Master of Architecture

The Master of Architecture degree is the first and only accredited architecture degree at a public institution in New England.

The course of study consists of three main components: core requirements, free electives that are to build an individualized area of knowledge, and a culminating degree project or thesis. Course offerings are organized around an interdisciplinary curriculum involving faculty and students from architecture, studio art, art history, public history, landscape architecture and regional planning, building materials and wood technology, civil engineering, environmental engineering, environmental sciences, computer science, and management. Students may also take classes through the Five College consortium, which includes Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges.

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. 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 preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

UMass Amherst Architecture+Design Program offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

M. Arch. (pre-professional degree + 57 graduate credits)
M. Arch. (non-pre-professional degree + up to 87 credits)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2016

Requirements
Prerequisites for admission to the three-year, non-pre-professional degree program are college physics, calculus and an introduction to architectural history. Applicants who hold a four-year pre-professional degree in architecture from an institution with an NAAB program (or equivalent) may be admitted with advanced standing and may be able to graduate in two years. The minimum requirement for graduation is up to 87 credits (based on the potential application of prior academic and/or practical experience) or 57 credits with advanced standing.

Core Requirements
Students are required to satisfactorily complete a core sequence in these areas: Studio, Technical, History and Practice.

Studio Sequence
Studio, Analysis, and Representation courses are required. A total of 36 credits can be earned in this area (18 credits for students with advanced placement).

Technical Sequence
Technical courses in Building Physics, Tectonics, and Architectural Integration are required. A total of 21 credits can be earned in this area (12 credits for students with advanced placement).

History and Theory Sequence
A minimum of 9 credits is required in the History and Theory sequence (6 credits for students with advanced placement).

Master’s Thesis or Degree Project
The Master Thesis sequence is comprised of Research Forum (3 credits), followed by two semester Master’s Thesis (9 credits).  An alternative culminating sequence, the Degree Project, is comprised ot Research Forum (3 credits), followed by an additional free elective that will expand the research initiated within the Research Forum, and a culminating studio. 

Free Electives
Each student in the Master of Architecture program is required to complete three Free Electives, graduate level courses outside of the required currlculum, for a total of 9 credits.  Free Electives can by used to develop individual interests and expertise.