Best Graduate Programs in Architecture - Updated 2021

Cornell's professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) program uniquely engages global practices through a foundation in making and conceptual thinking. Its close community of talented and dedicated students and faculty work together to push the boundaries of the discipline. The fully accredited M.Arch. program is a three-and-one-half-year course of study dedicated to preparing graduate students from diverse disciplines and backgrounds for careers in architecture.

The Notre Dame School of Architecture’s graduate program promotes the study of classical and traditional architecture urbanism, both for their pedagogical value and with a view to their contemporary applications. At the heart of the School’s mission is a commitment to the making of humane, beautiful, and sustainable neighborhoods and cities, and an appreciation of the critical interdependence of architectural language, building types, and urban placemaking. According to this view, the traditional city comprises a range of public and private buildings that seek, both individually and in combination, to enhance the physical, intellectual, and spiritual well being of its citizens while fostering social interaction and beneficial governance. Depending on their civic purpose, the edifices that comprise the traditional city receive varying degrees of articulation from simple but dignified expressions for buildings that occupy the lower end of the civic spectrum to sophisticated classical compositions for buildings with a prominent public role where elevated formal discourse is appropriate—a poetics of form that is rooted in regional historical monumental traditions.

The MArch degree can be either a thesis or a non-thesis master degree depending on the option the student pursues. A minimum of 93-95 credit hours or 131-1 credit hours, depending on option pursued, to satisfy degree requirements.

TopicsBuilding TypologiesClimate ChangeCritical StudiesCross-Cultural StudiesEcologyEntertainmentInfrastructureLandscapeMaterial AssemblyMediaMegalopolisMixed RealityMobilityPacific RimResilienceSustainabilityTechnologyUrban Strategy.

This one-year, three-semester post-professional degree is intended for individuals who have completed a professional degree in architecture Working across disciplines and at multiple scales, the program moves between real-world issues and innovative architecture proposals.

Sean Ahlquist Assistant Professor, M.Arch, Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, UK Computational design frameworks which place materiality as an a priori agent in the organization of architectural systems and their spatial tectonics. Groat Professor, Ph.D., University of Surrey Meaning in architecture, place theory, research design and methods, environmental psychology. Andrew Herscher Associate Professor, Ph.D., Harvard University History and theory of 20th century architecture architecture and media heritage and cultural memory architecture and social justice and human rights.

The MArch Program is the professional program in architecture leading to the NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture Degree. The two-year-long curriculum is designed for those students who have completed a four-year, pre-professional degree in architecture. The 3.5-year long curriculum is designed for those students who have not completed a pre-professional degree in architecture.

UIUC School of Architecture announced as Chicago Architecture Biennial 2019 partner site. Illinois School of Architecture Students win Second Place in 2019 Chicago Award in Architecture Student Competition. Associate Professor Marci Uihlein to present at the AIA Conference on Architecture 2019 in Las Vegas. The Illinois School of Architecture offers an M.S. (Master of Science) in Architectural Studies degree that enables students to develop the research skills and specialized expertise needed for tomorrow’s professional and academic careers.

The Masters of Science in Architectural Studies is a nonprofessional graduate degree program for advanced investigations in Sustainability, Historic Preservation, or Themed Environments. Masters in Architecture applicants may choose to earn a Graduate Certificate as an additional credential or they may earn a separate MSAS Concentration Degree.

Introduction to using digital tools for communicating design, with an emphasis on integrating digital image, CAD, and 3-D software processes with hand drawing and modeling techniques. Subjects may include the manipulation of digital images, the combination of text and image, rendered perspectives, measured drawings, an introduction to 3-D modeling, and the use of advanced visual language. Some projects are based on work done in the student design studios. Six hours of lecture and studio a week for one semester.