Architecture

Program Description

NDSU offers a 5-year NAAB accredited, first-professional Master of Architecture degree program housed primarily in a beautifully-restored historic industrial building in downtown Fargo, which has emerged as an exciting, student-oriented urban district. Most students entering the graduate program in architecture come directly from the NDSU pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architecture program. The curriculum includes field trips to cities across the country and is supported by a professionally-staffed wood shop, digital media labs, and laser cutters and 3D printing for model-making. Both traditional and digital media are emphasized. An optional semester abroad, plus foreign study tours during summers are offered.

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, 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 require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

North Dakota State University’s Architecture program offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program:

• M.Arch. (pre-professional degree + 30 graduate credits)
• Next accreditation visit: 2026

Admission Requirements

• Students currently enrolled in the 4-year pre-professional degree at NDSU may apply to the Master of Architecture program. Transfer students with pre-professional or professional degrees in architecture from another school may be considered for admission to years 4 and 5 in the program, based on test scores, GPA, and portfolio review.  Transfer students should contact the department directly before application to the Graduate School.
• Candidates must have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to be considered for full graduate standing

Curriculum

Click here for the latest information on the Curriculum.

Click here for course descriptions.

Bakr Mourad AlyAhmed, Ph.D. 
Virginia Tech, 2002
Creative/Research Interests: Beach Resort Design, Sustainable Design Modeling, Eco-Tourism Development, Building Capacity Measures, Advanced Environmental Planning

Mark Barnhouse, M.Arch.
Pratt Institute, 1988
Creative/Research Interests: Water Resources and the Built Environment, and the Graphic Interpretation of Parametric Data about the Built Environment

David Bertolini, Ph.D.
Temple University, 2007
Creative/Research Interests: Architecture and Film Theory, Ideology and Aesthetics

Darryl Booker, M.Arch. 
University of Colorado, 1980
Creative/Research Interests: Design Education, Design Process, Quantum Thinking, Ecology and Architecture

Michael Christenson, M.Arch., AIA
University of Minnesota, 1997
Creative/Research Interests: Architectural Epistemology, Commonalities between Architectural Analysis and Design; Iterative Processes; Parametric Modeling.

David A. Crutchfield, M.Arch., AIA
University of Texas at Austin, 2004
Creative/Research Interests: Theoretical inquiry into architecture as the interrelation of Nature, Culture, and Aesthetics; Innovation, Analysis, and Critical Evaluation of Eco-social Design; Sustainable Design in professional practice

Don C. Faulkner, M.Arch.
University of Utah, 1975
Creative/Research Interests: Urban Design, Building Community and Public Engagement

Dominic L. Fischer, MLA, PLA
City College of New York, 2011
Creative/Research Interests: Landscape Architecture History, Environmental Planning, Urban Design, Small Urban Spaces, Historic Preservation

Heather L. Fischer, MDS-HP
Boston Architectural College, 2014
Creative/Research Interests: Architectural Drawing; Environmental Design/Planning; Historic Preservation; Public Policies; Rural/Cultural Landscapes, and Planning

Paul H. Gleye, Ph.D. 
University of California Los Angeles, 1983
Creative/Research Interests: Place-making, Historic Preservation, City Centers

Charlott Greub, M.Arch.
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, 1992
Creative/Research Interests: Art, Urban Planning, and Design

Matthew Kirkwood, BLA, MDesS, PLA and AZA
Harvard University, 1993
Creative/Research Interests: Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning, Landscape Ecology, Construction Management and Professional Practice

Ganapathy Mahalingam, Ph.D.
University of Florida, 1995
Creative/Research Interests: Computer-Aided Architectural Design, Architectural Acoustics, Computational Modeling of Design, Interdisciplinary Research, Architectural Philosophy and the Architectural Genome Project

Kathleen Pepple, MFA, MCRP 
University of North Dakota, 1981;
North Dakota State University, 1991
Creative/Research Interests: Interstices-Landscape to Architecture, wetland to forest, actual to created image/photography and painting

Ronald H.L.M. Ramsay, M.Arch.
University of Texas at Austin, 1992
Creative/Research Interests: Architectural History, Historic Preservation, the Progressive Era, Planning History, Professionalization, Faith and Form

Regin Schwaen, M.A.A. 
City Building, Arkitektskolen i Aarhus, 1992
Creative/Research Interests: Urban Buildings, Conceptual Models, Minimal Concrete Structures, Visual Communication

Malini Srivastava, M.Arch. 
University of Minnesota, 1998
Creative/Research Interests: Gaming and Architecture, Responsive building skins material experimentation, High-performance design (energy modeling), Raster- and vector-mapping to inform next generation community actions

Cindy Urness, M.Arch. 
Pratt Institute, 1988
Creative/Research Interests: Building Technology, Urban Design, Utopian Cities, Sustainable Design, Universal Design, Student Success

Stephen Wischer, M.Arch., MFA 
University of Calgary, 2004
Creative/Research Interests: History/Theory, Existential Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Relationships, Art, Embodied Artifacts, Process, Experience and Poetics