Architecture (Graduate Field)

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Field Description

Architectural science (M.S.). Students with an undergraduate degree in architecture, architectural engineering, engineering, or computer science are likely candidates for the graduate program in architectural science. Program objectives are (1) to afford an opportunity for students of architecture to expand their creative design potential by increasing their knowledge and understanding of environmental science and building technologies and (2) to provide a framework within which students who have graduated from other technical disciplines may explore computer science, computer graphics, and computer-aided design methods. Students enrolling for studies in computer graphics use the facilities of the interdisciplinary Program of Computer Graphics.

Ordinarily four terms of residence are required to complete the program of study, depending on the student's background and experience.

Architecture (M.Arch. professional) is a three-and-a-half-year professional Master of Architecture program (M.Arch.) administered by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. For more information, consult the College’s webpages.

Note on Professional Accreditation

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: bachelor of architecture, master of architecture, and doctor of architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year, three-year or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.
 
Doctor of architecture and master of architecture degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

In order to meet the education requirement set forth by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, an applicant for an NCARB certificate must hold a professional degree in architecture from a program accredited by the NAAB; the degree must have been awarded not more than two years prior to initial accreditation.

AAP's M.Arch. (professional) program was formally granted an eight-year term accreditation effective 2013-2021.

Advanced Architecture Design (M.S., Post-professional)

Cornell's Post-professional M.S. in Advanced Architectural Design is an intensive advanced design research (ADR) program. Open to individuals holding a B.Arch. or an M.Arch (first-professional) degree, the three-semester program beginning the first weekday in June offers a critical framework for investigating pertinent design concerns, practices, and technologies in 21st-century architecture and urbanism.

A structure of core and elective studios and courses allows students to pursue trajectories of inquiry within one of four interrelated territories of investigation:

  • Architecture and Discourse (A+D): Theory, criticism, publishing, cultural production, design research, history and contemporaneity
  • Architecture and Ecology (A+E): Sustainable practices, soft infrastructures, materials research, environmental simulation, computational design, digital fabrication, performance driven design
  • Architecture and Representation (A+R): Emerging technologies, drawing fields, digital and generative design, new cartographies, media spaces, architectural publications and exhibitions, theories of representation
  • Architecture and Urbanism (A+U): Urban geography, typological studies, urban theory, networks, infrastructures, urban imaging, ecological urbanism

History of architecture and urban development (M.A., Ph.D.). 

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in architecture, archaeology, history, history of art, or anthropology, or appropriate experience in the field. Applicants may apply for the master's or doctoral programs in architectural history or urban development history. Applicants with previous graduate work can be considered for advanced standing. Master's degree candidates in the history of architecture or urban development programs are required to have reading proficiency in at least one modern language other than English; Ph.D. degree candidates must have proficiency in two languages other than English before beginning the second year of study.

Data and Statistics

Field Manual