Architecture
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Contact Us
Associate Provost for Academic Programs
Anthony Hall, Suite 220
1265 Lincoln Drive - MC 4305
SIU Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
(618) 453-2121
webmaster@siu.edu
Main Content
The Master of Architecture degree is a first professional degree intended for individuals who have completed a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture or architectural studies and requires a minimum of 42 credit hours that can be completed over a 15 month period including a summer, fall, spring and summer semester sequence.
Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
The core of the architecture program is the design studio. In the Graduate program students are exposed to community and regional design, technology, theory, and building design. Students are required to take advanced courses in research methods, programming and professional practice. Students receive a rigorous and demanding education that will prepare them for a variety of architectural intern positions.
The focus of the program will develop through the:
- Traditional program strength in technological innovation and practice connected to architectural theory.
- Service and discovery related to the regional and global culture and environment as a unique model and framework for the study of architecture.
- Investigation of the work and legacy of R. Buckminster Fuller at Southern Illinois University as it impacts twenty-first century architecture.
Accreditation
The entire undergraduate and graduate curriculum is designed to fulfill National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) requirements and conditions for a professional degree in architecture. The Master of Architecture degree is fully accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and meets educational requirements for licensure in Illinois and other states as well as National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certification requirements.
- In the United States, most state 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 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.
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Master’s degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional 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.
Vision and Mission
The SIUC architecture graduate program invites students to unleash their potential and join in the exploration, development, and creation of architecture in the heartland of America. It is our vision to be an architectural program of excellence built upon the cultural and environmental heritage of the Southern Illinois region that provides a superior education and produces the highest quality architectural scholarship and research to serve our global communities.
Through our cultural heritage, environmental context and the tradition of integrating emerging technology and innovative practice, the mission of the architecture faculty and students is to explore, create, and develop architecture as a synthesis of design excellence, artistic expression, technology and community involvement.
Goals
- Our graduates are lifelong learners, leading citizens and professionals in communities throughout the world.
- We provide for the development of individual creativity through the expression of human, social and environmental values.
- We serve our communities through problem solving and creative efforts in the addressing of regional issues.
- We seek to fulfill the vision expressed by Ernest Boyer and Lee Mitgang in Building Community to:
- Produce architecture that enhances the quality of life of our communities, serves the needs of clients, uplifts the human spirit, preserves the environment, provides social justice and expands aesthetic frontiers.
- Pursue the scholarship of discovery, integration, application and teaching.
- Provide a curriculum that is liberal, flexible and integrated both within the discipline of architecture and in connections with other disciplines in the design-build process.
Admission
A complete application consists of:
- The Master of Architecture application form
- Graduate School application
- Application fee of $65
- Portfolio
- Examples of work should include design studio work, professional presentation drawings, and any related expressions that demonstrate the applicant’s design and communication abilities. Professional work should include a statement from the employer stating the role of the applicant in the process and product of the work.
- Preferred sizes: (8 ½” x 11”) or (11” x 17”). Use a PDF file.
- Maximum number of pages: 25
- Covers and binding: simple and easy to read
- Portfolios cannot be returned to the applicant.
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Statement of purpose expressing academic and professional career goals and plans
International applicants also need to supply TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores that satisfy the Graduate School requirements and Certification of Finances for Admission to the Graduate College.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for the Master of Architecture Program. However, many scholarship and fellowship opportunities do require the GRE. Applicants are encouraged to submit test scores.
Application materials are reviewed by the faculty of the School of Architecture. Each submission is evaluated individually and the decisions are based upon the quality of the portfolio, the strength of the academic record, the letters of recommendation, professional experience and the commitment and clarity expressed in the letter of intent.
Requirements
The SIUC School of Architecture Master's of Architecture program curriculum has been created to provide a superior architectural education and satisfy the National Architectural Board (NAAB) “Student Performance Requirements”. The program offers multiple tracks (on-campus, online/hybrid delivery options, and IPAL) toward degree completion, depending on entry qualifications and degree needs (outlined below). All applications will be reviewed to ascertain fulfillment of the educational criteria of the SIU undergraduate program and accreditation standards. Based on student undergraduate credentials, multiple curricular paths are defined to address these requirements.
Candidates who have already earned a four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies degree, or its equivalent, may be able to complete the program in a little as 15 months of study. For these students, the graduate program consists of 42 total credit hours, completed over the course of four continuous, intensive study semesters (whether online or on-campus). Students from other majors are required to complete additional coursework (see the 27- and 39-month curriculum guides), or variation, depending on an evaluation of their previous coursework. Any deficiencies will be defined upon acceptance into the program as well as the necessary course requirements to eliminate those deficiencies. Those requirements must be fulfilled prior to completion of the Master of Architecture degree. An additional Integrated Path to Architecture Licensure (NCARB IPAL) is also offered in the online format, outlined below.
Path A - 15-Month Curriculum
(For candidates with a 4-year pre-professional degree in architecture)
Summer I Semester
ARC 550: Regional Architecture Studio (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Fall Semester
ARC 500: Research Methods and Programming (3 CH)
ARC 541: Arch. Systems & the Environment (3 CH)
ARC 551: Comprehensive Architecture Design Studio (6 CH)
ARC 591: Architectural Professional Practice I (3 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Spring Semester
ARC 532: Global Traditions in Architecture (3 CH)
ARC 552: Graduate Architectural Design Thesis I (6 CH)
ARC 592: Architectural Professional Practice II (3 CH)
Elective: (3 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Summer II Semester
ARC 554: Design/Thesis II (6 CH) –OR-
ARC 593: Architectural Research Paper (6 CH) –OR-
ARC 599: Thesis (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
(For candidates with a 4-year degree in interior design or an allied area of practice)
Fall I Semester
ARC 341: Building Technology II (4 CH)
ARC 361: Architectural Structures I (3 CH)
ARC 381: Environmental Design I (2 CH)
ARC 451: Design V - Urban Design (6 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Spring 1 Semester
ARC 342: Building Technology III (4 CH)
ARC 361: Architectural Structures II (3 CH)
ARC 452: Design VI - Integration (6 CH)
ARC 462: Architectural Structures III (3 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Summer I Semester
ARC 500: Regional Architecture Studio (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Fall II Semester
ARC 554: Design/Thesis II (6 CH) -OR-
ARC 593: Architectural Research Paper (6 CH) -OR-
ARC 599: Thesis (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Spring II Semester
ARC 550: Regional Architecture Studio (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Summer II Semester
ARC 500: Research Methods and Programming (3 CH)
ARC 541: Arch. Systems & the Environment (3 CH)
ARC 551: Comprehensive Architecture Design Studio (6 CH)
ARC 591: Architectural Professional Practice I (3 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
(For candidates with a 4-year degree in other fields of study)
Summer I Semester
ARC 121: Arch. Communication I (4 CH)
ARC 122: Arch. Communication II (4 CH)
TOTAL 8 Credit Hours
Fall I Semester
ARC 231: Architectural History I (3 CH)
ARC 251: Design I: Concept (4 CH)
ARC 271: Computers in Architecture (3 CH)
ARC 361: Architectural Structures I (3 CH)
ARC 381: Environmental Design I (2 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Spring I Semester
ARC 532: Architectural History II (3 CH)
ARC 552: Building Technology I (3 CH)
ARC 592: Design II - Order (4 CH)
ARC 362: Architectural Structures II (3 CH)
TOTAL 13 Credit Hours
Summer II Semester
No Courses Required
Fall II Semester
ARC 341: Building Technology II (4 CH)
ARC 451: Design V - Urban Design (6 CH)
ARC 481: Environmental Design II (3 CH)
ARC 591: Architectural Professional Practice I (3 CH)
TOTAL 16 Credit Hours
Spring II Semester
ARC 342: Building Technology III (4 CH)
ARC 452: Design VI - Integration (6 CH)
ARC 462: Architectural Structures III (3 CH)
ARC 482: Environmental Design III (3 CH)
TOTAL 16 Credit Hours
Summer II Semester
ARC 550: Regional Architectural Studio (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Fall III Semester
ARC 500: Research Methods and Programming (3 CH)
ARC 541: Arch. Systems & the Environment (3 CH)
ARC 551: Comprehensive Architecture Design Studio (6 CH)
ARC 591: Architectural Professional Practice II (3 CH)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Spring III Semester
ARC 532: Global Traditions in Architecture (3 CH)
ARC 552: Graduate Architectural Design Thesis I (6 CH)
ARC 592: Architectural Professional Practice II (3 CH)
Elective: (3)
TOTAL 15 Credit Hours
Summer III Semester
ARC 554: Design/Thesis II (6 CH) -OR-
ARC 593: Architectural Research Paper (6 CH) -OR-
ARC 599: Thesis (6 CH)
TOTAL 6 Credit Hours
Contact
Director of Graduate Studies
875 South Normal
413 Quigley Hall, MC 4337
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL 62901
Email: architecture@siu.edu
Phone: 618-453-3734
Fax: 618-453-1129
Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure (IPAL) Option
The Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure program is offered in an online format as an option for students. This Program consists of 43 graduate credit hours total. In addition to 39 hours of the 42-credit graduate program shown above, four courses are completed: ARC 594, ARC 595, ARC 596, and ARC 597. The elective shown in the 42-credit hour graduate program is replaced by one of these courses. All four courses are completed to fulfill the IPAL option.
To be admitted to the IPAL option, applicants must have documented work experience of at least 2000 hours on their National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Council Record, also known as the Architectural Experience Program (formerly known as the Intern Development Program). Applicants must also be working in a firm that is willing to partner with the applicant and the School of Architecture to document IPAL requirements for the applicant during their time in the program. Applicants should verify that their state of first licensure permits taking the Architecture Registration Exam before completing the professional degree.
Students may complete one of the four IPAL courses as their elective provided their total educational record fulfills National Architectural Accrediting Board requirements for a professional degree.