Program Requirements
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 (B. Arch.), the Master of Architecture (M. Arch.), and the Doctor of Architecture (D. Arch.) 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.
Clemson University, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, School of Architecture, offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:
Three-Year Master of Architecture degree tracks:
M. Arch. I (non-architecture Bachelor or Master degree + 90 credit hours)
M. Arch. I + Health Concentration (non-architecture Bachelor or Master degree + 91 credit hours)
Two-Year Master of Architecture degree tracks:
M. Arch. II (pre-professional architecture degree + 60 credit hours)
M. Arch. II + Health Concentration (pre-professional architecture degree + 61 credit hours)
Admission to the M. Arch. program, and any advanced placement, is based on an estimation of the applicant’s ability to respond effectively to the intellectual rigor and creative challenge integral to graduate architecture study by an admissions committee of graduate faculty. The applicant’s potential is measured in part by demonstrated proficiency in prior academic work, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test scores, a portfolio of design work (required of all applicants), and other application requirements. More detailed information is available on the School of Architecture website.
The Master of Architecture program develops proficiency in responding to contemporary architectural issues through a range of practical and theoretical knowledge, while providing opportunities for creatively challenging the limits of the profession. Emphasis is on design, accompanied by complementary coursework of a professional focus, as well as elective subjects. Complex studio design projects stress social awareness and contextual fit and are responsive to all aspects of the architectural process.
The Master of Architecture degree requires a minimum of two academic years. Degree candidates may elect a concentration of study in architecture or architecture and health. The graduate faculty reviews each student each semester of the first year to determine if his/her performance is acceptable to continue in the program.
Off-Campus Study
M. Arch. I and M. Arch. II students are encouraged to study at one of our off-campus centers for one or two semesters. More information is available on the School of Architecture website.
Architecture + Health Concentration
Within the framework of the Master of Architecture degree, the Architecture + Health Concentration includes seminar courses and studio work appropriate for both a general professional degree and a concentration in Architecture + Health. The intent is to develop the generalist-specialist-graduates who can creatively work in both modes. This concentration includes both the study of health facility design and the study of relationships between architectural settings and their impact on human health and wellbeing. The primary purpose of the concentration is to study how architectural environments impact health and how to create architectural settings that support health and well-being of individuals and larger populations.
Studio design projects and courses examine these relationships for architectural settings and conditions ranging from entire communities and health care systems to specific projects and individual interior or exterior spaces. The studio emphasizes design excellence within the framework of rigorous and complex demands found in the practice of health care architecture. Student work is expected to stand up critically at all levels of architectural consideration.
The Architecture + Health Concentration is demanding in the scope of its professional studies, with most of the coursework designated for specific areas of learning. Students may take advantage of the same off-campus programs available to students in the Architecture Concentration during their first semester of study. Given the number of required courses, students may opt for a five-semester plan of study beginning in the spring semester. The thesis or project, developed during the final year, normally deals with particular architectural topics as they relate to health and/or health facility design.
