School of Architecture Graduate Pathways

The foundation year for graduate students from non-architectural disciplines introduces architecture culture and production. Studio/Communications corequisites build your visual communication skills, while challenging you to solve an increasingly complex series of real-world design problems. The Architectural History sequence situates the studio core within a larger historical context of modern architecture culture and ideas, while Building Technology courses introduce technical fundamentals of building construction. Students complete this year with a foundation of disciplinary expertise and an ability to apply architectural knowledge toward problem-solving in the built environment.

In the second year, students with undergraduate architecture degrees join the students who just completed the foundation year. Year Two focuses upon the advancement of disciplinary expertise, technical skills and applied critical thinking, with courses being taught as interdependent co-requisites. A Critical Theory seminar introduces students to contemporary ideas, challenging them to hone analytical skills and establish critical positions. Graduate students define an intellectual trajectory through their choice of seminars and electives.

Students complete this graduate year with a strong foundation of disciplinary expertise and the critical and technical skills to solve complex problems in the built environment.

In the final year, students deploy their knowledge, skills, and a critical intellectual position into independent projects. World-class visiting faculty teach advanced outreach-themed projects in the fall semester. The spring semester centers around the Commonwealth Studio, where students define, research and implement an independent studio project. This final year puts a strong emphasis on self- directed studies, encouraging students to recognize their own agency through the outreach and improvement of the built environment.