Master of Architecture (M.Arch)

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Master of Architecture

The Department of Architecture offers a comprehensive five-year plus curriculum leading to an NAAB-accredited non-Baccalaureate professional Master of Architecture degree. The Master of Architecture program is based firmly upon the complementary foundations of general and architectural education. We emphasize mastery of the knowledge, skills and understandings essential to the artful creation of buildings, spaces and places. The faculty seeks to assure our students extensive exposure to social, political, economic and technological perspectives that will aid them in functioning as effective leaders in a rapidly changing global context.

In emphasizing the architect’s role as a designer of environments that responsibly address individual and societal needs, the professional Master of Architecture curriculum includes a sequence of design studios providing holistic examination of environmental design issues. Courses in history, theory, human behavior, construction, structural and environmental systems, planning, programming, and professional practice compliment students’ work in a carefully orchestrated series of design studios.

Accreditation

The completion of the Master of Architecture degree and then a professional internship qualify our graduates to sit for the Architectural Registration Examination administered by each American state and territory to candidates who wish to become licensed as architects.

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 U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

Kansas State University, College of Architecture Planning and Design, Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

B. Arch. (164 undergraduate credits) (through 2010-2011)

M. Arch. (140 undergraduate credits + 30 graduate credits)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2011

- From the 2009 NAAB conditions and Procedures for Professional Degree programs in Architecture. Available at http://www.naab.org/accreditation/2009_Conditions.asp

Special activities and programs

Short, carefully structured visits to cities in Kansas and nearby states during the first year of study introduce students to techniques of urban and architectural analysis and extend the range of their experience. Longer trips are taken in subsequent years. Second year students often travel to Dallas; third year students travel to New York, Los Angeles or other major U.S. cities. Led by faculty, students visit leading architectural firms, contemporary and historical buildings of importance, and examine critical urban design features. Design studio projects are often located in the city visited, so the trips are also site visits, which provide opportunities for detailed urban analysis.

Fourth-year students have access to extended elective field study opportunities, including the 30-week Architectural Internship program and semester-long study abroad programs in Italy, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany or other countries. Architectural internship and study abroad students return with renewed purpose and fresh insights to share with fellow students and faculty during their final year in the Master of Architecture program.

Computer requirements

The department recognizes digital technology as a valuable asset in architectural practice and is therefore committed to offering access to a variety of opportunities for students to develop their computer skills and understanding. As part of this commitment, students are required to purchase computer workstations in the summer between their second and third years of study. Computer hardware and software requirements are updated each year.

Application procedures

Students are normally admitted to Master of Architecture program as undergraduate students in the College of Architecture Planning and Design (CAPD); they then apply for admission to the graduate school in their third year. Applicants to the graduate school for the M. ARCH degree must have completed ENG 200 for regular admission. Those who have not completed ENG 200 will be admitted provisionally and cannot take courses for graduate credit until they make up the deficiency. Information for prospective CAPD students is available in the Undergraduate Catalog and the college website.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the first year forms the foundation of the accredited professional programs in architecture, interior architecture and product design, landscape architecture, and regional and community planning.

First semester (16 credit hours)

University general education elective (3)
DSFN 201 Environmental Design Studio I (4)
MATH 100 College Algebra (3)
ENVD 250 History of the Designed Environment I (3)
DSFN 203 Survey of the Design Professions (1)
COMM 105 Public Speaking IA (2)

Second semester (15 credit hours)

DSFN 202 Environmental Design Studio II (4)
PHYS 115 Descriptive Physics (5)
ENVD 251 History of the Designed Environment II (3)
ENGL 100 Expository Writing I (3)

Third semester (17 credit hours)

University general education elective* (3)
ARCH 302 Architectural Design Studio I (5)
ARCH 248 Fundamentals of Arch Technology (3)
ARCH 348 Structural Systems in Architecture I (3)
ARCH 350 History of Designed Environment III (3)

Fourth semester (18 credit hours)

ARCH 304 Architectural Design Studio II (5)
ARCH 325 Environmental Design and Society (3)
ARCH 413 Environmental Systems in Architecture I (4)
ARCH 449 Structural Systems in Architecture II (3)
ENGL 200 Expository Writing 2 (3)

Fifth semester (17 credit hours)

ARCH 403 Architectural Design Studio III (5)
ARCH 433 Building Construction Systems in Arch (3)
ARCH 452 Structural Systems in Architecture III (3)
ARCH 472 Computing in Architecture (3)
University general education elective (3)

Sixth semester (17 credit hours)

ARCH 404 Architectural Design Studio IV (5)
ARCH 453 Structural Systems in Architecture IV (3)
University general education elective (3)

ARCH 514 - Environmental Systems in Architecture II Credits: (3)
LAR 500 - Site Planning and Design Credits: (3)

Seventh semester (17 credit hours)

Planning elective** (3)
University general ed. elective (300 level and above)* (3)

ARCH 515 - Environmental Systems in Architecture III Credits: (3)
ARCH 605 - Architectural Design Studio V Credits: (5)
ARCH 650 - Architectural Programming Credits: (3)

Eighth semester (14 credit hours)

Select from the following groups:

ARCH 606 - Architectural Design Studio VI Credits: (5)
Professional Support Electives** Credits: (9)
OR
ARCH 505 - Architectural Internship, Part A Credits: (9)
ARCH 506 - Architectural Internship, Part B Credits: (3)
ARCH 507 - Architectural Internship, Part C Credits: (2)

Ninth semester (16 credit hours)

Architecture seminar** (3)
Architecture seminar** (3)
Professional support elective** (3)

ARCH 805 - Project Programming Credits: (2)
ARCH 806 - Architecture Design Studio VII Credits: (5)

Tenth semester (17 credit hours)

Professional support elective** (3)
University general education elective (300 level and above)** (3)

ARCH 807 - Architectural Design Studio VIII Credits: (5)
ARCH 853 - Professional Practice Credits: (3)
ARCH 808 - Architectural Design Communication Credits: (3)

Notes

*A minimum of eighteen (18) University General Education (UGE) elective credits must be taken, of which at least six (6) must be in courses numbered 300 or above. Of these eighteen (18) UGE credits, three (3) credits may be taken within the College of Architecture, Planning and Design. None, however, can be in a student’s major field. No more than two (2) UGE courses may be taken in a single discipline. UGE courses must be taken at KSU. Transfer credits may reduce the number of lower level UGE courses required. Students who participate in study abroad programs approved by KSU will meet UGE credit at the 300 level upon successful completion of the program. Further information about these policies is available at: http://www.capd.ksu.edu/current-students/policies/university-general-education and: http://www.k-state.edu/kstate8/.

**The M.Arch degree requires twenty-seven (27) hours of professional support electives. Of these 27 credits, at least three (3) hours must be planning elective credits, and at least nine (9) hours must be architecture seminar credits as defined in the advising handbook. In
addition, nine (9) of the twenty-seven (27) credits must be taken in support of the student’s area of concentration as defined in the advising handbook. These nine (9) hours may include credits taken to fulfill the planning and seminar requirements.

***Distributed electives must be taken outside the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design. They may be taken any time prior to or during the architecture program and may include KSU approved AP, IB, CLEP and transfer credits.