The Program
2012-13 Master of Science Handbook [PDF]
The last two decades have seen rapid growth in the complexity of buildings and the development of specialized knowledge for their design and operation. The building profession now requires a wider range of expertise in design, operation, and management than was required in the past, and new types of professional specialists have emerged to provide this expertise. Often these experts are educated outside of traditional architectural programs, frequently through studies in other disciplines.
The Master of Science (M.S.) in Architecture is an academic, nonprofessional degree program that offers the opportunity for advanced research in the ever-broadening and increasingly complex subfields within architecture. It is intended to supplement but not supplant the Master of Architecture degree, the professional degree accredited for the practice of architecture. Students in the program generally hold a degree in architecture.
The Faculty
| Name | Research Areas | Specializations |
|---|---|---|
|
Nezar AlSayyad Professor of Architecture, City Planning, Urban Design and Urban History; Chair, Center for Middle Eastern Studies; President, International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments |
Architecture and Urban History, Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries, Housing and International Development, Urban Design | Traditional Dwellings and Settlements, Cinematic Urbanism, Hybrid Urbanism, Fundamentalism, Middle Eastern Cities, Virtual Reality |
|
Gail S. Brager Professor of Architecture; Associate Director, Center for Environmental Design Research |
Energy and Environmental Management, Sustainable Design for Hot Climates, Mechanical Systems and Architectural Space-Making | Comfort and Adaptation in Naturally-Ventilated Buildings; Design and Performance of Alternative Offices |
|
Greg Castillo Associate Professor of Architecture |
History of Architecture | 20th Century Architecture with Emphasis on Mid-Century Modernism, Cold War-Era Design, Consumer Culture, Architecture and the History of Emotions |
|
Galen Cranz Professor of Architecture |
Social and Cultural Basis of Architecture and Urbanism | Chairs and Body-Conscious Design, Urban Parks, the Sociology of Taste, Ethnography for Design, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, Qualitative Research Methods |
|
Margaret Crawford Professor of Architecture |
History of Architecture and Urbanism, Urban History and Theory, Urban Design | Everyday Urbanism |
|
C. Greig Crysler Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor of Architecture |
Design Theories and Methods, Theory of Architecture and Urbanism | Architectures of Globalization, Discourses of Architecture and Urbanism |
|
Paul Groth Professor of Architecture and Geography |
American Cultural Landscapes, Cultural Geography, History of Architecture, U.S. Rural Suburban and Urban History since 1870 | American Vernacular Architecture, Ordinary Architecture, History of Housing |
|
Stefano Schiavon Assistant Professor of Architecture |
Sustainability, Energy, and Indoor Environmental Quality | Energy Consumption in Buildings, Ventilation Strategies, Personal Environmental Control Systems, Radiant-Hydronic Systems, Air Movement, Thermal Comfort, Systems Integration and Building Renovation, Building Performance Simulations, Post-Occupancy Evaluations and the Effect of the Indoor Environment on Heath and Productivity |
|
Andrew Shanken Associate Professor of Architecture |
History of Architecture and Urbanism, American Architecture | Architecture and Consumer Culture, Memory and the Built Environment, Paper Architecture and the Unbuilt, Expositions, Themed Landscapes, and Architectural Rhetoric |
The Fields of Study
The M.S. degree emphasizes course work and supervised independent research in one of the following areas of study:
- Building Science and Sustainability
- Design Theories, Methods, and Practices
- Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries
- History of Architecture and Urbanism
- Social and Cultural Processes in Architecture and Urbanism
Research topics outside of these fields, or combinations of several areas, may be undertaken, subject to approval of the Architecture M.S./Ph.D. committee, if supported by qualified departmental faculty members.
The Requirements
The M.S. in Architecture is earned through a one-and-a-half to two-year program of study approved by the M.S./Ph.D. Committee. Students with architecture degrees must complete a minimum of 32 credit units, and those without an architecture degree, a minimum of 48 units. A research methods course is required of all students. The remaining course work will be determined by the nature of the proposed research.
The culmination of the student’s program is a research thesis carried out independently under the direction of a three-person committee.
Successful students may apply for the Ph.D. program.