Architecture (M. Arch), Program Information

Program Faculty

Department Chair (Interim)

Mary Anne Akers, PhD

Professor and Dean

Program Coordinator

Mohammad Gharipour, PhD

Professor

Department of Graduate Built Environment Studies

Office Location: CBEIS 217

Phone: 443-885-3910

Email:   mohammad.gharipour@morgan.edu 

Program Faculty

Jason Charalambides, PhD

Assistant Professor

Ruth Connell, AIA

Associate Professor

Jeremy Kargon, AIA

Associate Professor

Coleman Jordan

Lecturer

Cristina Murphy

Assistant professor

Fred Scharmen

Associate Professor

Program Description

Morgan’s Master of Architecture degree program prepares well-educated professionals who can address the challenges of design for contemporary urban regions. The program is designed especially for students who are employed during the day while pursuing academic work during the late afternoon and evenings. The program therefore allows students to support themselves and, if possible, to benefit from professional internship while still in school. 

The Graduate Program in Architecture addresses how design affects the range of activities fundamental to urban society and its built environment: developing our cities; designing for institutions, education, commerce and government; and creating the infrastructure to support them all. The Graduate Program in Architecture is interdisciplinary and collaborates through coursework and research with its sister programs in Landscape Architecture, City and Regional Planning, and Construction Management.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Graduate Program in Architecture align with those of its institutional home, the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University. Accordingly, Morgan’s Graduate Program in Architecture has three interrelated missions: to educate African American and other students for the profession; to promote research of critical issues in urban architecture; and to serve the metropolitan region of Baltimore and the State of Maryland through its academic activities. 

The Master of Architecture degree is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and is therefore accepted by National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and all US jurisdictions as a professional degree, which satisfies the educational requirements for licensure as registered architect. A complete statement about NAAB accreditation is included at the end of this catalog entry.

General Requirements

Candidates for the Master of Architecture degree must complete one of three curriculum tracks, depending upon previous academic preparation and degree standing. 

• For students without previous course work in architecture, the curriculum totals ninety (90) academic credit hours, including a capstone research-and-design project, the “Terminal Project.”
   

• For students with previous course work in architecture, including a non-accredited pre-professional degree, students must complete a minimum of sixty (60) academic credit hours, including the capstone research-and-design project.
   

• For undergraduate students at Morgan with 90 credits completed towards their BSAED degree, students may apply to the accelerated “3+2” program, which allows both completion of the BSAED degree and the eventual award of the Master of Architecture degree. Students accepted to the 3+2 program must complete a total of 120 undergraduate credits, fulfill all undergraduate General Education requirements, and complete a minimum of forty eight (48) graduate credit hours, including the capstone research-and-design project.

Admission

To be eligible for admission to the Master of Architecture program, an applicant must: 

• Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.  Current undergraduates in Morgan’s Department of Undergraduate Built Environment Studies may apply to an accelerated “3+2” program while still in their Junior year.

• Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 3.0 or better to be considered for regular admission. Students who possess a cumulative undergraduate G.P.A. of between a 2.5 and 2.9 may be considered for conditional admission.  Post-bachelor’s undergraduate credits will not be used to enhance G.P.A. requirements for admission to graduate study. 

• Submit an application for admission to the School of Graduate Studies.  All required documents must be submitted as directed by the School of Graduate Studies prior to program review and admission decision.  

• Use the application system to arrange for three letters of recommendation to be placed with the application.  These letters must be from officials or faculty members of institutions previously attended who are acquainted with the applicant’s ability for graduate study or from employment supervisors where applicable.  

• Submit a typed exposition regarding the candidate’s personal academic and professional plans and the reasons for selecting Morgan State University. 

• Submit a portfolio of visual work, including previous architectural designs, painting, sculpture, free-hand-drawings, or other material which documents both the applicant’s aptitude with the use of visual media and her or his way of seeing the built environment.

• Please contact the Program Coordinator for the most current description of portfolio guidelines.

Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant.  The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program.  The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer of admission should be made based on that review.

Candidacy

Generally, there are no candidacy requirements for the program.  However, the Architectural Thesis Seminar (ARCH 771) is considered a prerequisite for Thesis Design Studio.

Thesis/Dissertation Completion

Students are supposed to submit a research binder, including a research paper, for Architectural Thesis seminar before taking final studio (thesis project).

Program 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.

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.

Morgan State University, School of Architecture and Planning offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

• M. Arch. (non-pre-professional degree + 90 credits)
• M. Arch. (pre-professional degree + 60 graduate credits minimum)
• M. Arch. (pre-professional degree + 38 graduate credits: “3+2” Master of Architecture Degree Program)

Last accreditation visit for the program: 2017.

Program Course Requirements

Suggested Curriculum Sequence

• Architecture (M. Arch 90 Credit Hours), Curriculum Sequence  
• Architecture (M. Arch 60 Credit Minimum), Curriculum Sequence