Architecture B.S.
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College of Design (TALA)
201 - Bachelor of Science
Program description
The Bachelor of Science (with a major in architecture) is a pre-professional architecture degree program that offers studio-based design education and a rigorous program of history and theory and building technology courses. The program exposes students to the formal, socio-cultural, material, environmental, and historical factors that shape built environments. The BS program fosters a sense of stewardship for local and global built environments by providing opportunities for students to engage with College of Design faculty and research centers, and to study abroad. Design education in the BS program is structured around six sequential semester-long design studios. Each studio is a focused study in one of architecture's core areas:
1. Material assemblies
2. Site and context
3. Program and typology
4. Advanced design
5. Metropolitan design
6. Design as research
Through hands-on making and complementary courses, students demonstrate how these core areas affect formal, spatial, and experiential qualities of architectural space.
BS students develop visual literacy through design thinking and the development of design processes in design studios by engaging spatial representation in drawing courses, by researching historical precedents and theoretical texts in history and theory seminars, and by exploring concepts of sustainability and resilience in technology courses. Students are eligible to apply to the 2-year BS degree program from within the College of Design after completing all required first-year courses.
Admissions to the BS program is competitive, with a portfolio, transcripts, and an essay included in the application process. Students in the BS will take six required 6-credit design studios, a sequence of history/theory and building technology courses, and 9 credits of upper-level architecture electives. Graduates of the BS are well prepared to apply to the second year of the School of Architecture's master's of architecture graduate program; other paths include the professional master’s of landscape architecture, the dual master’s of urban planning, and the master's of science degree programs in sustainability, heritage preservation and conservation, and metropolitan design; as well as other graduate degree programs at peer institutions, per their admissions requirements.
1. Material assemblies
2. Site and context
3. Program and typology
4. Advanced design
5. Metropolitan design
6. Design as research
Through hands-on making and complementary courses, students demonstrate how these core areas affect formal, spatial, and experiential qualities of architectural space.
BS students develop visual literacy through design thinking and the development of design processes in design studios by engaging spatial representation in drawing courses, by researching historical precedents and theoretical texts in history and theory seminars, and by exploring concepts of sustainability and resilience in technology courses. Students are eligible to apply to the 2-year BS degree program from within the College of Design after completing all required first-year courses.
Admissions to the BS program is competitive, with a portfolio, transcripts, and an essay included in the application process. Students in the BS will take six required 6-credit design studios, a sequence of history/theory and building technology courses, and 9 credits of upper-level architecture electives. Graduates of the BS are well prepared to apply to the second year of the School of Architecture's master's of architecture graduate program; other paths include the professional master’s of landscape architecture, the dual master’s of urban planning, and the master's of science degree programs in sustainability, heritage preservation and conservation, and metropolitan design; as well as other graduate degree programs at peer institutions, per their admissions requirements.
Program last updated
Fall 2024