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 B.D.A.School of Architecture
College of Design
The Bachelor of Design in Architecture (BDA) program exposes students to a broad-based approach to design as it relates to architecture. Students learn to think through architecture, often in ways and with projects not necessarily tied to the traditional building scale or to building systems. Students use the lens of architectural design to address a broad range of issues within architecture and as a bridge to other disciplines. Students develop verbal and visual skills in architecture, and practice the design process as a dialogue between divergent and convergent making and thinking. They undertake projects that link architecture with explorations in visual media (including film, photography, virtual reality), social, cultural and environmental concerns (preservation, disaster relief, neighborhood needs), focused concerns (daylight, facade, material, or modeling studies), and allied disciplines (set design, landscape architecture, urban studies).
All major coursework must be taken A-F.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
Admission Requirements
Students must complete
30 credits
before admission to the program.
A GPA above 2.0 is preferred for the following:
Students must complete 30 credits before admission to the program. Freshmen and transfers are usually admitted to pre-major status before admission to this major.
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the
Office of Admissions
website.
Required prerequisites
General Requirements
All students in baccalaureate degree programs are required to complete general University and college requirements including writing and liberal education courses. For more information about University-wide requirements, see the
liberal education requirements.
Required courses for the major, minor or certificate in which a student receives a D grade (with or without plus or minus) do not count toward the major, minor or certificate (including transfer courses).
Program Requirements
Additional Classes, BDA Primary Core
ARCH 3412W - Architectural History Since 1750
[HIS, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
ARCH 3411W - Architectural History to 1750
[HIS, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
ARCH 3411V - Architectural History to 1750
[HIS, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
Design Core
Design workshops are designated Arch 32XX. New courses will periodically be added to this list.
Take 12 - 18 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARCH 3211 {Inactive}
(2.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3212 - BDA: Analytical Modeling of Contemporary Architecture
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3221 {Inactive}
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3222 - BDA Box Problem
(2.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3223 - BDA: Screen Test: Metal Work
(2.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3250 - Design Workshop
(1.0-6.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3261 - BDA: The Art of Daylighting Design: Exquisite Rooms
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3271 - BDA: Watercolor Sketching: Exploring Iconic Sites
(2.0 cr)
BDA Secondary Core
These courses provide introductions to curricular core areas within the school.
Take 3 or more course(s) totaling 9 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ARCH 3511 - Material Transformations: Technology and Change in the Built Environment
[TS]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3611 - Design in the Digital Age
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 4561 - Architecture and Ecology
[ENV]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 4671 {Inactive}
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 4701W - Introduction to Urban Form and Theory
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3711W - Environmental Design and the Sociocultural Context
[SOCS, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
ARCH 3711V - Honors: Environmental Design and the Sociocultural Context
[SOCS, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
Architecture Electives
Take 9 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ARCH 3xxx
·
ARCH 4xxx
·
ARCH 5xxx
·
LA 3501 - Environmental Design and Its Biological and Physical Context
[ENV]
(3.0 cr)
Upper-division Writing Intensive within the major
Students are required to take one upper-division writing intensive course within the major. If that requirement has not been satisfied within the core major requirements, students must choose one course from the following list. Some of these courses may also fulfill other major requirements.
Take 0 - 1 course(s) from the following:
·
ARCH 3411W - Architectural History to 1750
[HIS, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3711W - Environmental Design and the Sociocultural Context
[SOCS, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 4701W - Introduction to Urban Form and Theory
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3411V - Architectural History to 1750
[HIS, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARCH 3711V - Honors: Environmental Design and the Sociocultural Context
[SOCS, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
Program Sub-plans
A sub-plan is not required for this program.
Accelerated
Students accepted to this track join first-year M. Arch students in their classes while enrolled as undergraduate students. Courses taken in their final year as an undergraduate count as elective credits toward the BDA degree, and if accepted into the graduate program will continue to year two (of three) of the M. Arch program.
Students may apply at the end of their junior year of the BDA program (within 32 credits of completing the degree requirements) and apply and the end of their senior year to the graduate school to formally join the graduate program. At the time of application, all liberal education requirements and all required BDA coursework must be completed or in progress slated to be completed by the end of the semester. Eligibility to apply is based on BDA GPA as well as overall GPA. The preferred BDA GPA is 3.8 or higher.
Students with a GPA of 3.5 to 3.8 may apply but must also submit a GRE score. Application to the accelerated program must include all materials needed to apply for the M. Arch. program (portfolio, letters of recommendation, writing samples). Students advancing to the second year of the three-year M. Arch program will apply to the graduate school during the normal application time (see http://arch.design.umn.edu/admissions/graduate/). At that time, the application will only include the online graduate school application to the graduate program (no portfolio, letters of recommendation, writing samples, or GRE).
|
|
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 1301/Arch 5371/LA 5301/LA |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3411W/Arch 3411V |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3411W/Arch 3411V |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -6.0 [max 54.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 2.0 [max 2.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3611/Arch 5611 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 4501/Arch 4561/Arch 5501 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3711W/Arch 3711V |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3711W/Arch 3711V |
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] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3411W/Arch 3411V |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3711W/Arch 3711V |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3411W/Arch 3411V |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Arch 3711W/Arch 3711V |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |