Architecture Master’s program at Princeton University

Architecture is understood as a cultural practice involving both speculative intelligence and practical know-how.

The five-year doctoral program focuses on the history, theory, and criticism of architecture, urbanism, landscape, and building technology. The approach is interdisciplinary, covering a broad range of research interests from an architectural perspective.

In 2014, the School of Architecture launched a new computation and energy Ph.D. track. The new track focuses on developing and researching new techniques of embodied computation and new systems for energy and environmental performance. It is supported by connections to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Computer Science and the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment. With the addition of new courses and curricula for the computation and energy track, and with the acquisition of industrial robotic arms and the renovation of the Embodied Computation Laboratory (also known as the Architectural Laboratory), students will actively contribute to hands-on applied research in architecture while becoming experts in their field.

At least three samples of written work, no page limit, but maximum size 10 MB each. Please compress the file. In the statement of academic purpose, candidates must describe professional and academic experience and its relevance to future plans for research and teaching. Applicants are required to select an academic subplan when applying.

Design portfolio, bound into a brochure no larger than 8 1 2 by 11 inches (overall size when closed). There is a 5GB size limit for the digital portfolio. The first page of the portfolio should include a brief statement (less than 500 words) explaining why the student specifically wants to attend Princeton University to earn a professional degree. Portfolios of admitted applicants will be retained.

Portfolios must be postmarked by January 3 and received by January 11. Please note: If you are tracking the delivery of your package, Graduate Admission will be closed December 23 January 2. Normal hours will resume on Wednesday, January 3.

Please avoid special packaging as this delays the processing of your materials and does not increase your opportunity for admission. Be sure to include your full name, date of birth, and department on all materials sent.

Princeton University Graduate Admission ATTN: Portfolios One Clio Hall Princeton, NJ 08544.

The interdisciplinary nature of the doctoral (Ph.D.) program stresses the relationship of architecture, urbanism, landscape, and building technologies to their cultural, social, and political milieu. Supported by strong affiliations with other departments in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, the program has developed a comprehensive approach to the study of the field. Students interact with their peers to sustain their individual projects in a context of collective research.

Previous experience, specialized interests, and progress through the program. For the first two years, each student engages in course work and independent study and is required to take a minimum of four classes each term, including required language and independent reading courses, for a total of 16 courses.

In the first year of residence, a required two-term proseminar introduces students to historical research and methodological approaches and guides the development of individual research proposals. The minimum number of courses are reduced by one when a student serves as an assistant-in-instruction (AI). This does not reduce the number of required papers the AI assignment replaces an audited course.

During the first year of residence, a two-term proseminar introduces students to the process of developing prototype-based research, the literature review process, and methods for innovative scientific hypothesis generation and analysis. It also guides the development of individual research proposals. The course load consists of a total of sixteen courses, nine of which have to be taken for credit, including two required proseminar courses during the first two years of study. Extending the reach of previous coursework, four research projects have to be developed, documented in paper format, and submitted as a package for the general examination once coursework is completed. The coursework must have an interdisciplinary focus that supports the student in developing expertise in an area of research as an extension of the architectural core that serves as the basis for developing a dissertation proposal.

A student must satisfy the program requirement of a reading knowledge of two foreign languages before the end of the second year in residence. An examination of comprehension is administered by the appropriate language department.

Each year in mid-May, doctoral students are expected to present a progress report for review with the Ph.D. Program Committee. The purpose of these oral reviews is to give feedback to the student and to keep all members of the Ph.D. Committee informed the work of all students. The report should also note conferences attended, lectures given, teaching and or research assistantships. Second-year reports incorporate a prospectus on the materials to be included in the general examination dossier.

The general examination is normally taken upon completion of two years of course work (preferably in the fall of the third year in residence).

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is typically an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy and is earned after a student successfully completes the general examination. It may also be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program after successfully completing the general exam.

Teaching experience is considered to be a significant part of graduate education. The School recommends that Ph.D. candidates serve as Assistants-in-instruction (AI) for at least one term.

The culmination of the program is the defense of the finished dissertation at the final public oral (FPO) examination, which includes the thesis adviser, a second reader from the Ph.D. Committee, and a third internal or external reader.

Degree is available to those who hold the degree of Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) or its equivalent from an international institution. These are students who have successfully completed a professional program in architecture and have fulfilled the educational requirements for professional licensing in the state or country in which the degree was granted. Students typically complete this program in two years. The post-professional degree is not accredited by the NAAB.

Students in the professional M.Arch. program must take a minimum of 25 courses, typically four per term, including one design studio each term and the independent design thesis in the final term. The studio sequence, required building technology and professional practice courses, and courses in history and theory of architecture and urbanism constitute a core knowledge of the discipline.

Students granted advanced standing are usually required to take a minimum of 16 courses within the distributional requirements of the three-year program, including one design studio each term and the independent design thesis in the final term.

Students are required to complete a minimum of 14 courses.

The thesis at Princeton is understood to be the culmination of the Master of Architecture curriculum. As such, it is the moment when the student contributes to, and advances, the discipline. Students participate in a thesis workshop during their penultimate semester. The thesis design project, conducted as independent work during the final semester, then tests this approach in a project whose underpinnings are pointed toward the synthesis of intellectual and design objectives. The thesis concludes with a public final review, where the project is evaluated both on its own terms and within the broader field of contemporary architectural discourse.

Students in the Architecture program are strongly encouraged to own a Windows or Mac computer during their tenure. The School of Architecture does provide 10 high-end Dell desktops in the computer lab with a full suite of software. Recommendations for personal computer purchases include a minimum 512 SSD hard drive, 16GB RAM, decent graphics card and processor. Computers should have the most updated operating systems with virus software installed. Most software provided by the School of Architecture is via network distribution and is Windows based. In addition, students are required to pay an annual $350 lab fee for access to the computers, plotters, printer, scanners and networked software.

Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.

A two-semester sequence in which fundamental design skills are taught in the context of the architect¿s wider responsibilities to society, culture and the environment. Students acquire a command of the techniques of design and representation through a series of specific architectural problems of increasing complexity. Both semesters required for three-year M.Arch.

Integrated design studios approach architecture from a synthetic perspective. Projects are developed to a high level of detail. At least one course is required for professional M.Arch. Fall, Spring.

Explores architecture as a social art and the special organization of the human environment. Projects include a broad range of problem types, including individual buildings, groups of buildings, urban districts, and landscapes.

Explores architecture as a seocial art and the spatial organization of teh human environment. Projects include a broad range of problem types, including individual buildings, groups of buildings, urban districts, and landscapes.

An independent design project on a theme selected by the student. The thesis project is an opportunity for each student to define an individual position with regard to a specific aspect of architectural practice. As an integral part of the design process, it is intended that the thesis project will incorporate research, programming and site definition. One course is required for all M.Arch. Completion of pre-thesis workshops is required for entry into Thesis Studio. Fall, Spring.

The Master of Architecture Thesis is an independent design project on a theme selected by the student. The student begins with a thesis statement outlining an area of study or a problem that has consequences for contemporary architectural production. Marking the transition between the academic and professional worlds, the thesis project is an opportunity for each student to define an individual position with regard to a specific aspect of architectural practice. As an integral part of the design process, it is intended that the thesis project incorporate research, programming and site definition.

The Master of Architecture Thesis is an independent design project on a theme selected by the student. The student begins with a thesis statement outlining an area of study or a problem that has consequences for contemporary architectural production. Marking the transition between the academic and professional worlds, the thesis project is an opportunity for each student to define an individual position with regard to a specific aspect of architectural practice. As an integral part of the design process, it is intended that the thesis project will incorporate research, programming and site definition.

An introduction to building systems and the methods of construction used to realize design in built form. Focus of the first half of the course is on primary systems, materials and principles used in construction of buildings and the fabrication of elements. Focus then shifts to examining how information is communicated from designers to fabricators, and current standards that exist in the practice of architecture and its relation to changes in methods of fabrication and project delivery. Lectures and laboratory sessions.

A study of the needs and means of environmental control in buildings and urban developments, including environmental control systems and equipment in relation to structural and other components of construction. Either course may be offered either term.

Seminar examines the relation of construction, structure and building services to the production of meaning through a series of case studies of buildings and bridges and as well as general surveys of the work of specific engineers and architects.

This course builds a discourse encompassing the many aspects of building function to try to rediscover the best role of the architect. We attempt to discover what level of functional system knowledge is appropriate for the architect today. A palette of potentially complex topics are provided to explore building function, but to avoid the seminar becoming overly technical, it is grounded in the basic elements of function that one might imagine: Aristotle Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Air: space and comfort Fire: energy and operation Earth: materials and construction Water: flow and systems.

Leveraging a comparative methodology, this course explores the history and theory of architecture by examining various topics form and architectural tradition theory and practice Italian and American architecture modern architecture and contemporary art the interplay between cinema and architecture color and modernist ideology by considering intersections, mutual receptions, tensions, analogies and exchanges. While new paths of inquiry and research are strongly encouraged, this seminar aims to provide a strong historiographical foundation and experience working with a comparative approach.

This course examines the relationship between two forms of mapping the city: cinematic representations of urban space and architectural representations of urban form. It questions how shifts in urban form and plans for development or reconstruction give rise to cinematic representations. Required viewing of films every week in addition to required readings. Project on the general theme of mapping the city through cinema utilizing materials from films, urban texts, and readings.

Thesis Seminar prepares students to formulate a rigorous design hypothesis based on a critical position rooted in original research that outlines a path toward a compelling architectural project. Each year a different theme serves both as a point of connection to issues of general concern to the practice and discipline of architecture and also as a launchpad for independent student work. Students develop research and design protocols that link knowledge to creative output. Class sessions are devoted to discussions of readings, workshops and student presentations, dialog with invited speakers and preliminary design development.

A series of exercises guide students to identify the primary questions that currently structure the discipline and extra-disciplinary concerns which architecture must engaged today. Analyses of these issues are linked to contemporary architectural production. Each week students present from the format list. The focus in the formats and their connections substitute buildings analysis or close readings of texts as isolated arguments, and should help discern the diversity of threads they open. Our goal is to describe value systems and discursive paths used not only to evaluate but also reconstitute architectural practice.

A series of exercises guide students to identify the primary questions that currently structure the discipline and those extra-disciplinary concerns which architecture must engage today. Throughout the work, analyses of these issues are linked to contemporary architectural production. All work is conducted by small teams and harnesses the dynamic feedback between specifically architectural problematics and the general logic of contemporary culture in preparation for future thesis work.

ARC 537 Architecture, Technology, and the Environment.

As climate change reshapes enviro-technical landscapes across the globe, this seminar examines discussions on the history of energy, nature, and built landscapes in terms of historiography and on location. Independent research thus considers the material and historical ramifications of the discussed concepts and probes them through case studies and locally. Students can choose to focus on historical or design inquiries for the final independent research projects which result in a journal-article style paper or exhibition that includes historical maps, drawings and installations.

ARC 546 Technology and the City: The Architectural Implications of Networked Urban Landscape (also URB 546).

The seminar explores the implications of technologically networked cities for architectural programming and the design of spaces and places. Key issues examined: information technology reshaping the nature of architectural programming and our ideas of spaces, places and communities programs for spaces, buildings, and the city being transformed by increasing mobility, fluidity and blurring of activities in space and, the history of ideas that shape how we understand technology and urbanism, programming and architecture, including sentient and smart cities, big data, hybrid places.

An introduction to critical methods and principles of architectural analysis considered through an in-depth investigation of historically significant buildings, landscapes, and urban spaces. Precedents are analyzed according to their underlying formal structure and spatial organization as well as in terms of the cultural and historical forces that helped shape their architectural form and meaning.

ARC 548 Histories and Theories of 19th-Century Architecture (also ART 585).

The seminar studies selected architectural projects, buildings, and writings from the nineteenth and late-eighteenth centuries in the context of their critical and historical reception, and their active influence on the theory of modern and contemporary design. Each year the seminar focuses on a specific topic, such as the relation between architecture and geology, ecology and material science, or the building projects and theoretical writings of an individual nineteenth-century architect examined in conjunction with the histories of art, culture, and science of the same period.

ARC 549 History and Theories of Architecture: 20th Century (also ART 586).

An of the major themes running through modern architecture in the twentieth century. The seminar is based on a close reading of selected buildings and texts both by prominent and less prominent figures of the modern movement and its aftermath. Special emphasis is given to the historiography and the history of reception of modern architecture, as well as the cultural, aesthetic and scientific theories that have informed modern architectural debates, including organicism, vitalism, functionalism, structuralism, historicism and their opposites.

This seminar focuses on identifying and articulating key concepts and themes concerning the interplay of race and the built environment. Proceeding initially from theories of subjectivity articulated by W.E.B. Du Bois, Michel Foucault, and Stuart Hall, the course analyzes culturations of the self via a theory of reflexive spatial practices that can help explain encounters between racialized forms of identity and the material conditions of architecture and cities.

ARC 560 Topics in Contemporary Architecture Urbanism.

ARC 560A Topics in Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism.

ARC 560B Topics in Contemporary Architecture Urbanism.

The term model behavior is commonly used to describe good social skills. This seminar turns that concept on its head to investigate how models themselves behave. Conceptual models, study models, section models, and presentation models are givens in architecture, but their role in projecting or inducing social behavior is seldom considered. This course explores the potentials of the architectural model and its relationships to the myriad models that shape culture today.

ARC 560C Topics in Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism.

Embodied energy (EE) may soon exceed operational energy as a contributor to atmospheric carbon. However, EE is by far the harder of the two to measure. This seminar is devoted to understanding, and critiquing, existing methods of measuring EE. Students undertake an independent research project centered on an EE measurement (calculation) that a) accepts addresses real world complications and b) is meant to have real world implications.

ARC 562 Introduction to the Architecture Profession.

ARC 563 Founding, Building, and Managing your own Architectural Practice.

The course offers a review and analysis of the dynamics and process inherent in starting, developing, managing, and operating an architectural practice, including marketing, finance, human resources, project process, liability, insurance, and general management. One three-hour seminar.

A research seminar in selected areas of aesthetics, art criticism, and architectural theory from the 18th to the 20th centuries on the notion of representation in art and architecture. This seminar is given to student