Graduate Degree Programs
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SCOTT WING, Interim Head, Department of Architecture
128 Stuckeman Family Building
814-865-9535
LOUKAS KALISPERIS, Professor in Charge of Graduate Program in Architecture
324 Stuckeman Family Building
814-865-0877
The Master of Architecture program emphasizes three areas central to the school: Architectural Theory and Design, Community and Urban Design, and Digital Design. The program allows opportunities for graduate students to assist in undergraduate courses and work with the two endowed centers: the Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance and the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing. In addition, selected graduate students can also participate in the department's Rome program for undergraduates. The Master of Architecture is a postprofessional degree. Postprofessional degrees do not qualify the recipient for professional licensure in the United States. The program is intended for students already holding professional degrees in architecture, and in exceptional cases, for students with nonprofessional architectural degrees who seek to develop a better understanding of architecture. The Master of Architecture program is specially designed for students interested in advanced studies in Architectural Theory and/or Design. It is expected that such students will have previously studied the technical and professional aspects of architectural practice and are primarily interested in strengthening the intellectual underpinnings of their work through intensive studio investigations, design applications, and rigorous theoretical inquiry.
All applicants should have a five-year professional degree in architecture. This M.Arch. program culminates in a post-professional degree for students with a five-year professional degree that is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) or its equivalent. Any exceptions must have the approval of the department head. International applicants with a five-year degree in architecture are considered equivalent to a graduate from a five-year NAAB-accredited program for admission purposes. In exceptional cases, the M.Arch. program may serve students with a four-year architecture degree or other degrees who seek to develop a better understanding of the principles and theory that underlie the profession of architecture. It is understood that such students are interested in the academic path and eventually intend to pursue the Ph.D. degree. These students would be required to take remedial undergraduate or graduate courses and may have to significantly extend the duration of their study.
In addition to the application to the University for admission to the Graduate School, all applicants must submit the following to the Department of Architecture:
The statement of intent should be primarily a description of the applicant's professional goals, desired option and subjects of study, and the area(s) of anticipated architectural inquiry. A portfolio of creative and design work (architecture and planning projects) executed at the undergraduate level or under professional guidance or independently, provided that such work can be evidenced as executed by the applicant, is an important part of the graduate application. A minimum portfolio representation of one project for each year of academic undergraduate study, or its equivalent, is required. The applicant is encouraged to include other evidence of academic excellence, such as awards, design and scholarly achievements, and other recognitions. A complete set of official transcripts is required for all applications. A minimum of three statements of recommendation from faculty members acquainted with the applicant's academic history and/or recommendations by an undergraduate review committee should accompany the application.
Applicants are encouraged to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or from another comparable examination accepted by a graduate program and authorized by the dean of the Graduate School. At the discretion of the graduate faculty, a student may be admitted to graduate study in the program without these scores.
The Graduate School has established specific requirements regarding the TOEFL exam for international students. In addition to those requirements, the Department of Architecture requires that international students whose first language is not English or who have not received baccalaureate or master's degrees from an institution in which the language of instruction is English must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE). A score on the TOEFL of 580 or higher and on the TSE of 250 or higher is required for regular admission. Applicants with scores on the TOEFL below 580 but above 550 or on the TSE below 250, but higher than 215, may be admitted provisionally.
Students with a 3.00 junior/senior grade point average (on a 4.00 scale) and with appropriate course backgrounds will be considered for admission. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests.
The best-qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces that are available for new students.
The capstone of the M.Arch. Program is a Master's Thesis or Thesis [Design] Project, which requires the student to identify and formulate an area of inquiry within which he or she will be expected to do original research and to complete a project or a written thesis that tests the theoretical ideas. The Master of Architecture is a 30-credit program that requires 24 credits of course work and 6 credits of thesis or thesis project. At least 18 credits must be at the 500 or 600 levels, and at least 20 credits must be taken in residence at University Park. The core courses consist of a total of 12 credits.
A graduate student may be able to complete the requirements for the M.Arch. degree in one year. Those students who are awarded an assistantship will require more than two semesters to complete the requirements for the M.Arch. degree. Directed Electives include courses related to one of the three options from other disciplines, such as Landscape Architecture, Geography, Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Computer Science, as well as within the Department of Architecture. Architectural Research (Arch 591) is specifically designed for each of the three options and counts toward the 12 credits necessary to satisfy the option within the major. The thesis requirement can be fulfilled in two ways: through a written thesis, which conforms to the scholarly standards of the Graduate School or through a design project that tests theoretical ideas. A written monograph will accompany all thesis design projects.
Graduate assistantships and other forms of student aid are described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin. All applicants who are accepted are considered for departmental financial aid.
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.
ARCHITECTURE (ARCH) course list
The Department of Architecture offers a limited number of academically superior students enrolled in the fourth year of the Bachelor of Architecture degree program the opportunity to enroll in an integrated program leading to both the B.Arch. and the Master of Architecture degrees. The program permits the student to integrate the fifth year of study for the professional B.Arch. degree with the program of study for the M.Arch. degree into a continuous program of study culminating in the award of both degrees. The ability to coordinate as well as concurrently pursue the two degree programs enables the student to achieve greater depth and comprehensiveness than if the degrees are pursued sequentially and to earn the two degrees in a shorter period of time. In particular, the program encourages the student to integrate the undergraduate thesis design project with the master's thesis, thereby achieving a greater depth of inquiry.
The number of openings to this special program is limited; admission is by invitation of the faculty and is extremely selective.
Applicants to the integrated program must be enrolled in the fourth year of a B.Arch. program or otherwise qualified to apply for admission to the fifth year of the B.Arch. program at Penn State. To be admitted, applicants must be able to meet the following requirements:
The best-qualified students will be accepted up to the number of spaces available for new students. Acceptance to the program prior to the completion of all required course work is provisional, contingent upon meeting the above requirements.
Students must complete the requirements for both the B.Arch. and M.Arch. degrees except that not more than 12 credits earned in either degree program may be used to the meet the requirements of both degrees. Therefore, a minimum total of 48 credits are required to complete the Integrated B.Arch.-M.Arch. Program and earn both degrees. The student must maintain not less than a 3.2 overall GPA and shall achieve not less than a B grade in each required course.
Last updated by Publications: 6/30/05