Architecture, B.Arch.
Overview
The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) is a 5-year, first professional degree program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB, https://www.naab.org/) with a carefully defined set of “Program Criteria” (PC) and “Student Performance Criteria” (SPC). The B.Arch is for students proposing to pursue a career as a licensed architect or related profession, and centers around a carefully structured set of professional and technical courses about building design and construction, alongside the social, cultural and professional contexts in which architects operate. Our students graduate with a professional degree that prepares them to excel in practice—but that also launches them into key specialties within and around the profession.
Due to the technical nature of the B.Arch program at CMU, it is STEM-eligible, meaning that in addition to one year of Optional Practical Training (OPT), an international student on an F-1 visa may apply for a 24-month STEM OPT extension following graduation.
Statement on NAAB-Accredited Degrees
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 term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards.
Carnegie Mellon Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited programs:
-- Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) (450 units)
-- Master of Architecture (M.Arch) (Pre-professional degree or equivalent + 180 units)
The next NAAB accreditation visit for the Bachelor of Architecture is scheduled for 2026.
The next NAAB accreditation visit for the Master of Architecture is scheduled for 2030.
Further links can be found at https://www.architecture.cmu.edu/accreditation. The full 2020 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation can also be found on NAAB’s website at: https://www.naab.org/accreditation/about-accreditation.
Curriculum
Minimum units required for Bachelor of Architecture450
Architecture Design Studio174 units
| Units | ||
| 48-100 | Architecture Design Studio: Core 1 - Foundations | 15 |
| 48-105 | Architecture Design Studio: Poiesis Studio 2 | 15 |
| 48-200 | Architecture Design Studio: Core 3 - Tectonics | 18 |
| 48-205 | Architecture Options Studios: Core 3 | 18 |
| 48-300 | Architecture Design Studio: Core 5 - Ecologies | 18 |
| 48-305 | Architecture Design Studio: Praxis Studio 2 | 18 |
| 48-400 | Architecture Design Studio: Core 7 - Integrations | 18 |
| 48-410 | Advanced Synthesis Options Studio II OR equivalent | 18 |
| 48-500 | Advanced Option Studio OR equivalent | 18 |
| 48-510 | Advanced Synthesis Options Studio IV OR Thesis | 18 |
| 174 | ||
History, Urbanism, Practice & Ethics Stream60 units
| Units | ||
| 48-119 | Design Ethics & Social Justice in Architecture | 3 |
| 48-111 | Exploring Pittsburgh | 3 |
| 48-240 | History of World Architecture, I | 9 |
| 48-241 | Modern Architecture: History & Theory | 9 |
| 48-xxx | Architectural History III (selective) | 9 |
| 48-250 | Urbanism and the Social Production of Space | 9 |
| 48-380 | Constructing Value(s): Economies of Design | 6 |
| 48-381 | Issues of Practice | 6 |
| 48-383 | Ethics in Architecture | 6 |
| 60 | ||
Architectural Technologies Streams47 units
| Units | ||
| 48-104 | Shop Skills | 2 |
| 48-116 | Introduction to Building Performance | 3 |
| 48-215 | Materials & Assembly | 9 |
| 48-234 | Structural Design 1: Form and Forces | 6 |
| 48-324 | Structural Design 2: Materials and Analysis | 6 |
| 48-315 | Environmental Systems: Climate & Energy in Buildings | 9 |
| 48-432 | Environment II: Design Integration of Active Building Systems | 9 |
| 44 | ||
Computation & Representation Stream47 units
| Units | ||
| 99-101 | Core@CMU | 3 |
| 48-120 | Digital Media I | 6 |
| 48-121 | Drawing I | 6 |
| 48-112 | Digital Fabrication Skills | 2 |
| 48-125 | Digital Media II | 6 |
| 48-126 | Drawing II | 6 |
| 48-214 | Generative Modeling | 9 |
| 48-247 | Fundamentals of Computational Design | 9 |
| 47 | ||
General Studies & Electives122 units
| Units | ||
| 48-025 | First Year Seminar: Architecture Edition | 3 |
| 48-026 | Second Year Seminar: Architecture Edition II | 3 |
| 76-101 | Interpretation and Argument | 9 |
| 48-xxx | Architecture Electives | 27 |
| xx-xxx | Non-Architecture Electives (out of SoA) | 45 |
| xx-xxx | Flex Electives (in or out of SoA) | 32 |
| 119 | ||
Sample Schedule
| First-Year | Second-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| 48-100 Architecture Design Studio: Core 1 - Foundations | 48-105 Architecture Design Studio: Poiesis Studio 2 | 48-200 Architecture Design Studio: Core 3 - Tectonics | 48-205 Architecture Options Studios: Core 3 |
| 48-104 Shop Skills | 48-112 Digital Fabrication Skills | 48-215 Materials & Assembly | 48-241 Modern Architecture: History & Theory |
| 48-120 Digital Media I | 48-125 Digital Media II | 48-116 Introduction to Building Performance | 48-247 Fundamentals of Computational Design |
| 48-121 Drawing I | 48-126 Drawing II | 48-214 Generative Modeling | 48-026 Second Year Seminar: Architecture Edition II |
| 48-119 Design Ethics & Social Justice in Architecture | 48-111 Exploring Pittsburgh | xx-xxx Elective | xx-xxx Elective |
| 76-101 Interpretation and Argument | xx-xxx Elective | ||
| 99-101 Core@CMU | |||
| Third-Year | Fourth-Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| 48-300 Architecture Design Studio: Core 5 - Ecologies | 48-305 Architecture Design Studio: Praxis Studio 2 | 48-400 Architecture Design Studio: Core 7 - Integrations | 48-410 Advanced Synthesis Options Studio II |
| 48-234 Structural Design 1: Form and Forces | 48-324 Structural Design 2: Materials and Analysis | 48-432 Environment II: Design Integration of Active Building Systems | 48-381 Issues of Practice |
| 48-315 Environmental Systems: Climate & Energy in Buildings | 48-380 Constructing Value(s): Economies of Design | 48-250 Urbanism and the Social Production of Space | 48-383 Ethics in Architecture |
| xx-xxx Elective | 48-xxx Architectural History III (selective) | 48-561 Professional Development | xx-xxx Elective |
| xx-xxx Elective | xx-xxx Elective | ||
Fifth-Year
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| 48-500 Advanced Option Studio | 48-510 Advanced Synthesis Options Studio IV or 48-519 Architecture Design Studio: Thesis II/ Independent Project |
| xx-xxx Elective | xx-xxx Elective |
| xx-xxx Elective | xx-xxx Elective |
| xx-xxx Elective | xx-xxx Elective |