Architecture
Master of Architecture
Master of Arts
Master of Science in Architectural Studies
Master of Science in Historic Preservation
Master of Science in Sustainable Design
Master of Science in Urban Design
Doctor of Philosophy
For More Information
Campus address: Sutton Hall (SUT) 2.130, phone (512) 471-2398, fax (512) 471-0716; campus mail code: B7500
Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program in Architecture, School of Architecture, 310 Inner Campus Drive B7500, Austin TX 78712-1009
E-mail: soa_grad@austin.utexas.edu
Facilities for Graduate Work
The School of Architecture is housed in four adjacent buildings at the heart of the campus: Battle Hall (1911) and Sutton Hall (1918, renovated in 1982), designed by the noted American architect Cass Gilbert; Goldsmith Hall (1933, expanded and renovated in 1988), designed by the renowned French architect Paul Philippe Cret, one of the planners of the original forty-acre campus; and the West Mall Office Building (1961) by the Texas firm of Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse, and Greeven.
The Architecture and Planning Library, a branch of the University Libraries, collects materials on all aspects of architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and community and regional planning, including design, history, criticism, theory, preservation, professional practice, case studies, and technology. The library houses over 84,000 volumes, including bound periodicals, professional reports, an extensive reference collection, a significant collection of about 15,000 rare books, and the Alexander Architectural Archive. The archive contains more than 287,000 architectural drawings, 1,800 linear feet of papers, photographic materials, models, and ephemera, representing thousands of projects in Texas, New York, Chicago, California, and Great Britain. Microform materials include many historic sources not available in book form. The University Libraries also provides access to a wide variety of electronic databases and a full range of reference and instructional services.
The resources of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Benson Latin American Collection, and the proximity of Austin to Latin America, provide exceptional opportunities for the study of Latin American architecture.
The Center for American Architecture and Design provides support and resources for the study of American architecture. Through lectures, exhibitions, publications, seminars, and symposia, the center encourages a community of architecture scholarship.
The Center for Sustainable Development facilitates the study and practice of sustainable design, planning, and development in Texas, the nation, and the world through complementary programs of research, education, and community outreach.
The school has a close working relationship with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
The school also maintains a digitally equipped facility in Dallas, the Dallas Urban Laboratory, which houses a design studio, faculty offices, and space for review and research. The facility is available to a select group of students during the spring semester and summer session each year.
The school also offers several study abroad opportunities, as well as a design/build studio opportunity.
A variety of other facilities support students in their coursework and professional development. The school’s Career Services Center assists students with finding internships, identifying employment prospects, and preparing for interviews and negotiations with potential employers. The University Co-op Materials Resource Center contains a lighting lab, a conservation lab, and a materials lab with more than 10,000 product and materials samples. The School of Architecture Visual Resources Collection (VRC) contains over 73,000 digital images, 240,000 slides, and related media, and circulates photography equipment as well as slide projectors. For a nominal fee, architecture students can join the Photo Union, a fully equipped black and white darkroom maintained by the VRC. Computer-aided design and research opportunities are provided by the school’s computer laboratory, which maintains microcomputer equipment interfaced with the extensive computing facilities of Information Technology Services. The Design Workshop supports model building, work in wood and metal, and CAD/CAM equipment.
Areas of Study
Master’s Degrees
The School of Architecture offers master’s degree programs that lead to professional, postprofessional, and academic degrees.
Master of Architecture. There are two Master of Architecture (MArch) programs. The MArch (first professional) degree program fulfills the professional degree requirements for registration as an architect. The MArch (postprofessional) degree program offers students with professional degrees in architecture the opportunity for advanced study in an area of concentration: advanced architectural design and theory, historic preservation, sustainable design, or urban design.
Master of Arts. The Master of Arts (MA) is an academic degree with a concentration in architectural history. It is a prerequisite for doctoral work in architectural history.
Master of Science in Architectural Studies. The MSArchStds is an academic degree that offers a concentration in interdisciplinary studies, preparing students for careers in enhanced practice, research, or teaching.
Master of Science in Historic Preservation. The MSHP is an academic degree that prepares students for practice or doctoral study in historic preservation.
Master of Science in Sustainable Design. The MSSD is an academic degree that prepares students for doctoral study, practice-based research, work in public policy, or activism.
Master of Science in Urban Design. The MSUD is an academic degree focusing on urban design with associated coursework in the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and community and regional planning. The program is designed to help students develop the professional skills needed to engage in improving the quality and structure of the built environment.
Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy is an academic degree with concentrations in the history of architecture and landscape architecture, historic preservation, and sustainability. It provides students holding an appropriate master’s degree with a rigorous program of study intended to prepare them to conduct research and teach in these disciplines.
The concentration in the history of architecture and landscape architecture places special emphasis on understanding buildings or landscapes and their designers within their historical contexts as complex and interconnected wholes that include aspects of aesthetics, tectonics, function, culture, and meaning. The student’s program of study may address the history of architectural theory; the history of design; the history of interior design; the history of urban design, settlements, or cities; the history of building technology; and the history of landscape design.
The concentration in historic preservation embraces multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse approaches to the conservation of historic resources. The student’s program may address preservation planning and development; issues in the theory, history, and practice of the conservation of buildings, interiors, landscapes and neighborhoods; preservation-based strategies of sustainable development; and innovative methodologies for preservation practice.
The concentration in sustainability is practical, technical, and philosophical in scope and integrates three areas of inquiry related to the built environment: biophysical systems, building systems, and political systems. The study of biophysical systems relies upon the disciplines of natural and urban ecological sciences as they relate to architecture. The study of building systems includes investigating component technologies necessary to construct environmentally responsive architecture. The study of political systems situates the biophysical and building systems within the social and political contexts of architectural practice.
Graduate Studies Committee
The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2013.
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Dean J Almy Anthony Alofsin Kevin S Alter Simon D Atkinson Michael L Benedikt Miroslava M Benes Kory Bieg James Sinclair Black Danelle I Briscoe Richard L Cleary Ulrich C Dangel Elizabeth A Danze Larry A Doll Matthew L Fajkus Michael L Garrison Tamie Michele Glass Francisco H Gomes |
David D Heymann Michael Holleran Nancy P Kwallek Fernando Luiz Lara Christopher A Long S Milovanovic-Bertram Juan Miro Steven A Moore Michael Oden Allan W Shearer Igor P Siddiqui Vincent L Snyder Lawrence W Speck Frederick R Steiner Danilo F Udovicki Wilfried Wang Nichole Wiedemann |
Admission Requirements
Upon admission to the program, the student must pay a nonrefundable enrollment deposit to indicate that he or she accepts the offer of admission. The deposit is applied to the payment of tuition when the student enrolls. The deposit is also required of students admitted to dual degree programs.
Master of Architecture (first professional). This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline, including pre-architecture. Prerequisites include one semester of college-level calculus and one semester of college-level physics for non-technical majors (non-calculus based).
Master of Architecture (postprofessional). This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold professional degrees in architecture.
Master of Arts. This degree program in architectural history is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline. Prerequisites include twelve hours of architectural history, which may include courses in art history, history, or related subjects, and design experience. The design requirement may be satisfied by coursework or by evidence of previous fieldwork or professional architectural experience.
Master of Science in Architectural Studies. This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline. Prerequisites for students without architecture degrees vary according to the student’s experience and intended area of inquiry.
Master of Science in Historic Preservation. This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline. Prerequisites include at least one three-semester-hour course in architectural history as well as design experience. The design requirement may be satisfied by coursework or by evidence of previous fieldwork or professional architectural experience.
Master of Science in Sustainable Design. This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline. Prerequisites include at least one three-semester-hour course in modern architectural history.
Master of Science in Urban Design. This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold professional degrees in architecture or landscape architecture, or baccalaureate degrees in any discipline. Prerequisites for students without degrees in architecture or landscape architecture vary according to the student’s experience and intended concentration.
Doctor of Philosophy. Students who enter the doctoral degree program must hold a master’s degree or the equivalent in a discipline relevant to their area of concentration and must demonstrate the ability to excel in doctoral work. Admission decisions are made by the doctoral subcommittee of the Architecture Graduate Studies Committee.