| CORE
STUDIOS DIRECTOR: |
Mr.
Michael Bell and Mr. William MacDonald
|
|
ADVANCED
STUDIOS DIRECTOR: |
Ms.
Laurie Hawkinson |
| THE
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM |
The
Master of Architecture Program is a three-year first professional degree
program that examines the importance of architectural design concepts in
relation to historic and contemporary issues in an evolving culture.
Being part of a great university located in a major metropolis has determined
much of what is unique about the Architecture Program. The School is not
only able to attract excellent faculty members, but it is also able to draw
upon the large and diverse community of architects, theorists, practitioners,
and scholars in New York. Thus the program is able to expose student architects
to architecture as a complex and pluralistic cultural endeavor.
At the same time that it explores the richness of architecture culture,
the program seeks to provide an orderly system for integrating the various
aspects of architectural study. Therefore, the curriculum is broadly divided
into the study of history and theory, technology, methods, visual studies,
and design. Learning about architecture involves, on the one hand, examining
those historical, social, cultural, technical, and economic forces that
shape buildings; on the other hand, it means mastering these forces with
means traditionally available to the architect. The design studio is the
main focus of the curriculum in that it offers the opportunity to integrate
and synthesize what is being studied.
In general, the program seeks to impart basic principles and knowledge,
to develop visual and analytical skills, and to relate creativity to given
cultural situations. It is hoped that architects, thus trained, will be
able to use their knowledge and insight by responding to and improving the
built environment.
|
|
| ADMISSIONS
|
Eligibility
|
The
M.Arch. at Columbia is the first professional degree in architecture; therefore,
students who already hold a professional degree (such as the five-year B.Arch.
degree) are not eligible to apply to the program. Students who have studied
architecture in nonprofessional programs (such as a four-year program in
architecture) may apply, with the possibility of obtaining advanced standing
for some course work. Prior architectural study is not a requirement. Regardless
of prior experience, all students fill out the same application forms and
send supporting materials (as described below). Applications and all supporting
materials are due on January 15. Students are admitted to the M.Arch. Program
for the fall term only. |
| Academic
Preparation |
1.
All applicants must have, at the time of first registration, an undergraduate
degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants are required
to take the Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination. Information
may be obtained from the Graduate Record Examination, Educational Testing
Service, Box 955, Princeton, NJ 08540 (Web site: www.gre.org/atglance.html).
2. Applicants who have no prior background in architecture must complete
a course in architectural graphic presentation as a prerequisite for the
Core Studio Sequence, before first registering in the M.Arch. Program.
3. To fulfill the prerequisite for the History/Theory Course Sequence, all
applicants must have completed a 3-point survey course in architectural
history dealing with any of the following periods: classical to Renaissance,
Renaissance to modern, or modern.
4. To fulfill the prerequisites for the Building Technologies Course Sequence,
all applicants must have completed a 3-point course in general physics or
two 3-point calculus courses.
Applicants are required to complete the following course work: one term
of studio in the visual arts (drawing, painting, or sculpture). In addition,
a reading knowledge of a modern foreign language and a survey course in
architectural history are required.
|
| |
|
| Portfolio
|
In
addition to the application form and supporting documents, applicants must
submit a portfolio showing evidence of their visual acuity and graphic abilities:
paintings, drawings, prints, graphic designs, or architectural drawings.
It is recommended that evidence of freehand drawing skills be included.
Submitted materials, either original work or reproductions of the originals,
should not exceed 812 by 11 inches and should not measure more than 12 inch
in thickness. Portfolios exceeding these specifications will be returned
before the reviewing period. The pages should not be placed in a ring binder,
and each page must be clearly marked with the applicant’s name. Please
do not send slides.
After April 1 portfolios will be returned by mail only if sufficient postage
is included and the return address clearly indicated. |
| |
|
| Placement
into Studio Sequence |
Students
who are admitted into the M.Arch. Program are informed in their letters
of admission of the level at which they will enter the Core Studio Sequence.
Based on the evidence submitted in the portfolio, the student’s status
in relation to the prerequisites and requirements of the studio sequence
is determined. Placement into a more advanced studio is not done by application
or petition, but is determined by a faculty committee during the admissions
process. A limited number of students may receive advanced standing points
for Architecture A4001 and A4002—Core studio, I and II, thereby reducing
the required studio sequence to two years. After the student’s status
has been determined by the M.Arch. Committee on Admission, it is not subject
to further review by the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and
Preservation. No subsequent petitions for advanced standing in design studio
courses are considered. Students who are placed into advanced studios should
consult with the admissions office about their curriculum. |
| |
|
| Transferring
Academic Credit |
Students
who have completed acceptable architecture course work prior to entering
the M.Arch. Program may apply for advanced standing credit or course waivers
in nonstudio courses. No requests for advanced standing credit are considered
until official copies of relevant transcripts have been submitted to the
Office of Architecture Admissions.
There are two situations in which one may receive advanced standing in the
M.Arch. Program: (1) a student who is admitted into the second year of the
M.Arch. Program may receive advanced standing for the first-year courses
including the two design studios (potentially 36 points); (2) a student
admitted into the first year with an undergraduate degree in architecture
may receive credit for some courses; credit will be evaluated on an individual
basis (maximum 9 points).
Information regarding the procedure for students who wish to petition for
advanced standing or course waiver is available at the time of first registration
in September. Students may receive the approvals from faculty or directors
at any time after enrollment. Official transfer of credit by the Columbia
University registrar, however, cannot be entered on the transcript until
one year of full-time enrollment in the M.Arch. Program has been completed.
Advanced standing forms are available in the Office of the Dean of Admissions
and should be returned there for review.
Petitions for advanced standing credit in nonstudio courses are normally
reviewed by a faculty member teaching the equivalent course within the Graduate
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Advanced standing credit
is awarded only for courses in which students have received a grade of C
or better. In some cases, faculty members may ask to see examples of previous
course work. Students are advised to have course descriptions and previous
course work on hand at September registration to facilitate planning an
academic program with an adviser.
Required documentation for advanced placement normally includes official
course transcripts, catalog course descriptions, and at least one of the
following: a course syllabus, complete course notes, or a complete set of
tests, homework, and course-project documentation.
There are three circumstances under which courses can be waived: (1) the
student presents evidence of professional experience in related subject
matter; (2) the student passes a formal examination on the subject (with
the approval of the course instructor); or (3) the student presents evidence
of having passed relevant courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Because waivers do not carry point or course credit, elective courses must
be taken to fulfill the point requirements for the M.Arch. degree. (Students
waived from Structures, II; Enclosures and environments, II; Building systems,
I; or Building systems, II must take a Building Technologies elective for
each course waived.) |
| |
|
| INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS |
| In
addition to the general admissions requirements, international students
(1) who can understand rapid idiomatic English and can speak, write, and
read English with a high degree of facility and (2) who can prove their
ability to support themselves financially while in the United States are
eligible for admission to Columbia. For a single student, a minimum of $36,000
for living and tuition expenses for each academic year (early September
to mid-May), plus travel money, is considered essential. Since an international
student holding a student visa (F) or exchange visa (J) is required by the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to carry a full program
of study, students should not plan to depend on income from outside employment.
Note: All students with non-resident visas will be charged a fee of $50
per term (autumn and spring) to support the University? services to international
students. |
| Students
whose native language is not English or who did not receive their education
in an English-speaking country should make arrangements to take the Test
of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Inquiries about this test, which
is administered four times annually throughout the world, should be addressed
to TOEFL/TSE Service, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, U.S.A.; telephone
(609) 771-7100. Applicants are urged to make arrangements to take either
the November or the February examination. |
| THE
THREE-YEAR M.ARCH. CURRICULUM |
The
Master of Architecture Program attempts to distinguish itself from similar
programs elsewhere by stressing the importance of developing an understanding
of, and an ability to apply, architectural concepts in relation to broader
historic and contemporary issues. The objective of the program is to assist
the student in developing a theoretical basis for decision making in design,
while maintaining intense exposure to a broad spectrum of philosophical
and cultural attitudes. The faculty believes that a variety of pedagogical
approaches delivered with clearly defined objectives best suits the needs
of the heterogeneous graduate student population.
|
| The
program comprises four major components, together forming the educational
matrix that is the core of the Columbia experience: |
| |
[1]
A student body with interest in the profession of architecture and with
diverse backgrounds in many areas of intellectual endeavor, all contributing
to the richness of the program. |
| |
[2]
A faculty of experienced teachers, both practitioners and researchers, all
of whom are expected to relate their extracurricular work to their teaching
responsibilities. |
| |
[3]
A program of study consisting of lectures, seminars, and studios, whose
objectives are definable but whose form is malleable in response to changing
cultural attitudes and social needs. |
| |
[4]
A setting of the most effective physical facilities, including classrooms,
studios, auditoriums, shops, and libraries. In addition, the cultural milieu
of New York City is an ever-present advantage that gives the program its
unique qualities. |
| The
focus of the entire program is the Architecture Design Studio. It is a carefully
structured three-year course of study that prepares the student for roles
related to the design of buildings and other environmental artifacts. This
design activity is augmented by five other areas of study. The History/Theory
Sequence broadens the student’s perceptions of his or her design activity,
through the historical and theoretical examination of the cultural role
of design activity. The Building Technologies Sequence prepares the student
to understand the structural, constructional, and material consequences
and constraints on design decisions. The Visual Studies Sequence provides
specialized investigation that complements the normal studio work, including
both manual and computer-aided drawing courses. The Methods/Practice Sequence
prepares the student to undertake management and professional practice activities.
The Elective Sequence, which permits the student to pursue individual interests
in architectural and environmental topics, may become, in certain cases,
the basis for pursuing advanced study in specialized areas beyond the M.Arch.
degree. |
| View
the Master of Architecture sample curriculum MATRIX
|
| SUMMARY
OF THE MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM |
| To
graduate with a Master of Architecture degree, a student is required to
complete 108 graduate-level course points that are approved by the Graduate
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. These course points
are a combination of required courses, a certain number of points of distribution
course requirements, and elective course points. The courses are divided
into the following categories: Studio, History/Theory, Building Technologies,
Visual Studies, Methods/Practice, and Elective. Each category (except Elective)
has requirements that must be fulfilled. The School reserves the right to
institute changes in the curriculum before the expiration date of this bulletin.
|
| I.
STUDIO COURSE SEQUENCE |
| |
The
Studio Sequence is the focus of the M.Arch. Program. During the three-year,
six-term program each student may study with as many as six different critics.
All studio work is subject to formal public design review, and design juries
include visiting architects, historians, artists, critics, and engineers,
as well as faculty members from the Architecture, Building Design, Urban
Design, Planning, and Historic Preservation Programs of the School.
|
| |
The
Core Studios are composed of a carefully structured three-term sequence
involving a series of interrelated projects that begin with an examination
and utilization of fundamental space-making elements (line, plane, volume),
and that are directed toward the ordering of hierarchical spatial sequences,
the engagement of the phenomena involved in the act of making or constructing,
and the occupation of space. Studio projects involve the issues of public
and private, urban and suburban, context and program, analysis and invention,
among others, and progressively increase in length from two weeks to twelve
weeks. |
| |
In
the Advanced Studios, themes and programs are defined by the individual
critics. These themes and programs both carry an educational objective and
present an opportunity for the critic to develop with his or her students
a specific area of work or research. The Advanced Studios are intended to
build upon the ideas and skills developed in the Core Studios. The range
of faculty and studio projects in studio sections allows the student to
work with those instructors on projects that will allow specialized design
study. In contradistinction to the Core Studios, the Advanced Studios are
open to M.Arch. students as well as to second professional degree students.
|
Requirements
for M.Arch. Program |
Six
sequential studios starting in autumn term, first year: |
| |
A4001
Core studio, I |
9
pts |
| |
A4002
Core studio, II |
9
pts |
| |
A4003
Core studio, III |
9
pts |
| |
A4004
Advanced studio, IV |
9
pts |
| |
A4005
Advanced studio, V |
9
pts |
| |
A4006
Advanced studio, VI |
9
pts |
| |
Total:
|
54
pts |
| II.
HISTORY/THEORY COURSE SEQUENCE |
DIRECTOR:
KENNETH FRAMPTON |
The History/Theory
curriculum stresses a broad social and cultural approach to architecture
history. Architecture history is not seen primarily as stylistic evolution,
but rather in terms of a rich matrix of parameters?olitical, economic,
artistic, technological, and theoretical?hat have had a role in shaping
the discipline. Most instructors of architecture history at GSAP have
both professional and academic degrees. A shared intention is to understand
the relations between practice and a historical perspective. |
The course
offerings are structured to provide each student with an opportunity to
gain both a broad general background in architecture history and a degree
of specialized knowledge in areas of his or her selection. The architecture
history classes within the School are supplemented by classes in the Department
of Art History and Archaeology, and students are especially encouraged
to take art history courses examining pre-1750 and non-Western topics.
Students may also take courses in other departments of the University,
such as history and philosophy, providing they meet basic distribution
requirements. |
Prerequisite
for Entry into M.Arch. Program |
Any
3-point survey course in the history of architecture. A broad survey of
world architecture is especially recommended. |
Requirements
for M.Arch. Program |
Two
sequential courses: |
| |
A4348
History of architecture, I: 1700?850 |
3
pts |
| |
A4349
History of architecture, II: 1850?930 |
3
pts |
| |
Total:
|
6
pts |
|
If
a student has had a similar class or classes, he or she may petition the
professor of the class to waive the requirement. |
|
Distributional
Requirements for M.Arch. Program |
Four
courses : |
12
pts |
| |
The
four courses must be chosen from five categories: (1) Pre-1750, (2) Modern:
1750 to the Present, (3) Urban Society, (4) American, and (5) Non-Western.
Students are expected to combine breadth in those fields they have not previously
studied with in-depth seminars in at least one of these categories. At least
one of the distribution areas must be Pre-1750, and one in Non-Western architecture, unless waivers are granted.
Each term course schedule will identify those courses fulfilling the distribution
requirements. |
| |
See
the printed version of the bulletin for a complete list of History/Theory
courses offered; included are classes that meet distributional requirements.
Some courses are offered on a one- or two-year rotating basis. |
| III.
BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES COURSE SEQUENCE |
DIRECTOR:
Mr. Anthony Webster |
COORDINATOR
FOR ELECTIVES: Mr. Robert Rogers |
The Building
Technologies curriculum is based on the belief that architects benefit
by using a basic knowledge of technical systems to help generate a building?
spaces, forms, and expression. Accordingly, the curriculum develops an
understanding of contemporary technical-utilitarian systems, and explores
their resolution in relation to programmatic development and spatial design.
|
The six-course,
required sequence begins by outlining the environmental conditions that
habitable spaces respond to, and by describing the physical characteristics
of building components. Next, individual building systems?ncluding (primarily)
structure, building enclosure, environmental conditioning, and information
management?re described in depth. For each system studied, various design
strategies, materials, fabrication techniques, and didactic built works
are explored. Field trips, laboratory demonstrations, and short design
problems augment class study. As both qualitative and basic quantitative
concepts are mastered, the curriculum shifts its focus to increasingly
complex systems serving entire buildings. The sequence? last two courses
(Building systems, I and II) concentrate on how these systems are detailed,
interact with each other, and inform a building? spaces and formal expression?irst
through in-depth case studies of entire buildings, and then by the preliminary
design of an industrial-loft block. In both courses, students work in
teams with structural, mechanical, and building-envelope experts.
|
Throughout
the required sequence, students are encouraged to apply their growing
technological knowledge to design problems posed in studio. Occasionally,
studios focusing on various relationships between technology, utility,
program, and form are offered for third-year students. |
Prerequisite
for Entry into M.Arch. Program |
Any
3-point course in general physics or two 3-point courses in calculus.
|
Requirements
for M.Arch. Program |
Six
sequential courses: |
| |
A4111
Structures, I |
3
pts |
| |
A4123
Structures, II |
3
pts |
| |
A4220
Enclosures and environments, I |
3
pts |
| |
A4221
Enclosures and environments, II |
3
pts |
| |
A4125
Building systems, I |
3
pts |
| |
A4610
Building systems, II |
3
pts |
| |
Total:
|
18
pts |
Electives
for M.Arch. Program |
Advanced
electives supplement the required curriculum and provide the basis of study
for those students entering the school with a strong technical background.
The electives focus on recent technological developments and their impact
on design, and the historical relationships between technology, philosophy,
politics, and architecture. These courses take advantage of New York professional
practitioners working with the technological state of the art.?The diverse
views of architectural technology held by both the School? design and technology
instructors are reflected in, and thereby strengthen, the elective offerings.
|
|
Electives
are open to all students in the School, subject to the prerequisites listed
in the course descriptions. Students waived out of Structures, II; Enclosures
and environments, II; Building systems, I; or Building systems, II, must
take a course from the following list for each waived course. Some courses
are not offered every year. Additional technology electives are taught occasionally.
See the printed version of the bulletin for a full listing of qualified
technical electives. |
| IV.
VISUAL STUDIES COURSE SEQUENCE |
The Visual
Studies Sequence is intended to develop and improve the student? capacity
for graphic representation of three-dimensional architectural form and
space. It is intended as a corollary to Architecture A4001 and A4002?ore
studio, I and II, and involves the presentation and utilization of increasingly
sophisticated and precise drawing techiques, both drafted and freehand.
|
Requirements
for M.Arch. Program |
A4509
Architectural drawing: basic |
3
pts |
| |
A4511
Architectural drawing: advanced or |
|
| |
A4534
Advanced computer-aided design in architecture |
3
pts |
| |
Total:
|
6
pts |
| V.
METHODS/PRACTICE COURSE SEQUENCE |
The Methods/Practice
Sequence introduces the student to various aspects of professional practice
including computer-aided design, project and office management, developmental
processes, legal and planning regulation, etc. These serve as an introduction
to areas to be further developed during the three-year apprenticeship
period (following completion of the M.Arch. Program) required for professional
licensing. |
Requirements
for M.Arch. Program |
A4535
Computer-aided design in architecture |
3
pts |
| |
A4560
Professional practice |
3
pts |
| |
Total:
|
6
pts |
| VI.
ELECTIVES |
In addition
to those courses listed above in categories II–V, any of which may
be taken as an elective, courses offered by the Urban Planning and Historic
Preservation Programs when taken as electives may be applied toward completion
of the M.Arch. degree.
|
Electives
in Other Schools and Departments |
Students
may choose courses from other schools and departments of the University
for M.Arch. elective credit. These courses should be directly related to
the student’s professional program within the School, and these courses
must be at the graduate level (course numbers 4000 and above). Exceptions
may be granted only by the dean or course sequence directors. Approval for
these courses must be obtained during the registration period for the semester
during which they are to be taken and provided to the Office of Admissions.
|
|
|
| VII.
SUMMER COURSES |
The School
occasionally offers summer programs abroad. These programs are open to
Columbia students and others registered in professional programs. They
generally involve lectures, seminars, tutorials, and tours and are held
for five weeks during June and July. |
|
After full-time
matriculation into the M.Arch. Program, a student may credit no more than
6 points toward his or her degree from courses being taken simultaneously
at institutions other than Columbia University and must obtain prior approval
from the dean. M.Arch. degree candidates must be matriculated in the program
for at least two years (72 points). A maximum of two research courses
may be taken toward the M.Arch. degree. A total of 108 points are required
for the M.Arch. degree. |
|
