Architecture M.Arch.

Architecture encompasses the making and study of the buildings and environments that we inhabit. The concerns of architecture involve a wide variety of areas of study, including the art of representing built projects through drawings and computer graphics; the technology of building structure, building materials, and natural and mechanical systems; the history, theory, and art of making, using, and understanding buildings as cultural artifacts for human use; and the practice of architecture in the context of sustainable environmental systems, urban form, and business economics.

The master's of architecture degree is the accredited three-year professional program that prepares students for licensure and practice in the discipline of architecture as a speculative, analytic, and investigative endeavor. Through rigorous methods of inquiry developed in the design studio, lectures, and seminars students acquire the breadth of knowledge required of the professional architect, including: the techniques and processes of representation, communication, and analysis; the history and theory of making architecture and urban form for human use; and the technology, systems, processes, and economics of construction and practice. The 90-credit M.Arch. professional degree program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). A portfolio for admission is required.

The M.Arch. program is designed to provide rigorous training in the areas of materials and media literacy, stewardship of the built and natural environment, and systemic, urban-scale thinking. M.Arch. students take required coursework in the areas of design studio, building technology, building structures (statics), structural engineering systems (applications), environmental systems, advanced building technology/integrated building systems, technical applications in design, architectural history, design theory, and catalyst workshops. The required curriculum includes integrated design/technology coursework such as the second year graduate design studio and building structures; a net-positive design studio with a focus on daylighting, solar design, and energy conservation in buildings; an advanced studio focused on urban and landscape systems; a two-part global and cultural history sequence; and a Master's Final Project developed independently by the student. Computer tools and applications as well as analog modes of critical representation are incorporated into the design studio sequence.