The Massachusetts College of Art and Design Master of Architecture Program is designed to provide rigorous, accessible and affordable professional preparation for a variety of architecture careers in a world facing serious global challenges. Grounded in energy-conscious building and site design, studio coursework promotes the practical application of learned theory in building systems, construction technology, ethical practice and cultural traditions in architecture. The curriculum combines professional requirements with hands-on design-build experience focused on community living and working spaces, so that students develop as socially aware artisan-architects who are versatile problem-solvers and skilled collaborators, dedicated to sustainable improvement of the built environment.

The Massachusetts College of Art and Design offers a 60 credit Master of Architecture Degree. This program is designed to produce architects and designers of the technical and formal aspects of building, who are realistically prepared to be skilled collaborators in a collective environment of students, educators and professionals in architecture, engineering and construction in architectural projects ranging in scale from details in materials to housing and urban architecture.

We expect each student to develop a personal language of form and a responsible design ethic, from study of current, visionary, historic and vernacular architectures and experimentation with the intrinsic properties and geometries of materials and building systems. Through hands-on experience, students learn to appreciate the range of detail possibilities and expressive potential of building materials and structural systems.

Studio courses in housing, urban design and community projects are integrated with instruction in structural design, construction materials, building methods and service systems, so that learned theory is put directly into practice. Scale models and full scale mockups are used not merely as overall massing studies, but also as analogs for the building process, so that the process of model-building represents structural systems and connections with various infill systems, giving tactile three-dimensional understanding of two-dimensional representations.

Both state-of-the-art and traditional technologies are employed for 2D and 3D presentations. Students may make sophisticated computer representations of details or connections that they originally sketched by hand, then hand fabricated in our wood, metal or glass shops. Frequent constructive critiques by faculty and guest design/construction professionals assist students in refining designs: these discussions typically cover design and program issues for building and related site and neighborhood, materials and structural decisions, safety, accessibility and code concerns, legal and economic issues, and energy conservation.

Seminars in architectural history and the building traditions of different cultures widen the students' frame of reference, and introduce techniques which may be required in their professional lives for jobs that involve preservation, restoration and adaptive re-use of historical buildings or cultural districts. A final thesis permits each student to focus in detail on a research topic or building project of particular personal interest.

A Four-Semester, Two-Summer M. Arch Program
Our curriculum is offered in four intensive semesters, starting in summer, continuing through fall and spring, and ending with a final summer semester devoted to the student's thesis -- a design project grounded in research and practice and relevant to both the students experience and vision as well as the practice of architecture. Use of summer semesters permits shop and construction experience in prime building season, particularly during the first summer design-build intensive - so that all students develop experience with designing and crafting details and assembling materials.

A Travel Option
The communities in our cities, locally and nationally represent an increasingly diverse population in culture, ethnicity, and traditions, that may also be represented in architectural form. This is aligned with our philosophy to help students to understand the value of community and community building, One option to gaining understanding of diverse cultures and vernacular form and construction is to have studio experiences in different cultures, working with artisans, architects and community members in another country. The intention of this travel option would be to expose students to fabrication and design issues in another culture. During the second summer, students may elect to take an additional course that would culminate in a studio experience in another country.

Program-long Academic and Thesis advising
Advising in the M. Arch program is integral to study, and the student's experience at the College. Advising begins in the first summer, and continues throughout the program with the same advisor, with a culmination of a thesis that weaves the student's studies together from the program. Students will additionally select Readers for the Thesis project from both within and outside the program including professionals in the field.

Licensure
In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. Professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Master's degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans for achieving initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates that a program should be accredited within 6 years of achieving candidacy if its plan is properly implemented.

To practice architecture in Massachusetts, a student must receive a degree accredited by the National Architecture Accreditation Board (NAAB), as the first step in the licensure process. The second step is three years of practice/internship under the direct guidance of a Massachusetts Licensed Architect. Required enrollment in the Intern Development Program (IDP) administered by the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) where a candidate for licensure is monitored throughout their three years of practice serves as a guide for meeting the requirements of internship and to prepare the candidate for the Architecture Registration Examination (ARE). The professional exam for licensure is administered by NCARB.

Admissions
This graduate program can be entered, upon portfolio review, after completing the 120 credit undergraduate Bachelor of Arts Degree in the Architectural Design major. Students with an undergraduate architectural design degree from other schools may also apply for direct admission to our Master of Architecture Program. Students with an undergraduate degree but little or no architectural design experience may be accepted contingent on successful completion of required undergraduate preparatory studio classes, fulfilling the requirements for the preprofessional degree. Foreign architects may apply to take selected graduate courses as required to obtain American professional registration.

For more information on the M. Arch. program, a schedule of upcoming events, or scheduling a campus visit, please contact Patricia Seitz, Graduate Program Director. pseitz@massart.edu. T. 617-879-7669. For information concerning the M. Arch. application requirements or process, please contact the MassArt Graduate Office at 617-879-7166.