Architecture- Master of Architecture
For information, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Architecture + Interior Design, 100 Alumni Hall, 513-529-7026, http://arts.MiamiOH.edu/architecture-interior-design/programs/graduate-studies.
Research and Support Facilities
Alumni Hall
The Department of Architecture + Interior Design is located in Alumni Hall, which for many years served as the University's main library. The central portion, which dates from 1909, was conceived as the most lavish building on campus when it was commissioned and remains an impressive space today. The rotunda is a focus for departmental ceremonies, receptions, and graduate program dinners. Since its restoration and 30,000 square foot addition designed by the renowned architectural firm Hammond, Beeby + Babka of Chicago was completed in 1997, Alumni Hall has served as a focal point for campus-wide activities. Almost all of the department's activities are housed within Alumni Hall, including individual studio space for each student in the program as well as classrooms, seminar spaces, faculty and administrative offices, the department woodshop, digital fabrication lab, the Alumni Hall Cage Gallery, and the W.W. Wertz Art and Architecture Library. All department classes, except the larger lecture sessions, are taught in Alumni Hall.
The Department of Architecture + Interior Design supports a mobile computing environment with wireless internet access provided to studio, lecture, seminar spaces, and the library. Students purchase/provide their own equipment that can support the software recommended by the digital media faculty. The department supports laser cutting, 3D printing, and CNC/Rapid Prototyping equipment.
Exhibit Galleries
The College of Creative Arts maintains several divisional art galleries. The exhibit gallery in Hiestand Hall supports faculty and student exhibits, traveling exhibitions, and other exhibits and events sponsored by the Departments of Art, Architecture + Interior Design, Theatre, and Music. The Cage Gallery, located in the lower level of Alumni Hall, provides ongoing exhibits of professional as well as student work within the Department of Architecture + Interior Design.
Admission Requirements
Application Process
Applications are considered from any student with an accredited bachelor’s degree, regardless of his/her major. Applicants must first satisfy the entrance requirements of the Graduate School of Miami University to be accepted into the Master of Architecture Program.
Application Deadline: January 15
Submit the Online Application to the Graduate School
This includes:
Three letters of recommendation, written by individuals who are able to assess academic or professional potential. At least one letter should be from an academic source. Specify recommenders in the online application.
A personal statement that describes how Miami University’s Master of Architecture degree will help the applicant attain educational goals, enable the applicant to explore interests, and also how the applicant could contribute to the academic and creative community of the graduate program.
A curriculum vitae or resume that describes academic and professional accomplishments, scholarship, research, and creative activity.
A writing sample, either academic or creative.
Submit Optional GRE Scores
Miami University’s code is 1463 and Graduate Architecture Studies code is 4401.
Submit a portfolio of creative work
Please upload your portfolio using one of the following formats below:
Document: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx
Slide: .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff
For applicants to the M. Arch. II program, the portfolio should include examples of undergraduate and/or professional architectural design projects. All M. Arch. applicants are encouraged to include non-architectural work within their portfolio as well.
For applicants to the M. Arch. III program, the portfolio can include examples from architectural projects, if applicable. The portfolio should include work that demonstrates creative accomplishments.
Portfolio contents can be from any creative field, including design, photography, studio arts, film, writing, music, and performance. Candidates from technical disciplines, such as science or engineering, should contact the program to determine suitable application materials.
To have portfolios returned, please include a pre-addressed mailer with postage. The department assumes no responsibility for the loss of any portfolio.
Program Requirements
Programs vary according to undergraduate preparation. The M. Arch. II is a two-year program entailing 60 credit hours of graduate-level courses. (Additional credit hours required if all prerequisites have not been met.) This program is designed for students with the equivalent of Miami’s Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.
Students who do not have an architectural degree or equivalent can expect to complete a Master of Architecture degree in three years. The M. Arch. III program includes 28 credit hours of preparatory courses in addition to the final 60 credit hours for a total of 88 credit hours. After the preparatory courses in both semesters of the first year, the student must undergo review from the graduate faculty to continue in the program.
National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Statement
In the United States, most 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 professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the 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 require a preprofessional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The Department of Architecture + Interior Design at Miami University offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs: Master of Architecture II (pre-professional degree + 60 graduate credits) and Master of Architecture III (non-pre-professional degree + 88 graduate credits). Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2031.
Transfer Credits
Students who have completed graduate course work in other architectural graduate programs may petition to receive credit for that work toward a Master of Architecture degree. Decisions about transfer credit, based on the applicant’s previous record, are made by the graduate committee after consultation with the appropriate instructor. Transfer credit is granted for work equivalent in content and rigor to Miami University’s offerings and may not, by Graduate School stipulation, exceed one-third of the credit hours of graduate course work required by the Department of Architecture + Interior Design.
Length of Program
The program outlines below represent the minimum length of each curriculum track. Typically, course waivers granted by the director of graduate studies (in consultation with graduate faculty) do not reduce total credit hour requirements of a program. Under certain circumstances, students entering the M. Arch. III program with strong backgrounds in some design disciplines may petition to have their initial studio waived. The nature of the studio sequence, however, normally prevents any reduction of semesters in residence in the M. Arch. II and M. Arch. III programs.
These program tracks can be extended only upon consultation with the graduate director and the Graduate School. Candidates with insufficient backgrounds in core curricular areas, as determined by the director and graduate committee, will be required to take additional course work to attain the requisite curricular background.
Thesis
The student must produce a written research thesis document and a design thesis project with guidance and approval of a committee of graduate faculty from the department and the University. The thesis must meet standards, format, and procedures established by the Department of Architecture + Interior Design.
Program Outlines
The Master of Architecture (M. Arch.) is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Miami's graduate program in architecture accepts students from two different preparation backgrounds. Students from pre-professional undergraduate architecture programs who wish to complete their professional education and hold a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture or a Bachelor of Science in Architecture apply to the M. Arch. II Program. Those who have earned an undergraduate degree in fields other than architecture apply to the M. Arch. III Program.
Two-Year Professional Program in Architecture (M. Arch. II)
(60 credit hours with pre-professional design degree. Additional credit hours will be required if all prerequisites have not been met.)
The two-year professional program is designed for students with a pre-professional degree that is the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. Normally, a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in Architecture is considered an equivalent pre-professional degree. Other undergraduate degree programs, in which the students have completed four years of architectural design studio and requisite coursework in architectural history and architectural technology, may also satisfy partial requirements for admission to the M. Arch. II Program.
Students admitted to the two-year program must complete 60 graduate credit hours, normally completed in two academic years. Additional credit hours are required if all prerequisites have not been met. All students in the M. Arch. II Program are expected to produce a written thesis document and a design thesis project. Students who have previously completed coursework that is the equivalent of required courses in the M. Arch. II sequence may be given credit for that work toward completion of the Master of Architecture degree from Miami. While students may petition to have these course requirements waived, the total credit hours required for graduation will not be reduced. Miami credit and waivers are approved only by the department's graduate faculty in consultation with the graduate director. The following proposal outlines the typical sequence of required courses and electives for the two-year term.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| A 500-level departmental graduate seminar 1 | 3 | |
| ARC 513 | Environmental Control Systems I 2 | 3 |
| ARC 601 | Architecture Studio 3 | 6 |
| ARC 634 | Architectural Theory | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARC 511 | Structural Design 2 | 3 |
| ARC 514 | Environmental Systems II | 3 |
| ARC 602 | Architecture Studio 3,4 | 6 |
| ARC 636 | Design & Research Methods | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| A 500-level departmental graduate semimar 1 | 3 | |
| ARC 512 | Structural Design 2 | 3 |
| ARC 541 | Professional Practice 2 | 3 |
| ARC 701 | Pre-Thesis Design Studio | 6 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARC 551 | Contemporary Architectural Theory and Practice 2 | 3 |
| ARC 702 | Thesis Design Studio | 6 |
| A graduate-level elective | 3 | |
| A graduate-level elective (with approval of advisor) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 60 | |
- 1
See advisor to determine eligible course options.
- 2
ARC 511, ARC 512, ARC 513, ARC 514, ARC 541, and ARC 551 can be waived and elective coursework substituted if the student demonstrates that course requirements have been met in his/her previous curriculum.
- 3
ARC 517, ARC 518, and ARC 621-ARC 622 (or their equivalent) are the normal prerequisites for ARC 601-ARC 602. A pre-semester review will be held to determine if these prerequisites are met.
- 4
Three-Year Professional Program in Architecture (M. Arch. III)
(88 credit hour track for students with degrees in other disciplines)
The three-year (M. Arch. III) professional program is designed for students whose undergraduate degrees are outside the field of architecture. The program was established for two reasons. First, M. Arch. III students are generally a diverse group of individuals who bring perspective and an intellectual maturity that can benefit the program. Second, these students often return to school after significant work experience and, when combined with their prior education, can significantly enrich the teaching and learning culture of the graduate program and the department at large.
Students admitted to the M. Arch. III graduate program must complete 88 graduate credit hours that are normally completed in three academic years. All students in the M. Arch. III program are expected to produce a written thesis document and a thesis design project. Students who have previously completed coursework that is the equivalent of that required in the M. Arch. III sequence may be given credit for that work toward completion of the Master of Architecture degree. While students may petition to have these course requirements waived, the credit hours required to fulfill degree requirements will not be reduced. Miami credit and waivers are approved only by the department's graduate faculty in consultation with the graduate director.
The first year of the 88 credit-hour track is a preparatory year during which students receive intensive education in the fundamental principles of architectural design, graphic communication and visual analysis, architectural history and theory, and architectural technology. For M. Arch. III graduate students to continue in the program, design work from the preparatory year must be reviewed and approved by a committee of graduate faculty in the latter part of the spring semester.
The following curriculum outlines the typical sequence of required courses and electives for the three-year program.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| ARC 517 | Architectural Materials | 3 |
| ARC 582 | Architectural Design Studio | 6 |
| ARC 613 | Graphic Media II | 2 |
| ARC 621 | History of Architecture I | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARC 518 | Construction Methods | 3 |
| ARC 583 | Architectural Design Studio | 6 |
| ARC 614 | Graphic Media III | 2 |
| ARC 622 | History of Architecture II | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ARC 510 | Statics & Strengths of Materials | 3 |
| ARC 513 | Environmental Control Systems I | 3 |
| ARC 601 | Architecture Studio | 6 |
| ARC 634 | Architectural Theory | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARC 511 | Structural Design | 3 |
| ARC 514 | Environmental Systems II | 3 |
| ARC 602 | Architecture Studio | 6 |
| ARC 636 | Design & Research Methods | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| A 500-level departmental graduate seminar 1 | 3 | |
| ARC 512 | Structural Design | 3 |
| ARC 541 | Professional Practice | 3 |
| ARC 701 | Pre-Thesis Design Studio | 6 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| A 500-level departmental graduate seminar 1 | 3 | |
| ARC 551 | Contemporary Architectural Theory and Practice | 3 |
| ARC 702 | Thesis Design Studio | 6 |
| A graduate-level elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 88 | |
- 1
See advisor to determine eligible course options.