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:

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

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2017

From the 2009 NAAB conditions and Procedures for Professional Degree programs in Architecture.

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.