • Transportation infrastructure engineering and management, modular construction and fabrication, composite materials in construction, structural analysis (Koorosh Gharehbaghi)
  • Work related stress (Peter Edwards)

2022 project guides

Before applying for a postgraduate research degree, you must select a project from the guides listed below.

How to apply

Please review how to apply and submit the following documents at the time of applying in order to avoid any delays:

  • Research proposal
  • Academic Transcripts (undergraduate and postgraduate)
  • A detailed CV
  • Academic IELTS (mandatory for international students)
  • Any publications
  • Citizenship and location information
  • Academic references
  • Evidence of supervision agreement - if you have discussed your application/research proposal with an academic from our school prior to your application, please include their details where appropriate.

Eligibility Criteria

  • General entry requirements for local students applying for RMIT research programs can be found on the Research programs page.
  • Special requirements for international students (or applicants with qualifications from a country where English is not the first language) can be found on the English language proficiency tests page.
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RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information