Master of Architecture Professional Degree
Charles Menefee — Director
This professional, accredited Architecture program (Paths A and B) offers within its design curriculum a forum for synthesizing parallel studies in history, theory, technology, and representation. In the design of buildings, landscapes and urban infrastructure, the curriculum supports a stimulating and sustainable setting for diverse cultural expression. Our mission is to develop the next generation of civic and professional leaders through:
- A critical understanding of the roles of architectural design, aesthetics, and materiality in shaping the built environment
- Design/build opportunities that engage with communities and those who build them
- Ecologically and culturally sustainable practices as a foundation for design
- Design research carried out through scholarship and design practice
- Emerging technologies of building practice, representation and modeling
- Certificates in American Urbanism or Historic Preservation
- Interdisciplinary explorations in Architectural History, Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Environmental Planning
M.Arch. Path A Curriculum
This program allows students without pre-professional undergraduate degrees (e.g., B.S. in Architecture) to obtain a first professional degree in a minimum of three years plus an initial summer session. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Prior to enrollment, it is recommended (but not required) for students to have completed a calculus and physics course or the equivalent.
After the first year, each student’s studio work is evaluated to determine progress and ability to continue in the program. In the spring of their second year, students initiate a comprehensive design project that explores detailed design development of a small institutional or commercial building. Issues of programming, building structure, materials and assembly, detailing and life safety are explored in conjunction with ARCH 848 and ARCH 823.
M.Arch. Path B Curriculum
Students admitted to this program have pursued a rigorous pre-professional program at the undergraduate level. The curriculum follows the prescribed core of foundation studies — history, land, and building. Students are encouraged to develop a planned sequence of electives either independently or through one of the certificate programs. Independent scholarship is encouraged through the thesis option. In the spring of their first year, students initiate a comprehensive design project that explores detailed design development of a small institutional or commercial building. Issues of programming, building structure, materials and assembly, detailing and life safety are explored in conjunction with ARCH 848 and ARCH 823.
Accreditation
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 US 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.
Masters degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. Please note that the pre-professional undergraduate degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The University of Virginia’s Path A (for students without pre-professional degrees) and Path B (for students with rigorous pre-professional degrees) Master of Architecture programs received six-year terms of accreditation in 2003. These programs will be reviewed again in 2009. The Bachelor of Science in Architecture, by itself, is not an accredited degree.
Admission
The Master of Architecture Program attracts a diverse range of students with undergraduate degrees in liberal arts as well as architecture. After an introductory summer session, students with liberal arts degrees typically complete their courses in six semesters, while those with pre-professional degrees frequently gain advanced standing. A two-semester Master of Architecture Program, directly tailored to the interests of each student, is available for those with an undergraduate professional degree in architecture. Students who wish to obtain the Master of Architecture degree should have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average with a 3.5 average in design studios. Admission to the Master of Architecture programs is extremely competitive.
A two-semester Master of Architecture Post-Professional Degree Program, directly tailored to the interests of each student, is available for those with an undergraduate professional degree in architecture.
Interdisciplinary Programs
Certificate Programs in Historic Preservation and American Urbanism are open to graduate students enrolled in Paths A, B, and C. Admission is subject to the approval of the chair of the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the director of the program. Students must also meet all requirements for admission to, and completion of, the Master of Architecture Program. Students are expected to meet the program requirements within the normal curricula of each path with the exception of Path C, which takes an extra semester. Please see Historic Preservation and American Urbanism for more information.
Dual Degree Programs
Please see Dual Degree Programs for more information.
Study Abroad
Architecture students may, with approval, spend a semester in one of the programs abroad when offered. Please see the Study Abroad page for further details.