About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Berkeley's undergraduate program in Architecture leads to the bachelor of arts (BA) degree. The program combines required courses in environmental design and architecture with opportunities for highly varied individual programs. Through its core courses, the program offers a broad introduction to the field of architecture, and through studies in the various areas it provides opportunities to prepare for specialization in the field in the areas of architectural design and representation; architectural technologies and building performance; and architectural history, society and culture. In addition to offering a sound and well-rounded education, undergraduate studies can also provide pre-professional competency for entry-level employment in architecture, the option for graduate work in architecture, or further studies in a related environmental design field.

Graduates go on to obtain professional degrees in architecture or in other related fields; many others work in architectural practice, construction, government, or industry. Employment opportunities exist also at the community level, particularly in those communities that traditionally have not been served by professional architectural practice. The overall aim of the undergraduate program is to establish a strong foundation for a range of careers and to provide for mobility and flexibility to suit changing individual opportunities.

Course of Study Overview

All undergraduates follow the same path through their junior year. In the first two years, students take a breadth of lower division courses and the introductory environmental design courses. The junior year is architecture-intensive. In the fall semester, students take a design studio and a history and humanities option. In the spring, the required courses include another studio, a course in history, and a technology option.

Program Tracks

During the spring semester of the junior year, students choose either a design research track or a studio track for the senior year.

• Design/Research Track: The design research track option explores a particular theme for both the fall and spring semesters of the senior year. This theme changes each year, and is taught by a group of faculty members on a subject of their shared interest. For the fall semester, students enroll in a project preparation seminar, and for the spring semester, students take a studio—led by the same faculty—in which they develop their research and explorations, culminating in a final project.
• Studio Track: The studio track option is studio intensive, with more architecture courses required in addition to a design studio each semester. Studio track students enroll in a structures course in the fall, and choose between an energy and environment or construction course in the spring.

Accreditation/Licensure

The BA degree is a preprofessional degree and provides the foundation for entry to a Master of Architecture program, the most widespread professional degree program in architecture in the United States. The BA degree can also be applied toward licensing requirements in the State of California. See the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) for more information on accreditation. See the California Architects Board and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) for more information on licensing.

Admission to the Major

Students must declare one of the CED majors at the time of application to the college; however, current UC Berkeley students may apply to change into CED. Transfer applicants must complete two years worth of lower division coursework to be considered for admission to CED. For information regarding admission to the major for freshman, transfer students, and current students who wish to change majors or colleges, please see the College of Environmental Design (CED) page in this Guide, or the CED website.

Architecture Minor

The Architecture minor introduces students to the conceptual, technical, and design aspects of architecture. A letter grade of C- or higher is required in ENV DES 1 to declare the minor. To declare, students must submit the CED Request to Add Minor Form, available on the CED website. When completing the final requirements for the minor, submit the CED Minor Completion Form. Other minors offered by the Department of Architecture are listed below:

Other Minors Offered by the Department of Architecture

Environmental Design and Urbanism in Developing Countries (Minor)
History of the Built Environment (Minor)
Social and Cultural Factors in Environmental Design (Minor)
Sustainable Design (Minor)

Visit Department Website

Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements outlined on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the following requirements specific to the major program.

General Guidelines

1. All lower division courses taken in fulfillment of major requirements must be completed with a letter grade of C- or better.
2. Courses taken to fulfill lower division major requirements may also be used to fulfill Seven Course Breadth.
3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.
4. A minimum overall GPA of 2.0 for all courses taken at UC Berkeley is required for graduation.
5. Courses used to fulfill an upper division major requirement may not simultaneously fulfill a breadth requirement. 
6. Up to two upper division courses taken at another institution, including an approved study abroad program, may be applied to the major requirements below (if transferable and approved in advance).

For information regarding residence and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Lower Division Major Requirements, Freshman and Sophomore Year

Upper Division Major Requirements, Junior Year

Upper Division Requirements, Senior Year

Prior to the course enrollment period early in the spring semester of the junior year, students must select one of the following two tracks for the senior year:  

Note that upper division major courses cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements. For example, a course cannot be used for both the Architecture Design/Research Track elective and the upper division CED outside major requirement; a separate course must fulfill each requirement.

Minor Requirements

Note: Applications to the Architecture minor are currently on hold. If you are interested in applying to the minor in the future, please contact the Architecture major advisOr.

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. When completing the final requirements for the minor, students must submit the CED Minor Completion Form, available on the CED website.

General Guidelines

1. All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT).
2. A letter grade of C- or higher is required in ENV DES 1 to declare the minor. To declare, submit the CED Request to Add Minor Form, available on the CED website.
3. All courses used to fulfill minor requirements must be completed with a letter grade of C- or above.
4. Students must earn a 2.0 GPA in the upper division requirements for the minor.
5. Any course used in fulfillment of minor requirements may also be used to fulfill major and upper division CED non-major requirements.
6. Courses used to fulfill a breadth requirement may also be used to satisfy minor requirements.
7. Students may apply the non-CED version of a CED cross-listed course towards the minor.
8. Students may use up to two courses taken abroad to fulfill upper division minor requirements, with faculty approval of the individual courses.

Requirements

College Requirements

For College Requirements, please refer to the College of Environmental Design.

Plan of Study

Each student’s plan will vary, depending on interests. See your adviser if you are interested in applying for graduate school, studying abroad, attending summer school, pursuing a minor or second major, or anything else.

Note that students must complete a minimum of 12 units per term, with a total of 120 units needed to graduate. 

For more detailed information regarding the courses listed below (e.g., elective information, GPA requirements, etc.), please see the Major Requirements tab.

Studio Track

Design/Research Track

Students must complete a total of 120 units to graduate. 

Student Learning Goals

Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative (USLI)

The Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative (USLI) is a campuswide initiative to support departments in establishing educational goals and evaluation procedures for all undergraduate programs. As a result of the initiative, faculty and students have a shared understanding of the purpose of the major and what graduating seniors are expected to know or to be able to do at the end of their course of study. The initiative is in keeping with the fundamental principle at Berkeley that the evaluation of student achievement should be locally defined, discipline specific, and faculty-driven.

Department of Architecture Statement of Goals

The Underlying Goals of a Liberal Arts Undergraduate Education

In its recent curriculum discussions, the faculty strongly supports a liberal arts education for undergraduates that teaches students to develop their intellectual capacities: how to research topics independently, how to ask penetrating questions, how to analyze problems, how to construct arguments based on critical thinking, how to make well-founded judgments, how to identify issues of importance for the future. The intent of the department is that all courses are framed with this perspective. In addition to this goal, the department is introducing students to the discipline specific areas of knowledge that are needed by students who apply for graduate school in architecture.

The Discipline-Specific Knowledge of Architecture

The discipline of architecture covers a wide range of discipline-specific subject areas that are integrated in the process of design.

The goal of the undergraduate major is to make students familiar with and curious about engagement in and production of the built environment in historical, critical, technical, and social dimensions. The possibilities open to graduates in the major are broad, and this challenges the department to locate the terrain that is common to various aspects of the discipline as a formulation of the core lower division courses, and then to offer at the upper division a set of “streams” of study, each of which inspires and prepares students to pursue a future endeavor. As these future endeavors cover a wide range of possibilities, there are several ways to view the undergraduate major: as a liberal arts education through the lens of architecture, perhaps leading to another course of study; as preparation for work in the profession with only an undergraduate degree; and as preparation for follow-up study at the graduate level in the discipline of architecture. Acceptance into strong graduate architecture programs requires a high level of proficiency in the core areas of the curriculum. In recent debates on the undergraduate curriculum, the faculty decided that the undergraduate major should continue to provide courses appropriate for students on each of these paths.

The curriculum exposes students to five aspects of architecture and the broader field of environmental design:

1. The Language of Architecture
   In essence, the language most particular to architecture is a graphic vocabulary that is the currency of exploration in the design studio. The mastery of this language, like the learning of any language, begins with vocabulary and grammar, and then moves on to the construction of meaning. This latter aspect is rigorously pursued in the design studio, and for those planning to go on to graduate study in architecture, a number of these upper level studios offer an increasingly complex set of design challenges.
   In the Language of Architecture, students should learn to:
   • Understand the conventions of plan, section, elevation, and axonometric and their relationship to each other;
   • Understand and become proficient in hand drawings and the use of digital media in the production of these conventions;
   • Understand and become proficient in three or four digital programs that allow a facile exploration of design ideas;
   • Become proficient in the production of design iterations; and
   • Apply critical discussion to design solutions and representation.
2. The History and Theory of Architecture
   Courses in history and theory are intended to familiarize students with the development of the built environment in both western and eastern traditions, and to introduce recent and current theories of local and global importance. The introductory surveys in architectural history test students to both recognize and classify architectural styles; these courses are complemented by others that focus on the intersection of history and theory, and for which the writing of papers is the primary means of evaluation.
   In the History and Theory of Architecture, students should learn to:
   • Articulate the theoretical concepts within the design studio projects;
   • Understand the major periods and styles in architectural history;
   • Understand the modern period, and its current debates; and
   • Write critical papers comparing and contrasting both buildings and ideas.
3. The Humanistic Applications of Architecture
   Many students enter this field of study in hopes of improving the conditions of the built environment as it relates to the daily life of individuals and communities. An emphasis in these aspects of the major can lead to graduate work in other disciplines, including environmental studies, law, global development and planning, and anthropology, or to a PhD program in architecture.
   In the Humanistic Applications of Architecture, students should learn to:
   • Understand the roles and responsibilities of the environmental professions;
   • Understand the art and science of interpreting the social context of design;
   • Identify the major issues of environmental design in the national and global setting; and
   • Recognize the value of addressing sustainability at all levels of design.
4. The Science and Technology of Architecture
   How buildings stand up, how they operate to distribute and control light and air, and the materials and connections with which they are made bring the understanding of the discipline from its paper representations of design and theory into the physical world. A set of core courses introduces students to the fundamentals of these areas, and a set of upper division seminars allows more in-depth explorations of aspects of each, including the testing of structural ideas through design, current attitudes and goals for a sustainable building culture, and construction practices particular to certain materials or cultures. 
   In the Science and Technology of Architecture, student should learn to:
   • Evaluate building performance through modes of calculation;
   • Familiarize themselves with the major groups of construction systems;
   • Integrate these concepts into the design studio; and
   • Familiarize themselves with the major debates in the literature of these areas.
5. Research Methods
   Students should become proficient in the processes of academic research, learning to:
   • Undertake library and on-line research and follow source threads to both books and periodicals;
   • Construct bibliographies to academic standards;
   • Document various methods of research; and
   • Understand taxonomies of knowledge and organize information.

Advising

The CED Office of Undergraduate Advising provides a wide array of programmatic and individual advising services to prospective and current students, as well as to students in other colleges who are pursuing CED minors or taking CED courses. Our professional advising team assists students with a range of issues including course selection, academic decision-making, achieving personal and academic goals, and maximizing the Berkeley experience.

Advising Staff

Architecture Major Adviser: Isela Pena-Rager
250 Wurster Hall
isela.penarager@berkeley.edu
510-642-4944

Landscape Architecture Major Adviser: Omar Ramirez
250 Wurster Hall
oramirez@berkeley.edu
510-642-0926

Sustainable Environmental Design Major Adviser: Heather Grothjan
250 Wurster Hall
mailto:heather.grothjan@berkeley.edu
510-642-0928

Urban Studies Major Adviser: Omar Ramirez
250 Wurster Hall
oramirez@berkeley.edu
510-642-0926

College Evaluator: Heather Grothjan
250 Wurster Hall
heather.grothjan@berkeley.edu
510-642-0928

Undergraduate Advising Director: Susan Hagstrom
250 Wurster Hall
hagstrom@berkeley.edu
510-642-0408

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies: C. Greig Crysler
250 Wurster Hall
cgreigc@gmail.com

Advising Hours

Fall/Spring: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon (office opens at 9 a.m.) & 1 to 4 p.m.
Summer: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon & 1 to 3 p.m.

Address

Office of Undergraduate Advising
College of Environmental Design
250 Wurster Hall #1800
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1800
510-642-4943

CED Career Services

The CED Career Services Center (CSC) offers personalized career counseling, a yearly CED Career Fair, and a wide variety of professional development workshops on topics such as licensure, internships, and applying for graduate school. To schedule an appointment with the Career Counselor or for more information on CED CSC, please click here.

Office of Undergraduate Advising

• Newly-Admitted Students
• Current Students
• Graduation and Commencement
• Services and Contract
• Articulation
• Policies and Resources
• Forms and Documents

Our Mission

The College of Environmental Design (CED) Office of Undergraduate Advising helps students graduate in a timely way with a meaningful educational experience at Berkeley. In alignment with the college's Vision and Principles, we collaborate with CED faculty, deans, and student service units across campus toward the common objective of supporting students as they achieve their educational and career goals. We seek to:

• Attract a highly motivated and diverse pool of applicants;
• Connect students with resources that match their goals and aspirations;
• Support the development and transformation of our undergraduates as they become educated, active, and socially just citizens of the world; and
• Prepare graduates who are uniquely qualified and highly sought after in their field of choice.

Our Advising Values

Student Success. Above all, we dedicate ourselves to maximizing student potential and to helping students succeed in their university experiences. We encourage students to explore their minds and their hearts, challenge them to do their best work, and help them realize their talents and passions and achieve their goals.

Equity & Inclusion. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. We aspire to provide fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all students and to identify and eliminate barriers that prevent the full participation of all.

Health & Well-Being. We collaborate with campus partners to keep our CED community healthy by helping students balance the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, occupational, spiritual, and environmental aspects of life.

Advising Excellence. In all that we do, we strive to deliver personalized advising services of the highest quality. We seek to continuously educate ourselves on developments in our field and to evaluate, improve, and streamline our services to support students in obtaining the best education and experience possible.

Academic Opportunities

Berkeley Connect in Architecture

Berkeley Connect in Architecture pairs students with architecture graduate student mentors in a one semester, 1-unit program that includes individual advising, small group discussions, special events and excursions. Through this program, you will become part of a community of like-minded faculty, mentors, and students that will provide a supportive environment in which to exchange and discuss ideas and goals. Berkeley Connect will help you to make the most of your time at the University as you learn more about the major in Architecture. For further information, please see the Berkeley Connect website.

Student Groups and Organizations

The college provides opportunities for students to be involved in student chapters of professional organizations, such as the American Institute of Architects (AIAS), as well as other student groups like the Chican@/Latin@ Architecture Student Association (CASA), Global Architecture Brigades, and more. For information regarding  student groups, please see the Getting Involved page of the CED website.

Study Abroad

The College of Environmental Design (CED) encourages all undergraduates in the college to study abroad. Whether you are interested in fulfilling general education requirements, taking courses related to your major/career, or simply living and studying in a country that is of interest to you, we will work with you to make it happen. For information about Study Abroad programs, please see the Berkeley Study Abroad website.

CED Career Services

At the CED Career Services Center (CSC), we offer personalized career counseling, a yearly CED Career Fair, and a wide variety of professional-development workshops on topics such as licensure, internships, and applying for graduate school. For further information, please see the CED Career Services website.

Prizes and Awards

CED offers a number of annual prizes, awards, scholarships, fellowships, and grants to its currently enrolled students. Some of these prizes and awards are college-wide, and some are geared toward students in specific majors. For general information regarding CED prizes and awards, including application instructions and a deadline calendar, please click here.

CED Events and Exhibits Calendar

CED and Wurster Hall is home to a variety of events, lectures, and exhibitions that welcome professors, professionals, and friends to the college to discuss and celebrate the community and professions. Through events and media CED is constantly creating ways to keep the college connected and up-to-date. To view this calendar, please click here.

CED on Facebook

CED on Twitter

CED Lecture Series

The Departments of Architecture, City and Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning each sponsor lecture series, which offer students the opportunity to hear internationally-acclaimed speakers. These speakers often also participate in classes and seminars as part of their visit to campus. For a schedule of speakers and events in these lecture series, please see the CED website.

WursterLife

WursterLife is a closed-network platform that enables CED students and alumni from across the globe to connect with classmates, find alumni by practice area, geographic region, affinity group, or shared interest, share professional updates, news, photos, events, and jobs, enhance your career through your alumni connections, and find ways to stay engaged with the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.

Courses

Architecture

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Mark S. Anderson, Professor. Architecture, building design, BIM, integrated project delivery, building construction, school design, housing design, net zero energy desig, nurban design, building integrated modeling, IPD, design-build, prefabricated, modular, architecture in China, architecture in Japan, urban water.
Research Profile

William Andrew Atwood, Assistant Professor.

R. Gary Black, Associate Professor. Architecture, finite element modeling, finite element analysis, structure and space, experimental testing, timber connections, teaching structures, integrating structure and architecture.
Research Profile

Gail S. Brager, Professor. Architecture, comfort and adaptation in buildings, design and performance of offices.
Research Profile

Dana Buntrock, Professor. Architecture, construction industry, East Asian studies, architectural practice in Japan.
Research Profile

Tom Buresh, Professor.

Luisa Caldas, Professor.

Christopher L. Calott, Associate Professor.

Greg Castillo, Associate Professor.

Raveevarn Choksombatchai, Professor.

Renee Y. Chow, Professor. Urban design, architectural design.
Research Profile

Margaret L. Crawford, Professor.

C. Greig Crysler, Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, CED. Architecture, geopolitics of architectural discourse, globalization and social production of the built environment, architecture and identity.
Research Profile

Rene Davids, Professor. Architecture and urban design and theory.
Research Profile

Nicholas de Monchaux, Professor. Architecture, urban design and organization, natural and manmade systems.
Research Profile

Danelle Guthrie-Buresh, Associate Adjunct Professor.

Maria Paz Gutierrez, Associate Professor. Next-generation building systems, self-regulated facades, biologically inspired technologies, multifunctional materials.
Research Profile

Lisa M. Iwamoto, Professor. Architecture, design, materials research and fabrication.
Research Profile

Ronald L. Rael, Professor. 3D printed buildings, additive manufacturing, earth architecture, mud, dirt, dust, U S -Mexico border wall, arid landscapes, ranching, acequias, alipne deserts, ceramics, rural architecture, ruralism, animation, digital modeling, furry buildings, unnatural materials, rasquachetecture.
Research Profile

Stefano Schiavon, Associate Professor. Energy, architecture, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, building energy efficiency, indoor environment quality, productivity, wellbeing, sustainable building design, simulation and verification, personal environmental control system, energy simulation, underfloor air distribution, radiant, post-occupancy evaluation.
Research Profile

Simon Schleicher, Assistant Professor.

Andrew Shanken, Professor. Memory, visionary architecture, the unbuilt, paper architecture, heritage conservation, architectural representation, urban representation, diagrams, history of professions, historiography, world's fairs, expositions, California architecture, themed environments.
Research Profile

Kyle Steinfeld, Associate Professor. Digital design, design computation, data visualization, architectural representation, design methods.
Research Profile

M. Susan Ubbelohde, Professor. India, architecture, climate and architecture, Le Corbusier, Kahn, Correa, Doshi, culture and practice, daylighting design tools, software evaluation, sky simulator design, low-energy design, California residential industry.
Research Profile

Lecturers

Marco Cenzatti, Continuing Lecturer.

Roddy Creedon, Continuing Lecturer.

William W. Di Napoli, Continuing Lecturer.

Darell W. Fields, Continuing Lecturer.

Rudabeh Pakravan, Continuing Lecturer.

Charles Salter, Continuing Lecturer.

Emeritus Faculty

Christopher W. J. Alexander, Professor Emeritus.

+ Nezar Alsayyad, Professor Emeritus. Virtual reality, urban history, Architectural history, Middle Eastern Studies, cross-cultural design, cities and cinema, cultural studies of the built environment, environmental design in developing countries, housing and urban development, Islamic architecture and urbanism, traditional dwelling and settlements, urban design and physical planning.
Research Profile

Edward A. Arens, Professor Emeritus. Indoor environment, thermal comfort, occupant surveys, building environmental control, ventilation, wind, architectural aerodynamics.
Research Profile

Richard Bender, Professor Emeritus.

Charles C. Benton, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, thermal comfort, sunlight and shadow patterns, measurement of physical building performance.
Research Profile

Peter C. Bosselmann, Professor Emeritus. Urban design, architecture, city and regional planning, landscape architecture.
Research Profile

Jean-Paul Bourdier, Professor Emeritus.

Gary R. Brown, Professor Emeritus.

Mary C. Comerio, Professor Emeritus. Disaster recovery, housing impacts in disasters, loss modeling, performance based design.
Research Profile

Clare Cooper Marcus, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, landscape architecture, environmental planning, medium-density housing, public housing modernization, public open-space design, children's environments, housing for the elderly.
Research Profile

Galen Cranz, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, sociology of space, urban parks, Alexander Technique, chairs, ergonomics, somatics, body conscious design, social research methods for architecture and urban design, ethnography, programming, post occupancy evaluation and assessment, sociology of taste, housing for the elderly.
Research Profile

+ Sam Davis, Professor Emeritus.

Margaret Or Penny Dhaemers, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, electronic imaging, 2D and 3D.
Research Profile

Anthony Dubovsky, Professor Emeritus.

William R. Ellis, Professor Emeritus. Sociology, social issues in architecture and urban design.
Research Profile

Norma D. Evenson, Professor Emeritus.

Richard E. Fernau, Professor Emeritus.

Harrison Fraker, Professor Emeritus. Urban design, architecture, environmental design, passive solar, daylighting, sustainable design, sustainable systems, urban design principles, transit oriented neighborhoods.
Research Profile

Paul Groth, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, vernacular architecture, urban geography, suburban America, cultural landscape studies, housing (US).
Research Profile

Sara Ishikawa, Professor Emeritus.

Yehuda E. Kalay, Professor Emeritus. Virtual reality, new media, computer-aided design, design methods, colaborative design.
Research Profile

Lars G. Lerup, Professor Emeritus.

Raymond Lifchez, Professor Emeritus.

Donlyn Lyndon, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, structure of place, ethical dimensions of design.
Research Profile

W. Mike Martin, Professor Emeritus.

+ Richard C. Peters, Professor Emeritus.

Jean Pierre Protzen, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, design, planning, the logics of design, and construction principles of ancient civilizations, pre-columbian South America, architecture and construction, Tiwanaku in Bolivia, Tambo Colorado in Peru.
Research Profile

Stanley Saitowitz, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, architecture and cooking, urbanism and computers.
Research Profile

Maryly A. Snow, Professor Emeritus.

Daniel Solomon, Professor Emeritus.

Claude Stoller, Professor Emeritus.

Jill H. Stoner, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, architecture as fiction, derivation of spatial words, Jewish ghettos in Italy.
Research Profile

Stephen Tobriner, Professor Emeritus.

+ E. Marc Treib, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, East Asian studies, Japanese architecture and gardens.
Research Profile

Sim H. Van Der Ryn, Professor Emeritus.