Architecture Programs
Graduate
The Department of Architecture at Penn State offers graduate studies in architecture with three distinct options: Architectural Theory and Design, Community and Urban Design, and Digital Design.
The Master of Architecture program at Penn State provides individuals who hold a baccalaureate degree in architecture (B.Arch) the opportunity to expand their knowledge of architectural design and architectural and urban theory. Penn State’s Master of Architecture is an academic degree that is not professionally accredited. It is intended for students with professional degrees in architecture who seek to develop a better understanding of the principles and theory that underlie the discipline.
The graduate degree in architecture at Penn State University is designed to give students advanced training and the opportunity for critical engagement with a defined area within the field. The graduate program provides an instrument for the enhancement of the intellectual and practical orientation of the Department through programs that sustain concentrated inquiry, research, study and pedagogy in three major areas of focus: community and urban design; digital design and fabrication; and culture, society, and space.
COMMUNITY & URBAN DESIGN
The community and urban design option offers students theoretical and practical knowledge in planning, participatory design, and sustainable community building techniques. The program is associated with the Hamer Center for Community Design, one of the few endowed academic centers devoted to community design and participatory urban planning in the United States. Students within the community and urban design option gain theoretical knowledge and the potential to engage with existing projects of the Hamer Center.
DIGITAL DESIGN AND FABRICATION
The digital design option is open to students who wish to develop critical knowledge and advanced skills in the use of digital media in architecture and related design fields, especially in the areas of visualization and fabrication. Digital design is a synthetic creative process that transcends established academic boundaries, and the program encourages innovative thinking on architectural issues within a wider interdisciplinary context. The program is associated with the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing. This endowed facility offers students use of state-of-the art computing and fabrication equipment.
CULTURE, SOCIETY, & SPACE
The culture, society, and space option offers students the opportunity to conduct a written thesis that engages with the most pressing problems in contemporary architecture and urbanism. The program allows students to draw on the diverse research expertise of the architecture faculty, with strengths in a variety of issues including the relations among architecture, urbanism and critical theory, technology studies, and the production of nature. Students are encouraged to take courses in related, nationally recognized departments including geography, science and technology studies, art and architectural history, philosophy, and women’s studies.
General minimum acceptance requirements and policies:
• Graduate school requirements (see Graduate School Bulletin)
• 3.0 Grade Point Average on 4.0 point scale or equivalent
• Educational background appropriate to area of concentration
• English language competency
• Area of concentration and research interests consistent with the departmental faculty expertise and program mission
• TOEFL score, minimum 580 (paper) or 250 (computer) is required for international students
• GRE Scores
Minimum Requirements for MArch degree (30 credit minimum)**
Required Core
Arch 511 Theoretical Perspectives in Architecture (3 credits)**
Arch 520 Methods of Inquiry in Architecture and Urban Design
Arch 536 Design Inquiry (studio) (6 credits)**
Arch 591Architectural Research (3 credits)**
Topics (Arch 541, 542, or 543) (3 credits)**
Directed Electives (6 credits)**
Arch 600 Thesis Research (6 credits)**
+ In cases where the candidate’s previous architectural coursework is insufficient for their area of concentration or completion of the thesis, additional course requirements may be specified.
* 18 of 30 credits must be at the 500 level.
** Unless special provisions have been made, all students are required to fulfill the studio and theory requirements in their first semester in the program, in the fall semester of their first year.
Additionally, the masters program provides a basis for a doctoral degree program designed to generate original contributions to research and scholarship in the areas indicated above.
These three programs offers students the opportunity to work with faculty who are recognized leaders in their field. .The programs are housed within a brand new state-of-the-art building recently awarded a gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Graduate Courses
AE 421 Architectural Structural Systems I (3)
AE 422 Architectural Structural Systems II (3)
AE 424 Environmental Control Systems I (3)
Arch 451 Architectural Professional Practice (3)
Arch 480 Technical Systems Integration(3)
Arch 481 Digital Design Media(3)
Arch 482 Microcad (3)
Arch 496 Independent Studies (1-18)
Arch 497 Special Topics (1-9)
Arch 511 Theoretical Perspectives in Architecture
Arch 514 Applying E-B Theory to Architectural Design (3)
Arch 520 Methods of Inquiry in Architecture and Urban Design
Arch 522 Computational Methods in Architectural Design
Arch 536 Design Inquiry Studio (1-12)
Arch 541 Topics in Theory
(3)
Arch 542 Topics in Community & Urban Design(3)
Arch 543 Topics Digital Design (3)
Arch 590 Colloquium (2)
Arch 591 Architectural Research (2-12)
Arch 596 Individual Studies (1-12)
Arch 597 Special Topics (1-9)
Arch 600 Thesis Research (1-6)