Best Architecture Masters Programs in Pennsylvania

Program requirements for students admitted for Fall 2017 and later.

The Master of Architecture is a comprehensive and rigorous program, preparing graduates for the full range of activities in the profession. An intensive sequence in Design Studios constitutes the focus of the program. Thorough training is also provided in history, theory, technology, ecology, society, and professional practice. Studios and courses are supported by a rigorous program in visual studies that develops skills in digital and new media. At the upper levels of the program students establish individual trajectories by selecting from a range of elective studios and courses with leading figures in design, technology and theory. The final year culminates in advanced design studios that include research directed by leading designers as well as the option of an independent thesis. Summer programs abroad and studios based in other countries provide opportunities for international studies. The program aims to develop critical, creative and independent thinking that realizes potentials within an ever-changing world. The Master of Architecture degree is a professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

To earn the Master of Architecture, they must complete a total of 31 course units as follows: 14 course units in design studio, 6 in technology, 3 in history and theory, 1.5 in visual studies, and 1.5 in professional practice.

To earn the Master of Architecture, they must complete a total of 29 course units as follows: 12 course units in design studio, 6 in technology, 3 in history and theory, 1.5 in visual studies, and 1.5 in professional practice.

Although rare, it is possible for some students with a four-year pre-professional degree in architecture to be offered the option to be admitted to the program with one year of advanced standing, depending also on the quality of their portfolios and other elements of their applications. To earn the Master of Architecture, they must complete a total of 19.5 course units as follows: 8 course units in design studio, 3.5 in technology, 1 in history and theory, .5 in visual studies, and 1.5 in professional practice.

Students who hold a five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture degree or its equivalent are not eligible to Master of Architecture program. They are encouraged to look into one of our post-professional Master of Science in Design degree programs.

The Master of Architecture Program may be combined with certificate programs offered in the School of Design.

Students without an architecture background begin in the summer students who receive advanced standing enter in the Year 2.

The result was a change from 28 total course units to 29 total course units. Students who matriculated in 2016 or earlier will have completed their program with a total of 28 course units.

The program addresses the grand challenges of our time through an understanding of Design Ethics at the intersections of Social Equity, Technology, and Climate Change. It trains students to demonstrate a solid intellectual base in Design Thinking by participating in advanced and emerging discourses in the discipline. The program is STEM-eligible for international students.

The curriculum aligns closely with the Pedagogies dialogues at Carnegie Mellon Architecture to offer courses in three simultaneous tracks: Design Fundamentals, Design Ethics and Design Research. The two-year M.Arch curriculum features advanced design methods that focus on design-research, synthesis, and integration at every level through deep disciplinary and interdisciplinary engagement of sites, buildings, landscapes, ecologies, and technical systems.

Of select courses.

The Praxis 1 and 2 sequence of studios in the first year are required for all incoming students: the Fall Praxis 1: Transition Design studio is followed by the Praxis 2: Advanced Construction studio. Students are also required to take courses in Architectural Theory, Situating Research, Materials and Assembly, Statics and Structures, Environment and Real Estate.

The second year allows students to begin to specialize and craft a unique curriculum that reflects their emerging professional interests from a wide range of electives offered within the School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts (CFA), and CMU. Electives outside of the School of Architecture and Electives within the School allow students to establish their own areas of interest and specialization.

M.Arch students have the option of petitioning to Opt-out of the ASOS studios to pursue an individual Thesis. Students that elect to do so are required to take three preparatory courses: 1) Situating Research 2) Pre-Thesis and 3) Thesis Seminar. This allows students to develop an understanding of research methods and the theoretical underpinnings of architectural thesis. Students culminate their studies with a one-semester M.Arch Design-research Thesis that is included in Carnegie Mellon Architecture Thesis exhibition.

The M.Arch is a two-year program. Students must complete a minimum residency of four (4) academic semesters with full-time status (minimum 36 units per semester). Coursework taken during the summer at CMU or at other institutions may be used to satisfy NAAB Student Performance Criteria, but do not reduce the residency requirement.

In addition to the standard requirements for all graduate students in Carnegie Mellon Architecture, students in the M.Arch program must satisfy the following:.

We recommend: architectural experience of any kind, especially design studios related to buildings and physical environments critical engagements with studying and making art a fascination with how things are made. Additionally, we value reading and writing skills and engagements with the architectural discourse and the profession, as a culturally constructed diverse set of ideas. This includes a critical understanding of Modern Architecture and its histories.

Architectural Design Studio Courses: 72 Units (24 Credit Hours).

Fundamentals of Architectural History Theory or equivalent: 18 Units (6 Credit Hours).

We define general studies in alignment with NAAB description that considers all non-architecture courses that provide basic knowledge and methodologies of the humanities, fine arts, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences.

During the admissions process, students will be required to give a detailed list of the number of courses under each topic including the name and credit hours for each course. This is documented through the slideroom admissions process, for all students applying to the M.Arch program.

The M.Arch locates Design Ethics as a central tenet in its mission of training architects to become leaders in architecture and related fields. If Design is a broad framework that entails a form of expertise and various modes of disciplinary and interdisciplinary intelligence, Design Ethics problematizes architectural design to consider emergent questions of architectural ethics as these intersect with core notions of design. In recent years, there has been a major realignment of pedagogy toward questions of architectural ethics, driven by the pressing socio-planetary challenges of our time that affect and are affected by the built environment.

Considering social, ecological, and technological challenges of our time, the M.Arch program engages with research across territories including sites in the Global South. In doing so they consider the uneven impacts of planetary transformations on specific locales and landscapes.

We encourage students to use their architectural education to create successful futures in careers only they can envision.

In the M.Arch program, technology is than a technique or tool: we emphasize digital workflows and the seamless integration of computation, systems analysis, and data into our creative design and invention processes. M.Arch students have access to a host of learning and research spaces, including the Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace (IW), Computational Design Lab (Code Lab), Design Fabrication Lab (dFAB Lab), the SHOP, Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, IDeATe labs, and others across the campus.

Apply the knowledge gained in the program to engage in the practice of architecture in its various multivalent capacities, including a path toward professional licensure in the United States.

Describe the role of architecture in working with community groups, diverse stakeholders, and divergent cultural perspectives through participatory design practices (e.g., acknowledging the impacts of regional geography, complex histories). This includes an understanding of the Greater Pittsburgh and the Appalachian region, as a geography for study considering its complex histories, layered challenges, and potentials for design and research.

Understand architecture as an Ethical Praxis that considers the grand challenges of our time.

Describe transdisciplinary, creative, and scholarly nature of Design Research at Carnegie Mellon through collaborations with related subdisciplines with the Graduate programs at the School of Architecture, or through interdisciplinary interaction with CMU renowned programs in the sciences, humanities, business, and engineering.

Demonstrate a solid intellectual base in the history and theory of architecture, including the parallel and divergent histories of indigenous, vernacular, regional, nonwestern cultures.

Understand, use, and critique architectural precedents in advancing Global Disciplinary knowledge.

The Master of Architecture program grants travel awards each spring for selected students to support work grounded in architectural design research. Recovering from the lockdown the covid pandemic, the travel awards facilitate research as it relates to a range of diverse contexts, practices and cultures. Students are encouraged to take on research projects on areas of their choice that will be further developed through research papers or through a thesis or an independent study.

The proposed dates of the travel are during the Spring or Summer Break. The grant amount is per the applicant need but does not exceeding $3000. Students are responsible for their own travel plans and accommodations. Upon completion of the travel students deliver a PechaKucha style presentation of their travel study and ongoing research.

International Travel Connects Graduate Classwork to the Real World.

Katz Graduate School of Business spent the 2023 spring break in Germany or Argentina for their Global Research Practicum course. This was than just a trip these travels are designed as integral.

Katz Graduate School of Business that have passed their comprehensive exams. Sponsored by alumnus Jagdish Sheth, the Charles H.

Three Katz PhD Alums Win Awards from Society for Consumer Psychology.

Katz Graduate School of Business PhD program alumni were awarded for their achievements in the field. The conference was held March 2-4, 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hristina Nikolova (PhD.

Katz Graduate School of Business, shared this summary of the 2023 Super Analytics Challenge during which University of Pittsburgh graduate students, supported by numerous.

The Master of Architecture (MArch) program is a first professional degree preparing students for the practice of architecture through a rigorous course of study that engages students with urgent urban, architectural, environmental and sociocultural issues. The curriculum is centered on design studios that require the synthesis and application of knowledge from other coursework. Seminars in building technology, history/theory, professional practice and research address questions in tandem with design studios. Elective courses allow students to pursue specializations with focus and intent. Together, the architecture courses satisfy professional accreditation requirements. During the final year of study, students have the opportunity to pursue a self-directed research and design thesis. The Department of Architecture and Environmental Design offers three tracks for the MArch: a 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year program depending on a student's educational background upon entry to the degree.

The 1-year track is a +1 accelerated undergraduate-graduate program that enables eligible students to complete the 60-credit MArch degree within 15 months after receiving Temple's Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSArch) pre-professional degree. Eligible undergraduate students use up to 12 specified graduate credits to fulfill requirements for their undergraduate degree.

The 2-year track is a 60-credit degree program for students who earn Temple University’s Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSArch) degree and for students from other four-year pre-professional degree programs with equivalent course content.

The 3-year track provides a curriculum of up to 90 credits for students without a pre-professional degree in architecture. The first year of this program provides a rigorous introduction to architectural design that consists of up to 30 credits of pre-professional studies, including building technology courses, design studios, and history and theory seminars.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 5 years

The MArch degree program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

Dr. March also uses photography to teach ecology to local middle school children and is active in campus sustainability and civic engagement initiatives.

Bowne, D.R., B.J. Consentino, L.J. Anderson, S. Cooke, J.J. Dosch, D. Garneau, T.S. Fredericksen, M.B. Kolozsvary, E.S. Lindquist, J.G. March, R.A. Urban, C.R. Zimmerman.

Bowne, D.R., B.J. Consentino, L.J. Anderson, C.P. Bloch, S. Cooke, P.W. Crumrine, J. Doran, J.J. Dosch, D.L. Druckenbrod, R.D. Durtsche, D. Garneau, K.S. Genet, T.S. Fredericksen, P.A. Kish, M.B. Kolozsvary, F.T. Kuserk, E.S. Lindquist, C. Mankoewicz, J.G. March, T.J. Muir, K.G. Murray, M.N. Santulli, F.J. Sicignano, P.D. Smallwood, R.A. Urban, K. Winnett-Murray, C. Effects of urbanization on the population structure of freshwater turtles across the United States.

Simmons, J.A., M. Anderson, W. Hanna, D.J. Hornbach, A. Kuserk, J.G. March, T. Niedzwiecki, D. Thomas, and L. A comparison of the temperature regime of short stream segments under forested and non-forested riparian zones at eleven sites across North America. River Research and Applications 31, 964-974.

Benstead, J.P., W.F. Cross, J.G. March, W.H. McDowell, A. Ramirez, and A.P. Covich. Biotic and abiotic controls on the ecosystem significance of consumer excretion in two contrasting tropical streams. Freshwater Biology 55, 2047-2061.

Benstead, J.P., J.G. March, C.M. Pringle, K.C. Ewel, and J.W. Short. Biodiversity and ecosystem function in species-poor communities: community structure and leaf litter breakdown in a Pacific island stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 28: 454-465.

Benstead, J.P., J.G. March, B. Fry, K.C. Ewel and C.M. Pringle. Testing Isosource: Stable Isotope Analysis of a tropical fishery with diverse organic matter sources. Ecology 87: 326 .

Greathouse, E.A., C. Pringle and J.G. March. Freshwater Biology 50: 603-615.

March, J.G., J.P. Benstead, F.S. Scatena, and C.M. Pringle. Damming tropical island streams: Problems, Solutions, and Alternatives. BioScience 53: 1069-1078.

March, J.G., J.P Benstead, C.M. Pringle and M. Benthic community structure and invertebrate drift in a Pacific island stream, Kosrae, Micronesia. Biotropica 35: 125-130.

March, J.G., and C.M. Pringle. Food web structure and basal resource utilization along a tropical island stream continuum, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 35: 84-93.

March, J.G., C.M. Pringle, M.J. Townsend, and A.I. Wilson. Effects of freshwater shrimp assemblages on benthic communities along an altitudinal gradient of a tropical island stream. Freshwater Biology 47: 377-390.

Class of 2021 Graduate Credits Liberal Arts for Professional Readiness.