first professional M.Arch.
Degree Requirements
Master of Architecture (first professional). For students entering with degrees other than professional degrees in architecture, the Master of Architecture is an accredited first professional degree, with accelerated graduate professional courses designed to prepare the student for advanced work in architecture; the coursework is prescribed on the basis of the student's previous college work as shown in transcripts, portfolio, statement of intent, and references. Before progressing into advanced architectural design, first professional degree candidates must demonstrate a certain proficiency in design and communication skills through a qualifying review conducted by the faculty. Students entering without a background in architecture normally complete the first professional degree program in approximately three and one-half years of study in residence; the academic records of students holding pre-professional degrees in architectural studies are individually evaluated for course credit toward the first professional degree requirements.
Students may earn a Certificate of Specialization in Historic Preservation, Urban Design, or Sustainable Design by completing the relevant sequence of courses.
Program Director
Sample Course Sequence
Due to the tremendous variety of backgrounds from which the first professional degree is approached, it is usual that individual program requirements vary substantially. The ultimate content and sequence of coursework will be decided in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator and Graduate Advisor following recommendations of the Admissions Committee.
- Design Sequence
- Media Sequence
- Theory Sequence
- History Sequence
- Technology & Practice Sequence
- Sample Curriculum
DESIGN SEQUENCE
First Professional M.Arch. degree candidates are required to complete or receive credit for a minimum of seven semesters in the architectural design sequence. It is assumed that each student entering the design sequence has satisfactorily completed a college sequence in physics and mathematics so that concurrent enrollment in such courses does not conflict with design courses. While progress in the design sequence is not entirely contingent upon progress in related coursework, the general parallels set out in the sample course sequence which follows should serve as a general model and reference.
ARC 394
Architectural Design
The first four design studios are taught together in "vertical
studio" format, combining students of differing degrees of design
and drawing experience. Problems are set in order to maximize opportunities
for learning, skill acquisition, and idea dissemination at all levels,
from beginning to intermediate. Students thus progress at their own rate.
There are typically four or five sections of this course, each with its own
instructor. Topics are coordinated in content and timing and cover essential
concerns and techniques of architectural design.
ARC 696
Advanced Architectural Design
After passing the mid-program portfolio review, or according
to the discretion of the Admissions Committee, permission is granted to
register for studios in the advanced design sequence. Topics vary with
instructor and are aimed at deeper and broader investigations of the design
of buildings, interiors, sites, and environmental interventions.
ARC 695
Architectural Design V
A "special case" within the advanced design studio
sequence, this studio taken in conjunction with Technical Communications
ARC 381T concentrates on the detailed design and documentation of a modestly
scaled building project. This studio offers a special opportunity for
the refinement of computer skills and is currently being offered in the
AutoCAD environment.
MEDIA SEQUENCE
Candidates must complete or receive credit for four semesters of media courses as follows.
ARC 381R
Architectural Drawing
An introductory drawing course directed to incoming students
with little or no graphics background. When ability to waive this course
is demonstrated, a major elective will be substituted in its place.
ARC 393
Visual Communications
These two courses are taken concurrently with ARC 394,
respectively, and simply acknowledge the relative significance of matters
of technique development in the first vertical studios.
ARC 381R
Advanced Visual Communications
Advanced media techniques. Offerings vary but have included freehand
drawing, modeling, photography, computer graphics, photogrammetry, and
measured drawings. May be substituted with approved courses in the College
of Fine Arts or the College of Communications.
ARC 381T
Technical Communications
Taken concurrently with ARC 696, this course is aimed at developing
drawing, drafting, and organizational skills required to produce design
development documents. Participation in the course requires CAD familiarity—a
self-paced introductory class is offered by the Computer Laboratory. Where
students can demonstrate thorough past experience with the computer, an
alternative version may be offered.
THEORY SEQUENCE
Candidates must complete two survey courses and an advanced elective in Architectural Theory.
ARC 386K
Theory Survey I
A survey and discussion of selected works in philosophy having
clear import for architecture—from notions of space and place, to
views on rationality and design, systems of aesthetics, and ethics. Emphasis
is placed upon both content and technique of presentation.
ARC 386L
Theory Survey II
A survey and discussion of selected works by major architectural
theoreticians, from Vitruvius and Palladio, through Blondel and Durand,
to Le Corbusier, Wright, Venturi, and Eisenmann. Emphasis on issues of
timeliness/timelessness, as well as on the nature of "theory"
in architecture as such.
ARC 386M
Advanced Theory Topics
Recent and current theories and ideologies of architecture and
urban design typically presented in seminar format. As with the advanced
history elective, the possibility exists to undertake related coursework
in other departments of the University. Recent offerings include: Architecture
and Contemporary Sculpture, Design Process, Economy/Value/Quality of Life,
Landscape and Culture, Local Economic Development, Morphologies, Pictural
Space, Qualitive Research Methods, Role of the Client, Theory of Value,
Urban Economic Development, Planning, Twentieth-Century Housing, Gentle
Architecture: Environmental Alternative, Housing America, Theory of Town
Planning, and other advanced electives offered as a required part of the
specific programs.
HISTORY SEQUENCE
Architectural History is a special strength of the School. First Professional degree candidates must complete or receive credit for three semesters of architecture history survey (387F/G/H), plus two additional semesters of advanced architecture history, selected from ARC 388R offerings.ARC 387F/G/H
World Architecture
The three surveys offer a global perspective of the history of
architecture from prehistory through the twentieth century. Graduate sections
stress methodology and historiography, issues of theory and practice,
and comparative themes such as systems of structure and ornament. Surveys
I and II consider the origins of architecture and topics on world architecture
through the nineteenth century. Survey III concludes the sequence with
a history of architecture in the twentieth century.
ARC 388R
Advanced History Topics
Offered in both lecture and seminar formats, these elective topics
will vary according to the preoccupations of students or faculty research
interests. Apart from courses in the School of Architecture, electives
in art history or related fields may be substituted when approved by the
Graduate advisor. Recent offerings include: Anglo-American Tradition in
Architecture, Art Deco Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright: Work and Ideas,
Russian Avant-Garde Architecture, Architecture in the Age of Baroque,
Architecture of French Enlightenment, Architecture of Mexico, Central
European Architecture, Asian Architecture, Twentieth-Century Interiors,
and Campus Architecture and Planning.
TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE SEQUENCE
First professional degree candidates must complete or receive credit for four semesters in construction, two semesters in environmental controls, one in site design and two in professional practice and principles of planning.ARC 385K
Construction I
An introductory survey of materials and methods of construction
systems and an introduction to structural systems in architecture generally.
This course includes a lab component which will include various visits
to building sites, manufacturing plants, or other locations.
ARC 385L
Construction II
An introduction to statics and strengths of materials, structural
forces, and principles of equilibrium as they pertain to the particular
interests of the architect. The course includes computer laboratory work.
ARC 385M
Construction III
An introduction to the philosophical and technical issues of
system selection. This is an applied statics course that deals quantitatively
with lateral loads, connections, and advanced structural systems.
ARC 385N
Construction IV
An applied statics course that deals with the design of elements
and envelopes including steel, concrete, masonry and timber structural
systems.
ARC 384K/L
Environmental Control I & II
Survey of climatology, solar energy, air-conditioning, lighting,
electrical circuitry, heating, water and plumbing, fire protection, vertical
transportation, acoustics, and ventilating with a special concern for
the fundamental physical properties of building elements and organization
and the deployment of natural and passive control systems.
ARC 383S
Site Design
Fundamentals of building and landscape relationships.
ARC 383T
Site, Landscape, and Urban Studies
Topics in the history, design, and preservation of building sites,
landscapes, and rural and urban communities.
ARC 382
Professional Practice
A structured study of ethical, legal, economic, and administrative
processes and responsibilities of the practitioner in architecture and
allied fields. Topics may include preservation law, community development,
participatory design, and other aspects of organizations; methods and
roles in design, planning, and preservation of the built environment.
CRP 383
Principles of Planning
A broad introduction to physical and social planning, urban design,
and planning history with particular emphasis upon the interface between
planning and architectural professions.
Elective Courses
A wide range of electives may be taken from course offerings
in the School of Architecture and in other divisions of the University
with the consent of the appropriate instructor and the Graduate advisor.
A certain number of upper-division undergraduate courses may be taken
within the guidelines of the Graduate Catalog. In addition, a course may
sometimes be independently arranged with a member of the graduate faculty;
such courses in architecture are assigned a number ending in "89"
as follows.
ARC 389/ARC 689
Research in Architecture
Independent research in an architectural topic of student’s
choice within the range of expertise of the faculty. Independent work
may include design research and may on occasion substitute for full studio
credit.
Sample Curriculum
| First Year Fall Semester | |
| Vertical Studio | |
| ARC 394 Design | 3 |
| ARC 393 Visual Communications | 3 |
| ARC 381R Architectural Drawing | 3 |
| ARC 385K Construction I | 3 |
| ARC 386K Theory Survey I | 3 |
| First Year Spring Semester | |
| Vertical Studio | |
| ARC 394 Design | 3 |
| ARC 393 Visual Communications | 3 |
| ARC 385L Construction II | 3 |
| ARC 386L Theory Survey II | 3 |
| ARC 387F History Survey I | 3 |
| Second Year Fall Semester | |
| Vertical Studio | |
| ARC 394 Design | 6 |
| ARC 387G History Survey II | 3 |
| ARC 384K Environmental Control | 3 |
| ARC 385M Construction III | 3 |
| Second Year Spring Semester | |
| Vertical Studio | |
| ARC 394 Design | 6 |
| ARC 387H History Survey III | 3 |
| ARC 383S Site Design | 3 |
| ARC 384L Environmental Control | 3 |
| Third Year Fall Semester | |
| ARC 696 Architectural Design VI | 6 |
| ARC 381R Advanced Visual Studies | 3 |
| ARC 388R Advanced History (elective) | 3 |
| ARC 386M Advanced Theory (elective) | 3 |
| Third Year Spring Semester | |
| ARC 695 Architectural Design V | 6 |
| ARC 381T Technical Communication | 3 |
| CRP 383 Planning Elective (minor elective) | 3 |
| ARC 385N Construction IV | 3 |
| Fourth Fall Semester | |
| ARC 696 Architectural Design VII | 6 |
| ARC 382 Professional Practice* | 3 |
| ARC 388R Advanced History (elective) | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 |
| Summer Sessions | |
| Major Elective | 3 |
| Minor Elective | 3 |
| Total | 111 |
Please note that various required courses may be offered in the summer session and so allow for direct substitution with the electives noted here.