Architecture
The architect must combine an understanding of society, artistic skill, and technological knowledge to shape places and spaces that enrich human life. Not only do the physical requirements need to be satisfied, but also there must be beauty to engage the human spirit. All of this requires a creative thought process that can balance and organize needs that are quite varied in nature. Clear, responsible, sensitive, and comprehensive thinking is demanded of the architect who is to integrate a wide range of factors into a design that is meaningful. For this reason an architect’s education must range from the practical aspects of building construction to the study of environmental, social, and aesthetic issues.
Central to the study of architecture is the sequence of architectural studio courses. Students are assigned architectural problems, which may be hypothetical, realistic, or theoretical, and find their own solutions to them with frequent individual consultations with instructors. As the student progresses, the projects become larger and more complex or the solution becomes more detailed. In this way, knowledge and experience acquired in other classes are brought to bear on the principal responsibility of the architect and the architecture student, that of shaping separate considerations into a single design.
Selective Admission
Admission into the first-year Pre-Architecture Program is open to any student enrolled at NDSU. Transfer students are evaluated on the basis of courses taken and grades received. Upon completion of the first year, a selected number of students are admitted to the second year of the program on the basis of institutional GPA attained and performance in first-year environmental design courses.
The Program
At the end of the third year of study, students may apply to the Master of Architecture degree program. The Bachelor of Science in Architecture is granted after the fourth year of study, and the professional Master of Architecture degree at the end of the fifth year of study. The program is fully accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, and the M.Arch. degree is recognized by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards as a professional degree.
The total number of credits required for the professional degree is 168, and the bachelor degree requirement is 136.
Accreditation
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.
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.
Special Notice
Students who are admitted into the second year of the program will be required to purchase a laptop computer before the beginning of the spring semester. Information on type of computer, software, purchase, and financing arrangements will be distributed to admitted students prior to purchase.
Major Requirements
Major: Architecture
Degree Type: B.S.Arch
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 136
General Education Requirements
| First Year Experience (F): | ||
| UNIV 189 | Skills For Academic Success (Students transferring in 24 or more credits do not need to take UNIV 189.) | 1 |
| Communication (C): | ||
| ENGL 110 | College Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 120 | College Composition II | 3 |
| ENGL 326 | Writing in the Design Professions | 3 |
| or ENGL 357 | Visual Culture and Language | |
| COMM 110 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning (R): Select from current general education list | 3 | |
| Science & Technology (S): | ||
| PHYS 120 | Fundamentals of Physics | 3 |
| or PHYS 220 | Physics for Designers | |
| Select from current general education list. A one-credit lab must be taken as a co-requisite with a general education science/technology course unless the course includes an embedded lab experience equivalent to a one-credit list. | 7 | |
| Humanities & Fine Arts (A): No grades below 'C' allowed for these two courses. | ||
| ENVD 101 | Introduction to Environmental Design | 3 |
| ARCH 321 | History of Architecture I | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (B): | ||
| PSYC 111 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| ANTH 111 | Introduction to Anthropology | 3 |
| Wellness (W): Select from current general education list | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D): | ||
| ANTH 111 | Introduction to Anthropology | 3 |
| Global Perspectives (G): | ||
| ARCH 321 | History of Architecture I | 3 |
| Total Credits | 40 | |
Major Requirements
No grades of 'D' allowed for Major Requirements
| General Education Requirements | 40 | |
| Architecture Requirements | ||
| ENVD 130 | Drawing for Environmental Designers | 3 |
| ENVD 172 | Environmental Design Fundamentals | 4 |
| ARCH 231 | Architectural Drawing | 3 |
| ARCH 232 | Design Technology | 3 |
| ARCH 233 | Math for Designers | 1 |
| ARCH 271 | Architectural Design I | 6 |
| ARCH 272 | Architectural Design II | 6 |
| ARCH 322 | History of Architecture II | 3 |
| ARCH 326 | Design Theory | 3 |
| ARCH 341 | Site Design for Architects | 3 |
| ARCH 344 | Architectural Structures I | 3 |
| ARCH 351 | Materials & Construction | 4 |
| ARCH 371 | Architectural Design III | 6 |
| ARCH 372 | Architectural Design IV | 6 |
| ARCH 443 | Architectural Structures II | 3 |
| ARCH 450 | Architectural Detailing | 3 |
| ARCH 453 | Environmental Control Systems: Passive Principles | 3 |
| ARCH 454 | Environmental Control System: Active System | 3 |
| ARCH 461 | Urban Design | 3 |
| ARCH 471 | Architectural Design V (capstone) | 6 |
| ARCH 472 | Architectural Design VI | 6 |
| or ARCH 474 | International Design Studio | |
| Elective Requirements | ||
| SOC 110 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| PHIL 101 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| Degree Electives: Potential of 9 credits to reach 136 (3 credits must be non-major). | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 136 | |
| Architecture - Graduate Level | ||
| ARCH 763 | Programming/Thesis Prep | 3 |
| ARCH 781 | Professional Practice | 3 |
| ARCH 771 | Advanced Architectural Design | 6 |
| ARCH 772 | Design Thesis | 8 |
| Select 12 credits from the following: | 12 | |
| Non-Western Architectural Traditions | ||
| Urbanism | ||
| Historic Preservation | ||
| Architectural Technology | ||
| Architecture or the Recent Past | ||
| Current Architectural Theory | ||
| Vernacular Architectural Traditions | ||
| Sociocultural Issues | ||
| Professional Topics in Architecture | ||
| Total Credits | 32 | |
Degree Requirements and Notes
- NO GRADES OF 'D' ALLOWED FOR ANY MAJOR OR NON-MAJOR COURSE.
- Courses listed on this curriculum guide will lead to both a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree and to an Masters of Architecture degree.
- Grades in any two consecutive undergraduate studio courses (ARCH 271, 272, 371, 372, 471, 472) must average 2.5 or better.
- A student must complete at least 60 semester credits of professional level course work in his/her program while in residence and enrolled in the college. Students transferring into the college from programs with professional accreditation are exempt from this residency requirement but are subject to the residency requirement of NDSU.
