Master of Architecture- Three-Year Track

The physical and cultural context of Boston serves as a laboratory for the program’s design studios and is design-focused, but with a different approach than many schools. We find opportunities for innovation within the real estate and construction industries and current policy debates – rather than outside of them. This is how we intend to move architects to the center of the discussion about the future of our cities.

Open to candidates who do not have a Bachelor of Science in Architecture or equivalent. Applicants from all disciplines are welcome. Those who have some architecture course work may be eligible for advanced placement. The program requires three years of study. Students have the option to enroll in the summer intern program managed by the university’s co-op program. After completing a first-year introductory curriculum, students in the three-year program merge into the two-year MArch curriculum.

YEAR ONE: In the first year, students take intensive studios, technology classes, and architectural history classes to immerse them in the studio culture of the school and to give them a strong foundation to begin the upper-level studios. The introductory graduate skills and design studios are specifically designed for the students in this program who do not have experience doing architectural drawing and designing. Students complete a series of projects that will give them an opportunity to develop the skills and the critical thinking needed in the graduate curriculum.

YEAR TWO: The Boston Option Design Studio focuses on urban housing and its aggregation. Students have the opportunity to learn and develop new patterns of housing specifically for the city with their individual design interventions. The Comprehensive Design Studio in the second semester challenges the students to consider architectural connections at all scales, from architectural detail, to architectural systems, to the whole building and its urban context.

YEAR THREE: In the final year, students engage in a two-semester research and design project based on pertinent contemporary topics chosen by the graduate faculty, or students may propose an independent research and design project. Team research is conducted and compiled into online and physical research books. This body of compiled research then becomes the basis of the intellectual framework for the individual students’ design projects. This final degree project parallels an in-depth two-semester professional practice sequence that analyzes all of the contingencies of successful architectural projects, including architectural offices and their project management strategies, real estate development criteria, and associated project finance.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who graduate from Northeastern University with a degree in architecture, architectural studies or landscape architecture will have:

• Thorough 2D and 3D representation and modelling skills for deciphering and designing the built environment.

• Awareness of how global socio-cultural contexts influence the built environment, and how the built environment influences global communities.

• Thorough knowledge of sustainable and resilient design goals, strategies, and methods.

• Skills of communication and collaboration necessary for managing complex projects.

• Understanding of fundamental construction systems and techniques that shape the built environment.

• Critical ability to analyze and decipher complex environments.

• Exposure to the diverse range of professional opportunities and avenues for design of the built environment.

• Understanding of ethical responsibilities for designing the built environment.

Additionally, all graduates of the Masters of Architecture program will possess the knowledge and skills to pursue architectural registration. Such skills and knowledge are defined by The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which accredits professional degree programs in architecture.