Architecture B.S.
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/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, to enroll in service learning courses, and to study abroad. Design education in the BS program is structured around five sequential semester-long design studios. Each studio is a focused study in one of architecture's core areas: 1. material assemblies, 2. site and the designed environment, 3. program and typology, 4. metropolitan design, and 5. advanced design. 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 and computational courses, by researching historical precedents and theoretical texts in history and theory seminars, and by exploring concepts of sustainability and resilience in technology courses. The BS program fosters a sense of stewardship of local and global built environments by providing opportunities for students to engage with College of Design faculty and research centers, to engage in design-build activities, to enroll in service learning courses, and to study abroad.
Students are eligible to apply to the BS degree program from within the College of Design after completing all required first-year courses. Admission is competitive, with a portfolio, transcripts, and an essay included in the application process. Students in the BS will take five 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; 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.
BS students develop visual literacy through design thinking and the development of design processes in design studios by engaging spatial representation in drawing and computational courses, by researching historical precedents and theoretical texts in history and theory seminars, and by exploring concepts of sustainability and resilience in technology courses. The BS program fosters a sense of stewardship of local and global built environments by providing opportunities for students to engage with College of Design faculty and research centers, to engage in design-build activities, to enroll in service learning courses, and to study abroad.
Students are eligible to apply to the BS degree program from within the College of Design after completing all required first-year courses. Admission is competitive, with a portfolio, transcripts, and an essay included in the application process. Students in the BS will take five 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; 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.