The Master of Architecture is an NAAB-accredited pr

Location:

Arlington, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

Architecture

Program Overview

Program Description:

The design disciplines - Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture - teach us to understand and to shape the space we live in: rooms, buildings, gardens, cities. These disciplines are old, among the first activities of civilization itself. They are also new, requiring advanced knowledge and skills to serve contemporary culture. The design disciplines operate at many levels of thought and concern. On one hand they are very practical, dealing with a host of concrete realities; on the other they are highly conceptual, having to do with meaning and society's highest aspirations.

The purpose of the School's undergraduate curriculum is to pursue professional studies within the context of a liberal education. This goal is a natural one for the design disciplines, drawn as they are from the arts, the sciences, and the humanities.

The School of Architecture offers programs leading to the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Science in Architecture
• Bachelor of Science in Interior Design
• Master of Architecture
• Master of Landscape Architecture

The four-year Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree is a pre-professional degree. It provides the basis for various career possibilities, including the professional degree of Master of Architecture or the Master of Landscape Architecture; these advanced degrees are normally awarded after two years of graduate study (refer to the graduate catalog for details). The four-year Bachelor of Science in Interior Design degree is an accredited professional degree.

The baccalaureate degree programs combine a core liberal arts curriculum with a structured sequence of courses in architecture and design. A large number of electives allows the student the flexibility to pursue special interests in the school and in the University.

All baccalaureate degree programs consist of two two-year segments: Basic Studies and Major Studies. The first two years (Basic Studies) is a foundation curriculum taken by all undergraduates at that level in the school. In addition to work in the arts and sciences, Basic Studies includes a series of lecture and studio courses which introduce the student to the concepts, history, skills, and vocabulary of design.

In the third and fourth years (Major Studies), the student concentrates in one of the design disciplines, taking courses and studios of a more advanced and professional nature. Those pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree follow the architecture sequence. Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design take the professional courses required by that program.

The School of Architecture will assist each student in selecting the path most appropriate to his or her interests and abilities. Academic advising is provided for all students in the school.

Bachelor of Science in Architecture: A four-year program of studies comprising, with a later two-year graduate program, the six-year Master of Architecture curriculum. This sequence, called the 4 + 2 model, has been adopted by many major universities as the most effective way of combining liberal education with professional education. (See the Graduate Catalog for the Master of Architecture program, which is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.) The four-year undergraduate degree is not an accredited professional degree; the Master of Architecture is fully accredited. Below is the language from the National Architectural Accrediting Board explaining accreditation policy:

"In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. A program may be granted a five-year, three-year or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.

Master's degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree."

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges