Courses of Study 2024-2025
Architecture – M.Arch.
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Master of Architecture (Professional)
Cornell’s professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) program is a seven-semester course of study dedicated to preparing individuals from diverse disciplines and backgrounds for careers in architecture. The M.Arch. program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). In addition, the M.Arch. program is now designated as a STEM program in Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology (CIP code 04.0902) making international M.Arch. graduates eligible to extend their F-1 visas for up to three years in order to work in the United States.
- Instruction mode: In person
- Program location: Ithaca, New York and New York City, New York (Gensler Family AAP NYC Center)
- Length of program: 7 semesters; 113 academic credits; full-time study
M.Arch. Degree Requirements
Semester Five: New York City
Semester Six: Ithaca or New York City
Total Units/Credit Hours: 113
* The following eight electives are required for graduation and can be taken in any order:
M.Arch. Requirement Areas
Departmental Electives
M.Arch. students are required to successfully complete four departmental electives. This requirement can be satisfied with approved departmental elective courses of 3 or more credits at the 5000-level or higher. Advanced placement credit or equivalency credit CANNOT be applied toward any of the departmental elective requirements.
Building Technology Elective:
Students are required to complete one building technology elective. This can be satisfied with successful completion of any ARCH course of 3 or more credits offered under the numbers ARCH 6605 – ARCH 6609 .
History Elective:
Students are required to complete one history elective. This can be satisfied with successful completion of any ARCH course of 3 or more credits offered under the numbers ARCH 5800 - ARCH 5819 and/or ARCH 6800 – ARCH 6819 .
Theory Elective:
Students are required to complete one theory elective. This can be satisfied with successful completion of any ARCH course of 3 or more credits offered under the numbers ARCH 6307 or ARCH 6308 .
Visual Representation Elective:
Students are required to complete one visual representation elective. This can be satisfied with successful completion of any ARCH course of 3 or more credits offered under the numbers ARCH 6508 – ARCH 6509 .
Open Electives
Students are required to successfully complete four open electives at the 5000-level or higher. Open electives can be taken in any academic department at Cornell. Open electives can be completed for a letter or S/U grade. Courses completed with an audit grade cannot be applied toward this requirement. Open electives cannot be satisfied with equivalency credit.
M.Arch. Learning Outcomes
The following Student Performance Criteria (SPC), based on NAAB requirements, define the expectations for graduating M.Arch students:
Realm A
- Critical Thinking and Representation: Architects must have the ability to build abstract relationships and understand the impact of ideas based on research and analysis of multiple theoretical, social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. This ability includes facility with the wider range of media used to think about architecture including writing, investigative skills, speaking, drawing and model making. Students’ learning aspirations include:
- Being broadly educated
- Valuing lifelong inquisitiveness
- Communicating graphically in a range of media
- Recognizing the assessment of evidence
- Comprehending people, place, and context
- Recognizing the disparate needs of client, community, and society
Realm B
Integrated Building Practices, Technical Skills, and Knowledge: Architects are called upon to comprehend the technical aspects of design, systems, and materials and be able to apply that comprehension to their services. Additionally, they must appreciate their role in the implementation of design decisions and the impact of such decisions on the environment. Students learning aspirations include:
- Creating building designs with well-integrated systems
- Comprehending constructability
- Incorporating life safety systems
- Integrating accessibility
- Applying principles of sustainable design
Realm C
Leadership and Practice: Architects need to manage, advocate, and act legally, ethically, and critically for the good of the client, society, and the public. This includes collaboration, business, and leadership skills. Student learning aspirations include:
- Knowing societal and professional responsibilities
- Comprehending the business of building
- Collaborating and negotiating with clients and consultants in the design process
- Discerning the diverse roles of architects and those in related disciplines
- Integrating community service into the practice of architecture
Realm D
Integrated Architectural Solutions: Graduates from NAAB-accredited programs must be able to synthesize a wide range of variables into an integrated design solution. This realm demonstrates the integrative thinking that shapes complex design and technical solutions.
Student learning aspirations include:
- Synthesizing variables from diverse and complex systems into an integrated architectural solution
- Rationalizing environmental stewardship goals across multiple systems for an integrated solution
- Evaluating options and reconciling the implications of design decisions across systems and scales
M.Arch. 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.
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 M.Arch. curriculum and comply with all university, college, and program policies; and
- Earn no letter grade lower than C in design.
Grades
All required courses and required department electives must be taken for a letter grade. Open electives can be taken under the letter or satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading basis. A letter grade of D- or a grade of S or SX is required for the course to be applied toward the open elective requirement.
Students receiving less than C for ARCH 8912 - Independent Design Thesis must register for ARCH 8104 - Design VIIa, taking a vertical studio (e.g., ARCH 5115 ) to complete their design sequence. As ARCH 8104 has three fewer credit hours than ARCH 8912 , students required to take ARCH 8104 may graduate with three credit hours less than otherwise required for total design sequence credit and for total credit hours, if a grade of F was earned in ARCH 8912 .
A student may repeat any given semester of design once* (for a total of two semesters). If, at the end of the second attempt, the student does not achieve a grade of C or better, the student is automatically denied permission to register in design, the effect of which will be to drop the student from the M.Arch. program. Note: Repeating a core design studio given the curricular structure will generally not be possible during the following semester.
*Exceptions: ARCH 8912 may not be repeated and ARCH 8104 may only be repeated once.
Studio Culture
The department’s Studio Culture Policy is available on the architecture department website.
Course Equivalency
M.Arch. students receive class equivalency information when they are admitted into the program. Students will have the opportunity to submit class syllabi and other materials from previous class work during their undergraduate degree for review by a faculty member charged with reviewing that area of study (history, building technology, professional practice, etc.). Faculty members then determine if equivalency is appropriate. If a student is awarded equivalency for a course, the student will be waived from the course requirement, but they will be required to complete the credits through open electives. The equivalency request form is available online at specific times throughout the year.
Independent Study
Students wishing to pursue an architecture department independent study course must complete an Architecture Independent Study form, which can be found online on the AAP Academic Forms page, endorsed by a faculty member in the department, and submit it to the architecture department office in accordance with enrollment deadlines. Independent study courses cannot be substituted for required courses. Independent study courses of 3 or more credits can be applied toward elective requirements.
Thesis Requirement
Thesis Submission:
Each student shall have an advisory faculty committee appointed by the department chair with the recommendations of the student and faculty. Advisors from outside the Department of Architecture may be added, at the student’s discretion, to serve as non-grading advisors.
Prior to the final thesis review, students must complete a thesis presentation form indicating the specific content of work to be presented. A draft of this form should be discussed with the student’s committee at least one week prior to the final submission.
Presentation content indicated on the form must be validated by a committee representative at a designated time before the final review, after which time the material to be presented at the final review can be neither added to nor altered in any way. Late work will not be considered for review. Forms are collected by the department chair or a representative designated by the chair. Students may be asked to store physical presentation objects (e.g., drawings, models, or photographs of objects impractical to store) as well as files for any digital content in a secure location designated by the department.
The thesis may be excluded from review altogether if the material submitted is substantially incomplete, in which case the project will receive a mandatory grade of F.
Thesis students may receive assistance in the production of their final review material from a maximum of two current non-thesis students in the B.Arch. or M.Arch. programs; no other assistance will be allowed. All work performed by these assistants must be given proper credit at the final review, as well as in the thesis publication.
Thesis Grading:
While critical evaluation is the primary focus of a final thesis review, the actual grading of a thesis project shall be the responsibility of the student’s thesis committee. Additional examining faculty in attendance at the review will be asked to submit recommendations for grades; these recommendations may be used by the thesis committee in determining the final grade.
Thesis Book:
As a part of the thesis requirement, each student must submit a hardbound thesis book including representations of the final project for deposit in the Fine Arts Library. The book shall include a title page that lists the student’s full name, the title of the thesis project, the degree (i.e., M.Arch.), and the expected date of graduation (i.e., May, August, or January; plus year). This book must be approved by a member of the thesis committee (or, in the absence of a committee member, by the chair) before the student’s final grade is submitted to the registrar. Approval is noted on the title page (signature of faculty member and date of receipt). Larger pages may be folded, and all pages must be numbered.
Expanded Design Thesis
Students may petition to complete an expanded two-semester thesis in semesters 6 and 7. Students need to form a thesis committee (two faculty) that advises during the full year of thesis. Students need to have all core curriculum requirements completed to be eligible to conduct an expanded design and research thesis.
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