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B.Arch. Professional Degree Program

B.Arch. review

William Staffeld / AAP

B.Arch. student review with architecture faculty members, Henry Richardson Arthur Ovaska, and Mark Morris.


Architectural education at Cornell is highly structured and intensive. It emphasizes design, as well as theory, history, technology, and structures. The five-year professional degree program for undergraduates — one of a kind in the Ivy League — balances the intensity of a professional education with opportunities to use the resources of a world-class university. Although most courses will be directly concerned with architecture, students will take about one-quarter of the total program in other colleges at Cornell and in other departments within AAP. Students also study in Rome and New York City for an average of one semester each.

 

Design studios at each level immerse students in design culture, helping them develop the skills and intellectual tools to solve problems. Ten terms of design are required, and it is the focal point of every semester. Studio exercises vary significantly during the five years. Basic conceptual skills are emphasized early on, along with introducing the elements of architecture. Students will learn to communicate ideas through models and graphics. Additional courses in history and drawing help lay the foundation for the rest of your education.

 

Note on Professional Accreditation
In the U.S., 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: bachelor of architecture, master of architecture, and doctor of architecture. A program may be granted a six-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 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.

 

AAP offers two NAAB-accredited degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.),176 undergraduate credits and the Master of Architecture, professional (M.Arch.1), 114 graduate credits.

 

Next accreditation visit for the B.Arch.: 2016

Next accreditation visit for the M.Arch.1: 2013