Master of Architecture—Three-Year Program (Boston)

Open to candidates who do not have a Bachelor of Science in Architecture or equivalent.
Applicants from all disciplines are welcome. Those who have some architecture coursework may be eligible for advanced placement.

The program requires three years of study. Students have the option to pursue a summer co-op opportunity managed by Northeastern University's co-op program.

After completing a first-year introductory curriculum, students in the three-year program merge into the two-year MArch curriculum. This is a NAAB-accredited degree program. 

Year One

In the first year, students take intensive studios, technology classes, and architectural history classes to immerse them in the studio culture of the school and to give them a strong foundation to begin the upper-level studios. The introductory graduate skills and design studios are specifically designed for the students in this program who do not have experience doing architectural drawing and designing. Students complete a series of projects that will give them an opportunity to develop the skills and the critical thinking needed in the graduate curriculum.

Year Two

Students continue to develop their core skills in the Urban Architecture Studio. In the spring semester, the Option Studio offers topical content that best aligns with the research and practice expertise of the faculty, which provides students with the latest concepts in architectural design, theory, and research on a consistently updated and rotating basis. Students select their top choices of studio topics and instructors, giving them more flexibility in the areas for which they would like to focus their education. 

Year Three

In the final year, the Integration Studio in the fall semester challenges students to consider architectural connections at all scales, from architectural detail, to architectural systems, to the whole building and its urban context. Students also engage in a two-semester research and design project based on pertinent contemporary topics chosen by the graduate faculty, or students may propose an independent research and design project. Team research is conducted and compiled into online and physical research books. This body of compiled research then becomes the basis of the intellectual framework for the individual students' design projects. This final degree project parallels an in-depth professional practice course that analyzes all of the contingencies of successful architectural projects, including architectural offices and their project management strategies, real estate development criteria, and associated project finance.

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Core Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
History
ARCH 2340	Modern Architecture	4
ARCH 5340	Architectural and Urban Histories	4
Building, Design, and Environment
ARCH 2240	Architectonic Systems	4
ARCH 3450	Advanced Architectural Communication	4
ARCH 5210 and ARCH 5211	Environmental Systems and Recitation for ARCH 5210	4
ARCH 5230 and ARCH 5231	Structural Systems and Recitation for ARCH 5230	4
ARCH 7220	Integrated Building Systems	4
Studio
ARCH 5115	Option Studio	6
ARCH 6100	Graduate Skills Studio	6
ARCH 6115	Urban Architecture Studio	6
ARCH 6200	Graduate Studio 1: Architectural Design	6
ARCH 7120	Integration Studio	6
Professional Practice
ARCH 5430	Introduction to Professional Practice in Architecture	4
ARCH 6440	Case Studies 2	4
Topics and Seminars
ARCH 5310	Design Tactics and Operations	4
ARCH 5330	Theories of Architecture and Urbanism	4
ARCH 6340	Graduate Topics in Architecture	4
Research and Project
ARCH 7140	Master’s Degree Project	6
ARCH 7430	Topics In Research Methods in Architectural Design	4

Concentration or Electives Option

A concentration is not required. Students may complete the electives option in lieu of a concentration. 

• Data Visualization
• Experience Design
• Extended Realities
• Sustainable Building Systems
• Sustainable Urban Environments
• Urban Analytics
• Urban Studies
• Electives

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

100 total semester hours required (108 with optional electives)

Minimum 3.000 GPA required

---

Concentration in Data Visualization 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
ARTG 5150 and ARTG 5151	Information Visualization Principles and Practices and Information Design Critique Seminar	4
ARTG 5330	Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals	4
Complete one of the following:		4
ARTG 5130	Visual Communication for Information Design
ARTG 6110	Information Design Theory and Critical Thinking
ARTG 6330	Information Design Mapping Strategies

Concentration in Experience Design

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
ARTG 5610	Design Systems	4
ARTG 6310	Design for Behavior and Experience	4
Complete one of the following:		4
ARTG 5600	Experience Design Studio 1: Principles
ARTG 5620	Notational Systems for Experience
ARTG 5640	Prototyping for Experience Design

Concentration in Extended Realities

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Course
EXRE 5010	Immersive Media: Extended Realities (XR) History, Theory, and Impact	4
Complete two of the following:		8
EXRE 5020	Developing Extended Realities (XR)
EXRE 5030	Designing Extended Realities (XR)
GSND 6520	3D Modeling and Asset Creation Principles

Concentration in Sustainable Building Systems

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
SBSY 5100	Sustainable Design and Technologies in Construction	4
SBSY 5200	Sustainable Engineering Systems for Buildings	4
Complete one of the following:		4
CIVE 5275	Life Cycle Assessment of Materials, Products, and Infrastructure
SBSY 5250	Building Performance Simulation
SBSY 5300	Information Systems for Integrated Project Delivery

Concentration in Sustainable Urban Environments 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Course
SUEN 6340	Topics in Urban Environmental Design	4
Complete two of the following:		8
LPSC 7312	Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change
SUEN 6210	Implementation and Visualization for Urban Environments 1
SUEN 6220	Implementation and Visualization for Urban Environments 2
SUEN 6310	Cities, Nature, and Design in Contemporary History and Theory
SUEN 7230	Urban Ecologies and Technologies 1
SUEN 7240	Urban Ecologies and Technologies 2
SUEN 7320	Pro-Seminar: Issues in Designed Urban Environments

Concentration in Urban Analytics

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
ARTG 5320	Statistics for Design	4
ARTG 5330	Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals	4
ARTG 6330	Information Design Mapping Strategies	4

Concentration in Urban Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Course
PPUA 6201	The 21st-Century City: Urban Opportunities and Challenges in a Global Context	4
Complete two of the following:		8
LPSC 7312	Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change
SUEN 6340	Topics in Urban Environmental Design
Any 5000-level or above PPUA course

Electives Option

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Electives
Complete 12 semester hours of non–ARCH courses.		12
Optional Electives
Complete 8 semester hours of ARCH courses (optional). Electives outside architecture may be taken in consultation with your faculty advisor.		8

Sample Plan of Study—Electives Option

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
ARCH 6100	6	ARCH 6200	6	Vacation		Vacation
ARCH 2240	4	ARCH 2340 and ARCH 2341	4
ARCH 5340	4	ARCH 3450 (or required elective)	4
Elective (1/3)	4	Elective (2/3)	4
	18		18		0		0
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
ARCH 6115	6	ARCH 5115	6	Vacation		Vacation
ARCH 5310	4	ARCH 5430	4
ARCH 5210 and ARCH 5211	4	ARCH 5330	4
Elective (3/3)	4	ARCH 5230 and ARCH 5231	4
	18		18		0		0
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
ARCH 7120	6	ARCH 7140	6
ARCH 7220	4	ARCH 6440	4
ARCH 7430	4	ARCH 6340	4
Elective (optional)		Elective (optional)
	14		14
Total Hours: 100