Architecture Programs

Undergraduate Admission Requirements

Applicants wishing to enroll in the College of Arts and Architecture must have graduated from an accredited secondary school and completed at least 17 preparatory units. It is recommended that these include 4 of English, 3 of math (math may be satisfied by 3 units selected from algebra, trigonometry and geometry), 5 of Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences, 3 of science, and 2 of a foreign language (May 2001 forward, the Senate passed legislation requiring the completion of two "Carnegie units" of foreign language instruction or the equivalent in mastery by non credit course completion or experience as an admission requirement to any baccalaureate program in the University). Applicants for admission to the major in Architecture are urged to present 1 unit of physics and they are urged to have at least 1 unit of drawing or art.

Integrated BArch--MArch Program

The Department of Architecture offers a limited number of academically superior students enrolled in the 4th year of the program leading to the Bachelor of Architecture degree the opportunity to enroll in an integrated program leading to both the BArch and the Master of Architecture degrees. The program permits the student to integrate the fifth year of study for the professional BArch degree with the program of study for the MArch degree into a continuous program of study culminating in 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 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 extremely selective.

Minimum Requirements for Consideration for Admission

To be considered by the faculty as an applicant to the Integrated program, the student must be enrolled in the 4th year of a BSArch program or otherwise qualified to apply for admission to the 5th year of the BArch program at Penn State. In addition, the applicant must be able to meet the following requirements:

  • Must have completed a BSArch (or other degree qualifying for admission to the BArch program) prior to entry into the Integrated Degree Program.
  • Must be unconditionally accepted into the 5th year of the BArch program at Penn State University (see BArch requirements in the Baccalaureate Degree Bulletin)
  • Must be unprovisionally accepted into the MArch program at Penn State (see application requirements for the MArch above)
  • Must have a minimum 3.2 junior/senior overall GPA (on a 4.0 scale) as well as: (1) a minimum 3.2 GPA in architectural design courses (studio), and (2) a minimum 3.2 GPA in all coursework except architectural design courses (studio).
  • In addition to the normal application requirements for the MArch degree, the student applicant shall provide a Plan of Study of not more than 1500 words. This plan shall clearly describe the student’s proposed general thesis topic and a strategy for pursuing same, including a list of proposed courses and a list of faculty who the student foresees as contributing to the course of study.

For interested students who satisfy these minimum requirements for consideration, 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 coursework is provisional, contingent upon meeting the above requirements.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete the requirements for both the BArch and MArch 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 is required to complete the Integrated BArch--MArch 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 any required course.