Courses of Study 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Architecture – M.S. AAD
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Post-Professional Master of Science, Advanced Architectural Design
Cornell’s post-professional Master of Science, Advanced Architectural Design program (M.S. AAD) is an intensive, advanced architectural design research program open to individuals holding a B.Arch. or professional M.Arch. degree. The program offers a critical framework for investigating pertinent design concerns, practices, and technologies in 21st-century architecture and urbanism. Three- and four-semester options are available, both starting with a summer semester in New York City and continuing at the Ithaca campus.
- Instruction Mode: In person
- Program Location: New York City, New York (Gensler Family AAP NYC Center) in Summer and Ithaca, New York in Fall and Spring
- Length of Program: Three-semester option (43 academic credits) and Four-semester option (57 academic credits); full-time study
The M.S. AAD is designated as a STEM program in Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology (CIP code 04.0902) making international graduates eligible to extend their F-1 visas for up to three years to work in the United States.
M.S. AAD Degree Requirements
The M.S. AAD program has two distinct curricular options, one that is completed in three semesters, and one that is completed in four semesters. Both options have the same initial summer and fall semesters. After the summer semester in New York City, the program continues in Ithaca where the three-semester option consists of two additional design studios, six elective classes, and a final project; while the four-semester option requires one additional design studio, seven elective classes, and a two-semester thesis.
In both the three- and four-semester options, students take core and advanced topic studios along with elective classes, which allow them to pursue trajectories of inquiry within one of four interrelated territories of investigation (TI):
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
Applicants to the three-semester M.S. AAD program are asked to formalize their choice of TI at the end of the first semester. This selection determines class and studio options in the second and final semesters of the program.
Students pursuing the four-semester curriculum for the M.S. AAD are assigned an advisor when they matriculate and choose a two-member special committee no later than the end of the first fall semester. In the four-semester option, students take elective classes in their selected TI during the fall semester and take elective classes in their minor concentration — consistent with their TI — during the final spring and fall semesters.
Curriculum for Three Semester Program:
Summer Semester: June and July in New York City
Curriculum for Four Semester Program:
Summer Semester: June and July in New York City
M.S. AAD Requirement Areas
Major Concentrations
All students in the M.S. AAD program have a major concentration in advanced architectural design within the Graduate Field of Architecture.
Territories of Investigation (TI)
Students in both the three- and four-semester curricular options select a specialized territory of investigation (TI) chosen from among the following four options:
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Architecture and Discourse (A+D): Theory, criticism, publishing, cultural production, design research, history and contemporaneity
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Architecture and Ecology (A+E): Sustainable practices, soft infrastructures, materials research, environmental simulation, computational design, digital fabrication, performance driven design
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Architecture and Representation (A+R): Emerging technologies, drawing fields, digital and generative design, new cartographies, media spaces, architectural publications and exhibitions, theories of representation
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Architecture and Urbanism (A+U): Urban geography, typological studies, urban theory, networks, infrastructures, urban imaging, ecological urbanism
TI elective classes may include designated classes within the Department of Architecture, as well as nondepartmental classes that are either designated by the M.S. AAD committee as appropriate for particular TIs or approved by the student’s advisor or special committee chair.
Three-Semester Option
Applicants to the three-semester M.S. AAD program are asked to formalize their choice of TI at the end of the first semester. This selection determines class and studio options in the second and final semesters of the program.
Four-Semester Option
Students pursuing the four-semester curriculum for the M.S. AAD are assigned an advisor when they matriculate and choose a two-member special committee no later than the end of the first fall semester. In the four-semester option, students take elective classes in their selected TI during the fall semester.
Minor Concentrations
In addition to their major concentration in advanced architectural design, students also have a minor concentration.
Three-semester Option
Students in the three-semester option also have a minor concentration in advanced architectural design.
Four-Semester Option
Students in the four-semester option select a minor concentration — consistent with their territory of investigation — from among the hundreds available at Cornell, either within the field of architecture (i.e., advanced architectural design, theory and criticism or architecture, urban design, building technology and environmental science, computer graphics, history of architecture, and history of urban development), or outside the field of architecture (e.g., sociocultural anthropology, photography, studio art, East Asian literature and culture, biological engineering, structural mechanics, transportation systems engineering, human-computer interaction, comparative literature, sustainable design studies, human factors and ergonomics, feminist, gender, and sexuality studies, visual studies, and other possibilities found within graduate fields throughout the university).
Students in the four-semester option choose minor (and open) elective classes - consistent with their territory of investigation - during the final spring and fall semesters. Minor electives must be approved by the student’s special committee.
TI Electives
All students are required to take TI electives as specified in the curriculum. TI elective classes are those that have been designated or approved as being appropriate for the various TIs.
Minor Electives
Students in the four-semester program are required to take minor electives as specified in the curriculum. Minor elective classes are selected by the student, in consultation with the student’s special committee, as being appropriate for the student’s minor concentration.
Open Electives
All M.S. AAD students select open electives from any department in the university. Open electives must be 5000-level or higher.
Three-Semester Option
Students in the three-semester option are required to successfully complete two open electives.
Four-Semester Option
Students in the four-semester option are required to successfully complete three open electives.
M.S. AAD Learning Outcomes
There are four primary learning outcomes for the M.S. AAD program:
- Develop understanding of how current technological, social, cultural, ecological and economic forces are influencing architectural design, research, practice and pedagogy, specifically as they engage the now four “territories of investigation” (TIs): discourse, ecology, representation and urbanism (disciplinary knowledge, information literacy).
- Demonstrate proficiency in computational thinking, ecological design, advanced representation, and fabrication techniques used in architectural design (engagement in the process of discovery or creation).
- Identify and articulate a specific topic within the four TIs for further investigation in the student’s future professional or academic career (critical thinking, communication skills and self-directed learning).
- Exhibit an ability to synthesize representational techniques, computational thinking, current cultural demands, and emergent disciplinary issue within an applied research setting (engagement in the process of discovery or creation; communication skills).
M.S. AAD Policies
Students are expected to follow all university, college , and program policies. Failure to comply with any policy or petition decision may result in review by the program committee.
Good Academic Standing
To be in good academic standing, a student must:
- Successfully complete a minimum of 12 academic credits each semester; and
- Earn a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 2.300; and
- Follow the prescribed program curriculum and comply with all university, college, and program policies; and
- Earn no letter grade lower than C in design.
Grades
All required courses (design studios, required TI and minor electives classes) must be taken for a letter grade. Open electives can be taken under the letter or satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grading basis. Classes completed with an audit grade cannot be applied toward any curricular requirement.
Specifically:
- A grade of C or higher is required for a design studio class (ARCH 7111 , ARCH 7112 , and ARCH 7113 ) or thesis class (ARCH 8906 and ARCH 8907 ) to count towards degree requirements.
- A letter grade of D- or higher or a grade of S or SX is required for an elective class to be applied toward the open, TI, or minor elective requirement.
- Students who fail to maintain these grading standards are not in good academic standing.
Advanced Standing/Transfer Credit
There is no advanced standing or transfer credit in the M.S. AAD program. All students must complete all curricular requirements at Cornell’s Gensler Family AAP NYC Center and Ithaca campuses during the semesters specified.
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