Architecture, M.Arch.

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Objective

The Master of Architecture degree program has two primary goals within its mission: to prepare well educated professionals and to provide the context of Baltimore with a graduate program shaped to address the challenges of an urban setting. The program is designed for students who are actively employed in architectural offices during the day and pursuing academic learning at the university during evenings and weekends, which allows students to support themselves while at the same time benefiting from internship experience with local architectural firms. The program addresses urban issues in housing, health care, education, commerce and governance; the activities fundamental to the urban society and its built environment. These issues bring students in contact with the diversity of people who live and work in urban areas. Graduate architectural studies at Morgan are framed by considerations of urban design, city and regional planning, landscape design, historic preservation, information and construction technologies, and the behavioral sciences.

Course offerings include design, history and theory, professional practice, urban design, historic preservation, technology, visual communication including Building Information Modeling, ,: prepare the graduate for licensure and leadership roles in architecture profession, as well as for employability in information technology-based professional enterprises. Graduates of the program find meaningful employment in the greater Baltimore area as well as nationally and internationally. Graduates have joined established firms in various forms of private practice. Some have established professional practices and accepted positions in government or teaching.

The first professional degree in Architecture is designed to meet the needs of students with diverse backgrounds

Statement of Accreditation

The Master of Architecture is a fully accredited professional degree program leading to the opportunity for licensure as a professional architect within the United States.

The National Association of Architectural Accrediting Boards requires that the following statement be included, in its entirety, in the catalogues and promotional materials of all accredited programs:

“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 United States professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. A program may be granted a five-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.”

Masters degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself recognized as an accredited degree.

Advanced Standing and Portfolio Review

Admission and Transfer of Courses:

Admission to the program in the initial stages is totally handled through the School of Graduate Studies. All the requirements prescribed in the Graduate Catalogue are to be adhered to before coming to the department review. The department review includes the following:
For non-architectural degree background: after Departmental evaluation of the fulfillment of College Math and Physics requirement, the applicant is advised to arrange to fulfill any deficiency in Math and/or Physics before being able to enroll for Technology courses, but may begin the design studio sequence with the approval of the Department Chairperson.
GPA below 3.00: evaluating the grades in major field of studies for conditional admission.
For architecturally based degree: review of academic performance in architectural related courses and review of portfolio, both for admission and advanced standing consideration.

Advanced standing is evaluated only after the student has been admitted. The advanced standing is limited to a maximum of 30 credits.

Portfolio Guidelines

All applicants are required to submit a portfolio. Every applicant wishing to seek an advanced placement in the 90 credits Master of Architecture program will be evaluated by the portfolio and application submittal. The portfolio is a compendium of work that tells the story of personal achievements, interests, skills and development in the area of visual, spatial and constructional abilities. The work should be identified as academic, professional or personal. If professional or team projects are included in the portfolio, the specific contribution of the applicant must be clearly identified. The portfolio must include an array of works that tells the visual story of applicant’s personal journey. Please contact the Department of Architecture Chairperson for the most current description of portfolio guidelines.

Requirements:

Maximum size of eight and a half by eleven inches to contain no more than 15 double sided pages.
Specific attention should be given to reproduction of high quality, appropriately scaled and sized images
Labels and writing should be produced through word processing.
All three dimensional works shall be photographed for inclusion in the portfolio.
No slides or CD’s are accepted.
Additional portfolio information is available from the Department

Program of Study

The Graduate Program in Architecture is well meshed with the mission and goals of our larger institutional setting, that of Morgan State University. Our specific architectural mission is an extension of the fundamental university mission of furthering the education of African American students and others in preparation for professions, and addressing the urban community, through research, education and out-reach programs.

The 90-Credit Master of Architecture Program is an accredited professional degree that is intended for individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree with a major other than architecture or a closely allied profession. As part of the four semester’s series of internship courses, students use this opportunity to seek employment with architectural offices.

Four Plus Two: Advanced placement in the program is designed to allow BSAED graduates, and other students with undergraduate studies, to achieve the Master of Architecture degree as a “four years plus two years” course of study, by entering the 60-Credit Graduate Program.

Two Plus Three: An additional option is an accelerated course of study. the “two years plus three years” Master of Architecture degree program, which accepts students on a competitive basis at the end of two years of undergraduate study in the BSAED program at Morgan State University, or after graduating from a community college with a two year degree program in architecture.

On a practical level, the Graduate Program in Architecture is designed as an evening program for the working student. By virtue of being an evening program, our program is financially more accessible than a day program, as students can work for financial support while gaining valuable professional experience. Our program has a strong professional orientation and a highly diverse student population. Our students are actively encouraged to work with architectural firms in the City of Baltimore, following their first one or two semesters in our program.

General Requirements

Students in the Master of Architecture Degree Program must complete the required number of credit hours and submit an acceptable terminal design project.

The following distribution of courses over a three-year period represents the sequence to be followed.

First Year (Fall)

ARCH 510 - Environmental Design I 6 Credits
ARCH 511 - Built Environment History I 3 Credits
ARCH 513 - Technology I (Statics and Strength of Materials) 3 Credits
ENST 512 - Graphics Workshop 3 Credits

(Sub) Total: 15

First Year (Spring)

ARCH 520 - Architectural Design Studio II 6 Credits
ARCH 521 - Built Environment History II 3 Credits
ARCH 522 - Architectural Technology II (Building Systems-Structures) 3 Credits
ARCH 533 - Architectural Technology V (Building Materials) 3 Credits

(Sub) Total: 15

Second Year (Fall)

ARCH 530 - Architectural Design Studio III 6 Credits
ARCH 531 - Built Environment History Ill 3 Credits
ARCH 532 - Architectural Technology IV (Building Systems-Structures) 3 Credits
ARCH 523 - Architectural Technology Ill (Environmental Controls) 3 Credits

(Sub) Total: 15

Second Year (Spring)

ARCH 540 - Architectural Design Studio IV 6 Credits
ARCH 561 - Architectural Practices, Law and Management 3 Credits
ARCH 541 - Architectural Technology IV (Production Techniques) 3 Credits
URBD 511 - Urban Design 3 credits.

(Sub) Total: 15

Third Year (Fall)

ARCH 550 - Architectural Design Studio V 6 Credits
ARCH 771 - Terminal Project Seminar 3 Credits
Elective 3 credits.
Elective 3 credits.

(Sub) Total: 15

Third Year (Spring)

ARCH 772 - Architectural Design Studio VI-Terminal Project 6 Credits
Elective 3 credits.
Elective 3 credits.

(Sub) Total: 12

Total: 90 Credit Hours

Students with Bachelor of Science in Architecture, or Bachelor of Architecture (equivalent) can be waived up to the first 30 credits of the program by individual review.

Students interested in the accelerated 2 + 3 Master of Architecture curriculum should contact the School of Architecture & Planning for application procedures and curriculum.