Campuses:
This is archival data. This system was retired as of August 21, 2023 and the information on this page has not been updated since then. For current information, visit catalogs.umn.edu.
Twin Cities Campus
Architecture M.Arch.School of Architecture
College of Design
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
School of Architecture, College of Design, University of Minnesota, 145 Rapson Hall, 89 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-7866; fax: 624-5743)
Website: http://arch.design.umn.edu
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the
General Information section of
this
website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
Architecture encompasses the making and study of the buildings and environments that we inhabit. The concerns of architecture involve a wide variety of areas of study, including the art of representing built projects through drawings and computer graphics; the technology of building structure, building materials, and natural and mechanical systems; the history, theory, and art of making, using, and understanding buildings as cultural artifacts for human use; and the practice of architecture in the context of sustainable environmental systems, urban form, and business economics. The School of Architecture offers one accredited professional degree, the Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), and a non-professional research degree, the Master of Science (M.S.) in architecture, with four potential tracks: heritage conservation and preservation, metropolitan design, research practices, and sustainable design.
The Master of Architecture degree is the accredited three-year professional program that prepares students for licensure and practice in the discipline of architecture as a speculative, analytic, and investigative endeavor. Through rigorous methods of inquiry—developed in the design studio, lectures, and seminars—students acquire the breadth of knowledge required of the professional architect, including: the techniques and processes of representation, communication, and analysis; the history and theory of making architecture and urban form for human use; and the technology, systems, processes, and economics of construction and practice. The 90-credit M.Arch. professional degree program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). A portfolio for admission is required.
The Master of Science in architecture is a nonprofessional degree offering advanced studies and research methods in heritage conservation and preservation, metropolitan design, research practices, or sustainable design. The nonprofessional M.S. in architecture seeks advanced students from architecture, building science, art history, geography, archaeology, landscape architecture, environmental design, or related disciplines to pursue multidisciplinary graduate study and research in sustainable building practices and historic preservation. The School of Architecture also offers a concurrent degree program that combines the M.Arch. professional degree and the M.S. in architecture. Students may take a total of 24 credits in common between the two academic programs. See information on the M.S. in architecture for degree requirements.
Program Delivery
Prerequisites for Admission
The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program
is 3.00.
Applicants must submit their test score(s) from the following:
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
Key to test
abbreviations
(GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the
General Information section of this
website.
Program Requirements
Plan C: Plan C requires
90
major credits and
up to
credits outside the
major.
There is no final exam.
A capstone project is required.
Capstone Project: The Master's Final Project is a 10-credit studio-based design exploration under the supervision of a studio faculty mentor.
This program may not be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses towards program requirements is not permitted.
A minimum GPA of 2.80
is required for students to remain in good standing.
At least 4 semesters must be completed
before filing a Degree Program Form.
The professional M.Arch. curriculum requires completion of a total of 90 credits (80 course credits and a 10-credit design studio Plan C Master's Final Project). M.Arch. students can expect to complete the program in six semesters (three years), including the Master's Final Project. Advanced placement into the second year is possible for students with a Bachelor of Science or other pre-professional degree and excellent English language proficiency. The fall semesters include integrated core curriculum of studio, building and environmental technologies, history-theory, or digital methods. The spring semesters are organized as half-semester elective modules in studio-like projects and seminars in urban/suburban-rural, building technology and sustainable practices, and history-theory-culture themes. May term study abroad options are available for qualified students in any summer semester.
Required courses
Note: ARCH 5550 will be renumbered and renamed Environmental Technology.
ARCH 5412 - Architecture: A Global and Cultural History
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 5561 - Tech 1, Structures for Building
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 5562 - Tech 2, Intro to Building Technology
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 8251 - Graduate Architectural Design I
(9.0 cr)
ARCH 5411 - Principles of Design Theory
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 5563 - Tech 3: Advanced Building Technology Integrated Building Systems
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 5564 - Tech 4: Building Structural Systems
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 5621 - Professional Practice in Architecture
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 8253 - Graduate Architectural Design III
(6.0 cr)
ARCH 5550 - Topics in Technology
(1.0-4.0 cr)
ARCH 8255 - Graduate Architectural Design V
(6.0 cr)
ARCH 8299 - Master's Final Project
(10.0 cr)
Project modules
Take 16 credits (four courses) of project modules.
ARCH 5250 - Advanced Topics in Design
(1.0-6.0 cr)
or
ARCH 8250 - Advanced Topics in Design
(1.0-6.0 cr)
Catalysts
Take exactly 2 course(s) from the following:
·
ARCH 5110 - Architecture as Catalyst
(1.0 cr)
Arch electives
Take 18 credits of arch electives.
Arch 5xxx
or
Arch 8xxx
Joint- or Dual-degree Coursework:
M.Arch/M.S.-Architecture
Students may take a total of 24 credits in common
among the academic programs.
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Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 9.0 [max 9.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 6.0 [max 6.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 1.0 -4.0 [max 12.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 6.0 [max 12.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 10.0 [max 10.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -6.0 [max 24.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 -6.0 [max 6.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 3.0] |
Prerequisites: | M.Arch |
Grading Basis: | S-N only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |