Architecture (graduate)
Charles A. Dana Professor David Woolf; Professors Arthur Schaller and Aron Temkin; Associate Professors Wendy Cox, Eleanor D'Aponte, Michael Hoffman, Matthew Lutz, and Danny Sagan; Assistant Professors Timothy Parker and Tolya Stonorov; Lecturer Cara Armstrong; Instruction Specialist Angelo Arnold.
The School of Architecture + Art explores in many dimensions the meaning of making and the making of meaning. The School reinforces the student’s ability to think creatively and independently, and reflects the University’s ideals to develop citizens with integrity, conviction, and self-respect who are educated and motivated to be leaders in service to the community. The School of Architecture and Art offers a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies, and a Master of Architecture (NAAB-accredited).
The Master of Architecture (MArch) degree program builds on a student’s undergraduate experience and builds the foundation for a career as a professional architect. This is a one-and-a-half-year program consisting of a summer internship, one academic year of graduate-level seminars and an individual, custom-designed thesis experience designed around a topic of the student’s choosing.
Between the fourth and fifth years, students work as an intern in an architecture office (or in a design-related firm). Coursework is completed using distance-learning techniques, which not only permit students to work where they wish, but encourages them to master digital communications technology, important to architectural practice.
The Master of Architecture degree is a first professional degree and is required for licensure.
Admission Requirements:
Application to the M.Arch program is normally made between the 7th and 8th semesters of the BS/AS degree program. Students who are enrolled in the BS/AS at Norwich, may apply to the M.Arch program at any time after their 7th semester. If they chose to graduate with the BS/AS and leave the university, they may apply to the program at a future date.
Graduates from other colleges are not accepted into the fifth year of this program, nor is admission for students who graduate with a Norwich bachelor’s degree in architecture automatic.
Admission to the M.Arch program is based upon:
- minimum Norwich cumulative GPA of 2.50
- minimum GPA of 2.75 in all design studio courses: AP 111, AP 118, AP 211, AP 212, AP 311, AP 312, AP 411, AP 412
- Submission of a portfolio, conforming to the criteria in effect at the time of application, for review and approval by the architecture graduate admissions committee.
Students are provisionally accepted until they meet the graduation requirements for the BS/AS degree. Accepted students may defer their start of coursework for one year. Beyond the one year deferral, they must reapply. Reapplications will be evaluated under the admission criteria in effect at the time of reapplication.
Mission
To build on the experience of the Bachelor's curriculum, the Master's degree in Architecture prepares the student for the profession of architecture. The School emphasizes practical experience (through a practicum) as well as autonomy and rigor (through an architectural thesis and graduate seminars).
Goals:
Graduates of the Architecture Program will:
- Be respected and recognized for technical competence in the creation of solutions that balance sustainability, resiliency, societal and economic issues.
- Become successful architects with a range of capabilities including residential design, small and large institutional project design, civic projects and urban planning projects.
- Help their communities by advocating and implementing good design principles at a broad range of scales Communicate to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Actively engage in continuing education throughout life.
- Be recognized for their leadership skills and their abilities to work with all people.
Outcomes:
Master's of Architecture majors will:
- Gain a way of thinking, rooted in the iterative, test-and-learn approach to creativity and innovation.
- Learn to utilize techniques, skills, conventions, and modern digital and hand tools and techniques necessary for professional practice.
- Understand structural systems, heating and cooling systems, circulation systems, building systems, etc.
- Practice resilient and sustainable design.
- Learn materials and methods for construction.
- Prepare and deliver construction documents.
- Be trained in the ethics of the profession and learn to make ethical decisions.
- Function as a member of a multidisciplinary team and be able to assume leadership roles on the team.
- Understand and begin the process of architectural internship, training and registration necessary for the profession as well as the expectation for lifelong learning.
Careers for this Major:
- Private architectural firms
- Commercial, industrial, and retail design
- Facilities management
- Real estate and development
- Engineering
- Sales and manufacturing
- Government
- Industrial corporations
- Public and private institutions
- Academia
Accreditation:
Combined, the bachelor and master programs form a five-year professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), www.naab.org, 1101 Connecticut Ave NW #410, Washington, DC 20036, phone, 202-783-2007.
Master of Architecture - Curriculum Map 2018-2019 Catalog
| Summer | 6 | |
| Architectural Internship | 6 | |
| Fall | 14 | |
| Architectural Thesis Research | 5 | |
AP 5XX Architecture Elective | 3 | |
AP 5XX Architecture Elective | 3 | |
| Global Issues in Architecture | 3 | |
| Spring | 14 | |
| Architectural Thesis | 5 | |
| Professional Practice | 3 | |
AP 5XX Architecture Elective | 3 | |
AP 5XX Architecture Elective | 3 | |
| Total Cr. | 34 | |
Students must maintain a 3.0 average GPA in the Masters program.
Courses
AP 501 Architectural Theory 3 Cr.
A course that introduces the deeper, often implicit and hidden motivations that influence the making of architecture. Basic human values and beliefs leading to classic philosophies and aesthetics are explored. Major historic and contemporary propositions on architecture are surveyed. AP 501 requires a graduate-level paper or project. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week. Prerequisite: FA 202.
AP 504 Architectural Seminar in History and Theory 3 Cr.
As both an art and a science, the profession of architecture is continually undergoing change and reassessment. This elective seminar focuses on one or more specific issues and topics regarding the historic and philosophical contexts that influence architecture today. Typically these topics range from the study of specific historic periods or schools of thought regarding design to the diverse trends in current architectural thinking. Requires a graduate-level paper or project. This course may be repeated for credit. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week. Prerequisites: FA 202 and FA 308. Cross listed with AP 403.
AP 511 Architectural Studio VII 5 Cr.
Elective problem-oriented studio offered by various faculty members and/or visiting critics. Introspective problems are intended to broaden and deepen individual understanding of the processes, theories, and systems that influence the design of the built environment. Emphasis is on the thorough examination of all aspects of building. Includes the identification, program preparation, and approval of the capstone project(s) to be undertaken in AP 512 in the succeeding semester. One hour of lecture and three 4-hour studios per week. Only open to graduate students in Architecture.
AP 512 Architectural Studio VIII 5 Cr.
Elective problem-oriented studio offered by various faculty members and/or visiting critics. Introspective problems are intended to broaden and deepen individual understanding of the processes, theories, and systems that influence the design of the built environment. Emphasis is on the thorough examination of all aspects of building. Consists of a single comprehensive design project that represents a capstone experience for the 5-year design sequence. The individual program and design solution must be recorded in a bound format similar to that required for the thesis. 1 hour of lecture and 3 four-hour studios per week. Prerequisite: AP 511.
AP 514 Architectural Seminar in Design 3 Cr.
This elective seminar investigates in a non-studio setting one or more specific concepts, issues, or topics related to architectural design and its associated disciplines, such as urban, landscape, interior, and visual design. Requires a graduate level paper or project. This course may be repeated for credit. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week. Prerequisite: approval of instructor. Cross listed with AP 414.
AP 520 Architectural Seminar in Technology 3 Cr.
As both an art and science, the profession of architecture is continually undergoing change and reassessment. This elective seminar focuses on one or more of the specific issues, topics, or skills related to technologies in architecture today. Typically, these specific semester topics range from advanced materials and construction systems to energy-conserving design; from environmental issues to hands-on building experiences. Requires a graduate-level paper or project. This course may be repeated for credit. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week. Prerequisites: AP 114, AP 325, or approval of instructor. Cross listed with AP 424.
AP 525 Architectural Thesis Research 5 Cr.
A singular design or design-related project selected by the individual student. The course consists of independent research done at a sufficient depth to display a mastery of the process of defining an architectural problem, including the investigation and discussion of the procedural, physical, and intellectual limits of this problem. The course culminates with the publication of an architectural program and a theoretical statement as well as the generation of all contextual information and design strategies as the basis for AP 526, Architectural Thesis. Three hours of class time and meetings with thesis advisors plus six hours of studio per week. Prerequisites: fifth-year standing and approval of Architecture program faculty.
AP 526 Architectural Thesis 5 Cr.
Execution of a singular design or design-related project selected by the individual student. The project is based on independent research and preliminary design work produced in AP 525 and is of sufficient depth and breadth to display a mastery of design skills and comprehensive understanding of the architectural issues related to form, process, judgment, representation, and communication. The work is done under the guidance of a thesis advisor chosen by the student. Two hours of meetings with thesis advisors plus twelve hours of studio per week. Prerequisite: AP 525 with a grade of C or higher.
AP 531 Architectural Internship 6 Cr.
This course offers an opportunity for each student enrolled in Master of Architecture Program to develop a bridge between their academic experience and professional practice. As a "bridge" the learning experience is considered to move in both directions. The internship will allow individuals to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and will also allow the opportunity for individuals to bring practical experience to bear on their graduate studies. Students are responsible to secure a position with an architectural, or an architecturally-related/construction-related, firm for a period of no less than eight weeks. This position must be approved by the course instructor. The firm must be willing to submit periodic and final evaluations of the student's performance. Email is used during the employment period for communication between the students and the instructor. Requirements for the course shall include maintaining a journal and writing a major term paper related to professional practice. Typically, this course shall be taken during the summer between the fourth and fifth years, or as otherwise approved by the division head. 8 weeks, summers. Prerequisites: Acceptance into the M. Arch. Program.
AP 533 Professional Practice 3 Cr.
Investigation into the issues related to the professional practice of architecture in contemporary American society. Topics include project management, finance and economics; business and practice management; and laws and regulations governing the profession. Three hours of lecture per week.
AP 534 Architectural Seminar in Process 3 Cr.
As both an art and science, the profession of architecture is continually undergoing change and reassessment. This elective seminar focuses on one or more specific topics regarding the current and future practice of architecture: what architects do, and how they do it. Typically, these topics range from design techniques to office management and from specialties within the practice, to the legal environmental and social forces that influence it. Requires a graduate-level paper or project. This course may be repeated for credit. Three hours of lecture/discussion per week. Prerequisite: instructor's approval. Cross listed with AP 434.
AP 555 Special Projects in Architecture 1-3 Cr.
An execution of a singular project related to architectural design, history/theory, process or technology selected by the individual student. The course focuses on in-depth independent research, development, and a formal written and/or graphic presentation of an architecturally-related topic not otherwise covered in course offerings. The student must secure a faculty member who will agree to serve as advisor/evaluator for the project. Hours and credits to be arranged.
AP 558 Global Issues in Architecture 3 Cr.
A seminar course for fifth-year architecture majors that offers opportunity for in-depth analysis, discussion, and research into contemporary issues that impact the profession of architecture and architectural design. The course will be flexible in the terms of content so that the nature of the material has a currency relevant to the complex, changing nature of the profession. The topical choices may address global concerns such as sustainability, cultural changes, conservation and preservation, information technology, and the emerging role of the architect as a professional in the 21st century. The course structure will be more constant, reflecting the values embodied in the profession, the architecture program, and the university. Specifically, there will be a strong bridge made between pedagogy and teaching methodology; course material will be synthesized and applied in a manner that demonstrates critical thinking, teamwork, creativity and community service. Three hours of seminar per week. Open only to Master's students in Architecture.