Department of Architecture

Degree
Paths

Architectural drawing

Degree Paths


Master of Architecture (5-Year Program)

Our department offers a NAAB-accredited 5-year Master's degree in Architecture (M. ARCH), crafted for high
school graduates and transfer students entering with no academic training in design. The Master of Architecture program is based firmly upon the complementary foundations of general and architectural education. We emphasize mastery of the knowledge, skills and understandings essential to the artful creation of buildings, spaces and places. The faculty seeks to assure that our students receive extensive exposure to social, political, economic and technological perspectives that will aid them in functioning as effective leaders in a rapidly changing global context.

In emphasizing the architect’s role as a designer of environments that responsibly address individual and societal needs, the professional Master of Architecture curriculum includes a sequence of design studios providing holistic examination of environmental design issues. Courses in history, theory, human behavior, construction, structural and environmental systems, planning, programming, and professional practice compliment students’ work in the carefully orchestrated series of design studios.


Master of Architecture (2-3 Year Program)

The NAAB accredited Post-Baccalaureate Master of Architecture program is an accelerated, three-year pathway to architect status, designed for those with a Bachelor’s degree in any field. This accredited, professional program is well-respected, and our graduates are highly desired by employers across the nation and internationally. The Post-Baccalaureate program requires a minimum of three years of study, including a required summer studio.

A unique program option is the Kansas City Design Center, which offers a year-long interdisciplinary design studio that tackles real-world issues in a growing, thriving metropolitan area.

*Advanced Standing Option for Pre-Professional Degree Holders:
If you have or will graduate from a 4 year pre-professional architecture degree program offered by a NAAB-Accredited school, you may be eligible for advanced standing. Advanced standing students generally are able to waive the first and second semesters of the Post-Baccalaureate Program. Extremely qualified students may be placed further along in the program.


Master of Science in Architecture

The Master of Science in Architecture program is a post-professional program of study requiring a minimum of 30 semester credit hours for completion of the degree. The program usually requires two years in residence, and is designed to enable students to pursue specialized study in specific Architectural topics. It is not a NAAB accredited degree.

Specializations are available in Design Theory and Ecological and Sustainable Design. These areas of specialized study in the Master of Science in Architecture program accommodate graduates of five or six year programs in architecture, interior architecture, or landscape architecture, and of certain four year baccalaureate degrees. Applicants are considered upon the merits of their academic backgrounds and proposed programs of study. Minimum entrance requirements established by the Kansas State University Graduate School include a bachelor's degree from an accredited university and a grade point average of B (3.0) or better in the last two years of undergraduate study (or a "first class" degree).