About the Program
The department offers an accredited professional Master of Architecture (MArch), a post-professional Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD), Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
Master of Architecture (MArch)
The Master of Architecture program is designed to provide students seeking their first accredited professional degree with a comprehensive and challenging education leading to the practice of architecture. Graduate students have the flexibility to choose a variety of paths within a two-to-three-year rigorous program, depending upon previous education and experience. The department makes no restriction as to the field of undergraduate preparation. However, the length of the required residence period, the number of required semester course units, and the specific list of required courses may vary depending upon undergraduate major, professional and other work experience, and previous graduate study, if any. The placement into the program will be decided by the Master of Architecture Committee upon reviewing the application.
Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)
STUDIO ONE is a one-year post-professional design studio intended for those who have a professional (Bachelor or Master of Architecture) degree, and who wish to continue to explore current design issues in a stimulating, rigorous, and experimental studio setting. Students who complete the program will receive a non-accredited Master of Advanced Architectural Design degree. The two-semester studio course is at the core of the program and is integrated with required seminars, lectures, and workshops in design theory, history, urbanism, digital applications, and building technology.
Master of Science (MS)
This researched-based, non-professional degree program offers the opportunity for advanced research in specialized areas within the increasingly complex subfields within architecture, preparing students for a range of careers. The degree emphasizes coursework and supervised independent research in one of the following areas of study: Building Science, Technology and Sustainability or History, Theory and Society. The undergraduate degrees of our entering M.S. students are diverse, including architecture, history, engineering, environmental sciences, or a range of other disciplines related to the built environment.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This advanced research-based degree prepares students with outstanding academic records for careers in teaching and scholarship in architecture and its related areas, or in roles in government or private companies and organizations that require specialization and experience in research. The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach of both depth and breadth as part of the student’s formal coursework and original research. The student defines their specialty (the basis for the dissertation), in one of the following areas of study: Building Science, Technology and Sustainability or History, Theory and Society.
Admissions
Admission to the Department
For specific admission requirements and deadlines for Architecture programs MArch, MAAD, MS and PhD, please go to the department website: http://ced.berkeley.edu/admissions/graduate/programs-deadlines/
Admission to the University
Minimum Requirements for Admission
The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:
- A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
- A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
- If the applicant has completed a basic degree from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
- Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.
Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree
The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without the need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.
Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.
Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.
The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:
- Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
- Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.
Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.
Required Documents for Applications
- Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. Unofficial transcripts must contain specific information including the name of the applicant, name of the school, all courses, grades, units, & degree conferral (if applicable).
- Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, by the recommender, not the Graduate Admissions.
-
Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants who have completed a basic degree from a country or political entity in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to institutions from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:
-
courses in English as a Second Language,
-
courses conducted in a language other than English,
-
courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and
-
courses of a non-academic nature.
-
Applicants who have previously applied to Berkeley must also submit new test scores that meet the current minimum requirement from one of the standardized tests. Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). The institution code for Berkeley is 4833 for Graduate Organizations. Official IELTS score reports must be sent electronically from the testing center to University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division, Sproul Hall, Rm 318 MC 5900, Berkeley, CA 94720. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years prior to beginning the graduate program at UC Berkeley. Note: score reports can not expire before the month of June.
Where to Apply
Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. in Architecture is a research degree appropriate for those seeking careers in teaching and scholarship in architecture and its related areas, or in roles in government or professional consultation that require depth in specialization and experience in research. Berkeley’s Ph.D. program in architecture is interdisciplinary in outlook, reaching into the various disciplines related to architecture and incorporating substantial knowledge from outside fields. Students admitted to this program carry out a program of advanced study and research, both on the basis of formal class work and of individual investigation. Work centers on related fields of study, the major field (the basis for the dissertation), and one-to-two minor fields, at least one of which must be from a discipline outside architecture, a minimum of 48 units, two-year academic residency, passing the qualifying exam and submission of a dissertation.
Curriculum: 48 Units
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Methods Course, depending on concentration: | ||
Building Science, Technology & Sustainability - Arch 241, 3 units | ||
History, Theory & Society - Arch 281, 4 units | ||
| Inside Field (Speciality): | ||
Minimum of 3 courses per approved individualized study in one of the concentrations (3-4 unit graduate classes for a letter grade) | ||
| Outside Field(s) Two Options: | ||
One outside field (not in department), minimum four courses (3-4 unit graduate classes for a letter grade) | ||
Two outside fields, minimum two courses each (for students without a degree in Architecture, one must be within the Department. Considered Architectural Breadth.) BSTS: the courses must be taken outside their speciality and may come from other Architecture program areas such as History, Theory or Society. HTS: the courses must be offered by instructors other than those with whom the student has taken coursework for the Inside Field. (3-4 unit graduate classes for a letter grade) | ||
| Language (applies only to students in History, Theory & Society): one language, high proficiency or two languages, low proficiency | ||
| Written qualifying examination, followed by an oral qualifying examination | ||
| Dissertation submission with approval of the dissertation committee | ||
Master's Degree Requirements (MS)
Curriculum: 36 Units
The last two decades have seen rapid growth in the complexity of buildings and the development of specialized knowledge for their design and operation. The building profession now requires a wider range of expertise in design, operation, and management than was required in the past, and new types of professional specialists have emerged to provide this expertise. Often these experts are educated outside of traditional architectural programs, frequently through studies in other disciplines.
The Master of Science (M.S.) in Architecture is an academic, nonprofessional degree program that offers the opportunity for advanced research in the ever-broadening and increasingly complex subfields within architecture. Some students enter with a degree in architecture, or occasionally while here, will get an additional Master of Architecture degree (the professional degree accredited for the practice of architecture). But neither is required, and the undergraduate degrees of our entering M.S. students are diverse.
The following list applies to both concentrations.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Methods Course, depending on concentration: | ||
Building Science, Technology & Sustainability - Arch 241, 3 units | ||
History, Theory & Society - Arch 281, 4 units | ||
| Inside Field (Speciality) | ||
Minimum of three courses per approved individualized study in one of the concentrations (3-4 unit graduate classes for a letter grade) | ||
| Architecture Breadth Area: for those without an architecture degree | ||
Minimum two courses within the department but from faculty members different than those with whom the student had taken courses for the Inside Field (3-4 unit graduate classes for a letter grade) | ||
| Thesis submission | ||
Arch 299 (independent study) course sponsored by your thesis chair | ||
Master's Degree Requirements
Curriculum
Requirements for One-Year Master of Advanced Architectural Design: 24 Units
Post-professional degree students with a professional undergraduate Architecture degree.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 205A | Studio One, Fall | 5 |
| ARCH 205B | Studio One, Spring | 5 |
| Required Seminar in Humanities - 3 units | ||
| Required Seminar in Technology - 3 units | ||
Requirements for the Two-Year Master of Architecture: 48 Units
Students with a pre-professional BA or BS in Architecture. Placement will be determined by the Master of Architecture Committee.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 201 | Architecture & Urbanism Design Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 202 | Graduate Option Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 203 | Integrated Design Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 204A | Thesis Seminar | 3 |
| ARCH 204B | Thesis Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 207B | Architecture Research Colloquium | 1 |
| ARCH 207C | Professional Practice Colloquium | 1 |
| ARCH 207D | The Cultures of Practice * | 3 |
| ARCH 230 | Advanced Architectural Design Theory and Criticism * | 3 |
| ARCH 240 | Advanced Study of Energy and Environment * | 3 |
| ARCH 250 | Introduction to Structures * | 3 |
| ARCH 260 | Introduction to Construction, Graduate Level * | 3 |
| ARCH 270 | History of Modern Architecture * | 3 |
| Courses marked * may possibly be waived based on previous coursework. To be considered for a waiver, submit waiver form, equivalent undergraduate course description and syllabus, and transcript before the first semester. If a required course is waived, an advanced course in the same area will need to be taken. | ||
Requirements for the Three-Year Master of Architecture: 72 Units
Students without a pre-professional BA or BS in Architecture. Placement will be determined by the Master of Architecture Committee.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH 200A | Introduction to Architecture Studio 1 | 5 |
| ARCH 200B | Introduction to Architecture Studio 2 | 5 |
| ARCH 200C | Representational Practice in Architectural Design | 3 |
| ARCH 207A | Architecture Lectures Colloquium | 1 |
| ARCH 207B | Architecture Research Colloquium | 1 |
| ARCH 207C | Professional Practice Colloquium | 1 |
| ARCH 207D | The Cultures of Practice * | 3 |
| ARCH 201 | Architecture & Urbanism Design Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 202 | Graduate Option Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 203 | Integrated Design Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 204A | Thesis Seminar | 3 |
| ARCH 204B | Thesis Studio | 5 |
| ARCH 230 | Advanced Architectural Design Theory and Criticism * | 3 |
| ARCH 240 | Advanced Study of Energy and Environment * | 3 |
| ARCH 250 | Introduction to Structures * | 3 |
| ARCH 260 | Introduction to Construction, Graduate Level * | 3 |
| ARCH 270 | History of Modern Architecture | 3 |
| Courses marked * may possibly be waived based on previous coursework. To be considered for a waiver, submit a waiver form, equivalent undergraduate course description and syllabus, and transcript before the first semester. If the required course is waived, an advanced course in the same area will need to be taken. | ||
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, Associate Professor. Techniques of representation as historical and conceptual instruments.
Research Profile
Giovanni Betti, Assistant Professor. Architecture, architectural design, performance-based design, next-generation building systems; self-regulated facades; biologically inspired technologies; multifunctional materials, sustainable built environments, design-based research.
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
Luisa Caldas, Professor. Virtual and augmented reality for building design and simulation, net zero energy and sustainable design, parametric and generative design systems for sustainable architecture, daylighting, daylighting in buildings, housing solutions for the developing world and refugee camps.
Research Profile
Christopher L. Calott, Associate Professor. Urban Design, Infill Housing, Mixed-use Infill Development, Urban Landscape Infrastructure, Participatory Design and Community Planning, Affordable and Informal Housing, US-Mexico Border Urbanism, Native American Planning and Development, Latin American Urban Development, International Development .
Research Profile
Greg Castillo, Professor. Architectural history, design discourses and practices, aesthetic theory, counterculture, modernism, interwar and postwar America and Europe, Cold War, Germany, America.
Research Profile
VISHAAN CHAKRABARTI, WILLIAM W. WURSTER DEAN. Architecture, urbanism.
Research Profile
Raveevarn Choksombatchai, Professor. Architecture, landscape design, space design, media and its effect upon design through filmic techniques and video investigations.
Research Profile
Renee Y. Chow, Professor. Urban design, architectural design.
Research Profile
Margaret L. Crawford, Professor. History of architecture, architecture and urban design, urban history and theory, US built environment studies, urbanism in China.
Research Profile
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
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
MARCEL SANCHEZ PRIETO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR.
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, Professor. Biomimetics, structural engineering, architectural design, 3D printing, 3D scanning, digital fabrication, fabrication, composite structures, finite element analysis, parametric design, bio-inspired structures, robotics manufacturing.
Research Profile
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
Lecturers
Roddy Creedon, Continuing Lecturer.
William W. Di Napoli, Continuing Lecturer.
Darell W. Fields, Continuing Lecturer.
Rudabeh Pakravan, Continuing Lecturer.
Keith Plymale, Continuing Lecturer. Architectural Design, Construction and Material Technology, Earthwork Art as Architecture, Native American Architecture, Concrete Structures, Italian Modernism and Brutalism.
Research Profile
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
R. Gary Black, Professor Emeritus. Architecture, finite element modeling, finite element analysis, structure and space, experimental testing, timber connections, teaching structures, integrating structure and architecture.
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.
Tom Buresh, Professor Emeritus.
Research Profile
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
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.
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
M. Susan Ubbelohde, Professor Emeritus. 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
Sim H. Van Der Ryn, Professor Emeritus.
Contact Information
Department of Architecture
232 Bauer Wurster Hall
Phone: 510-642-4942
Graduate Student Affairs Officer
Lois H. Ito Koch
232D Bauer Wurster Hall
Phone: 510-642-5577
Graduate Student Affairs Officer
Asha Nathaniel
232B Bauer Wurster Hall
Phone: 510-664-4441