Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture I (3 year track)

The Master of Architecture I is a NAAB-accredited, 3 year (7 semesters) program intended for students holding undergraduate degrees in non-design fields. This STEM-designated professional degree program provides a well-grounded understanding of architecture as students immerse in contemporary challenges to address a variety of social, cultural, technological and programmatic contexts.

At the heart of the M.Arch I curriculum are Core Studios that introduce students to critical topics, imbue necessary skills, inspire critical thinking, examine the production of meaning in architecture, and foster an understanding of architecture as an integrative discipline. The Core Studios are carefully synchronized with core courses in drawing and visualization, history and theory, technology and systems, and practice.

The first year begins with an examination of the relationship between nature, landscape, and the built environment, and how architectural form is informed by a careful reading of place. A summer in the School’s Rome studio is configured to provide an intensive, on-site experience balancing design, history, theory, and analysis through drawing. In order to make travel to Rome more accessible, the School covers the cost of travel and lodging for this trip.

During the second year, students engage design-based critical inquiry into more complex issues including technology, structural systems, environmental stewardship, building envelope systems, and social human-centered aspects of architecture. In the Integrative Studio, which systematically incorporates professionals into the studio environment, students emulate modes of practice by organizing a complex architectural project combining design considerations with complex building systems, while also demonstrating proficiency in technical documentation.

In their final year, graduate M.Arch students are expected to pursue a final degree project. Final degree projects comprise one of two tracks:

1) Design Thesis, an opportunity for each student, working with a faculty advisor, to conduct independent scholarly research and define an individual position with regard to the discipline of architecture

2) Graduate Design Research Studio, led by a faculty member, which investigates relevant or thematic issues of architecture.

Beyond the Core Studios, students are able to develop individual focus areas, for instance in advanced technology, design-build, and building construction, sustainability and resilience, urban design, historic preservation, and adaptive-use, healthcare, or hospitality. Students direct their trajectory following their interests, develop areas of professional concentration through certificates, and engage in critical research.

U-SoA faculty are joined each year by internationally-recognized visiting scholars and fellows. The diversity of faculty interests and experience offers opportunities for students in the selection of Advanced Elective Design Studios. The School is home to innovative research units, including RAD-UM, a lab dedicated to emergent embedded technology, the Laboratory of Littoral Urbanism, an acclaimed design/build program, and the Center for Urban and Community Design.

The M.Arch degree can also be combined efficiently with on-site post-professional degree programs, such as the Master of Science in Architecture, Master of Urban Design, Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism, and Master of Construction Management.

Master of Architecture I AP (2 year advanced standing track)

The Master of Architecture I AP is a 2-year (4-semester program) for students holding a pre-professional degree in architecture or a closely-related field. This STEM-designated professional degree program provides an advanced platform for students to engage contemporary challenges and address a variety of social, cultural, technological and programmatic contexts.

This M.Arch I AP program allows students to advance their undergraduate education by engaging more complex challenges, honing their skills in essential areas, and by developing individual focus areas, for instance in advanced technology, design-build, and building construction, sustainability and resilience, urban design, historic preservation and adaptive-use, healthcare, or hospitality. Students direct their trajectory following their interests, develop areas of professional concentration through certificates, and engage in critical research.

In their final year, graduate M.Arch students are expected to pursue a final degree project. Final degree projects comprise one of two tracks:

1) Design Thesis, an opportunity for each student, working with a faculty advisor, to conduct independent scholarly research and define an individual position with regard to the discipline of architecture

2) Graduate Design Research Studio, led by a faculty member, which investigates relevant or thematic issues of architecture.

U-SoA faculty are joined each year by internationally-recognized visiting scholars and fellows. The diversity of faculty interests and experience offers opportunities for students in the selection of Advanced Elective Design Studios. The School is home to innovative research units, including RAD-UM, a lab dedicated to emergent embedded technology, the Laboratory of Littoral Urbanism, an acclaimed design/build program, and the Center for Urban and Community Design.

The M.Arch degree can also be combined efficiently with on-site post-professional degree programs, such as the Master of Science in Architecture, Master of Urban Design, Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism, and Master of Construction Management. 

Certificates

Graduate students increasingly look to areas of concentration that can provide skill and knowledge bases for professional applications. Historic Preservation, Design for Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable and Resilient Design, Design for Health and Well-Being, Construction Management, Urban Design, and Real Estate Development prove to be rapidly growing areas of professional specialization as they engage critical areas of investigation in contemporary architecture. The certificate programs address both the intellectual and academic needs of the School of Architecture, and the desire of the School to use its current curriculum as a platform to engage these specialized areas further.

Certificates require 15 credits of one certificate-related studio (6 cr) and related architecture electives (9 cr).

Admission Requirements

Applications are generally considered for entrance in the Fall semester. only. Design studios in the Master of Architecture programs are sequenced to deliver a cohesive educational experience and students are expected to follow the established design studio sequence for their program. Students entering the program in Spring or Summer are not eligible to enter the studio sequence at that time, but may take electives or other required courses. This will necessarily extend the duration of the Master of Architecture program.

Applications start on November 1 until June 1 for entry in Fall and October 1 until December 1 for entry in Spring. Admission to the Graduate Program is subject to the rules, regulations and procedures of the Graduate School as stipulated in the University Graduate Bulletin. It is the responsibility of each student to understand these requirements and to ensure that they are met.

Applications will be reviewed by the Architecture Faculty Graduate Admissions Committee only after fulfilling the below requirements and all of the following documents have been received:

1. 3.0 cumulative point average
2. Completed application form with an application fee. This fee is mandatory.
3. A letter or statement expressing your interest in the program and reasons for applying.
4. Official transcripts of all college and university courses taken, indicating the date your professional or other undergraduate degree was awarded. All transcripts must be sent directly from the institution’s registrar. E-scripts to download are also accepted. See more information on international transcripts below.
5. Three academic (and professional, if applicable) letters of recommendation. If you have waived your right for access to your letters, they may be sent directly from the recommender, or they may be included with your application in a signed and sealed envelope.
6. Digital portfolio sent to email: SoAgradadmissions@miami.edu.                          

Please save the digital portfolio with your Lastname_Firstname. Digital portfolios must be no greater than 8 MB. You may also share a portfolio link to review your work.

In the MArch. I./3 year track it is not required to submit a portfolio but it offers candidates an opportunity to present their visual interests and artistic skills. The work may include, but is not limited to reproductions of drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculpture, woodwork, photographs, video work and models. Although drafting (CAD or hand-drawing) courses are not required for admission to the 3-year program, students who want to include such drawings, are encouraged to do so.

Students applying for advanced standing (MArch.I AP/ 2-year track) must present a selection of their best architectural works during their pre-professional studies. In order to facilitate the waiving of courses and studios, examples must emphasize comprehensive skills including sketches, plans, sections and elevations, and graphics that exhibit conceptual and diagramming abilities, understanding of structures and of urban context, as well as any other skills (computer modeling, models, photography and film abilities, etc.). Examples of professional work are encouraged but must clearly identify and describe work done independently and as part of a team.

Additional requirements for International Students:

1. TOEFL of min. 80 or IELTS of min. 6.5 (please use University code 5815). 
2. Graduate international transcripts will be reviewed by one of the approved Evaluation Services:

• Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., International Education Associates , (www.jsilny.org)
• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (www.ece.org)
• World Education Services (www.wes.org)

For application review purposes, English translated official transcripts are sufficient. Once the applicant gets admitted, the international evaluation report is required. 

Please visit our website at www.arc.miami.edu and refer to our latest admission and portfolio requirements here.

Master of Architecture I  (3 year track)

For students with non-architecture degrees (completion of 105 credits is required)

Master of Architecture I AP (2 year advanced standing track)

For students with pre-professional degrees in architecture or closely related field (completion of 60 credits is required)

Suggested Plan of Study

Master of Architecture I  (3 year track)

For students with non-architecture degrees (completion of 105 credits is required)

Master of Architecture I AP (2 year advanced standing track)

For students with pre-professional degrees in architecture or closely related field (completion of 60 credits is required)

Goals

• To prepare students for professional leadership and lifelong learning in architecture, urbanism, and related fields. 
• To preserve and develop knowledge for the profession through research and practice. 
• To share knowledge locally and internationally through community service. 
• To promote building and community design goals of environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic sustainability. 

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students will demonstrate the ability to effectively use basic architectural and environmental principles in design.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse points of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions, and test alternative outcomes against relevant criteria and standards.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to read, write, speak and listen effectively.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to use appropriate representational media, such as traditional graphic and digital technology skills, to convey essential formal elements at each stage of the programming and design process.