Architecture, MS

Contact

Lauren Mintier, Graduate Program Manager
225 Slocum Hall
ph. (315) 443-1041
e. lmintier@syr.edu

Chair

Brian Lonsway, 225 Slocum Hall

MS Program Coordinator

Fei Wang, fwang100@syr.edu

Faculty

Amber Bartosh, Roger Hubeli, Elizabeth Krietemeyer, Julie Larsen, Brian Lonsway, Daekwon Park, Michael Speaks, Fei Wang, Abingo Wu

Description

Design | Energy | Futures is a concentrated research + design program that leads to a post-professional Master of Science (MS) in Architecture degree. The program focuses on energy and the built environment with research + design projects ranging across many scales, from urban design to high performance buildings, from VR and computational simulation to building material research and product design, and across a range of disciplinary and practice areas. The Master of Science degree seeks theoretically or speculatively inclined architects and emerging scholars whose research can be applied to pressing contemporary problems and opportunities. This 30-credit course of study, completed in three semesters, admits a limited number of students whose areas of interest can be matched with the expertise and ongoing research of the program’s faculty.

Students’ first semester consists of a core design studio in the area of Design | Energy | Futures complemented by a seminar in architectural research methods and applications designed to support a student’s preliminary investigations of an individual design/research project. The second semester includes elective coursework from both within the school of architecture and across campus, selected specifically to support a student’s individual project, and an affiliated research seminar. And, in the culminating term, a student will complete their independent work within the collaborative framework of a directed research course.

Degree Awarded

This is a 30 credit program leading to a Master of Science in Architecture degree.

Prerequisite for Admission into the MS in Architecture Program

Applicants must elaborate on their current research skills and prior experience in the field in a brief essay, as well as provide a personal statement describing their goals for graduate study. Students accepted to the program will define their project more precisely in discussion with a faculty advisor in the months prior to enrollment. Instruction occurs in a variety of formal settings including self-directed studios, independent study, and graduate-level courses offered in the School of Architecture or other units of Syracuse University, where cross-disciplinary interaction and exchange are strongly supported and encouraged. The program concludes with a symposium in Syracuse, where students present the results of their design work and research.

The program is open to qualified students with a professional degree in architecture (BArch or MArch, or equivalent) or with demonstrable research skills and work in architecture or related fields. The completed application form must be accompanied by an official copy of prior academic transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a portfolio of academic and professional work, and a brief research proposal outlining clear intellectual interests and educational objectives and demonstrating preparedness for the demands of the program. GRE scores are highly recommended, but not required. TOEFL scores are required for all applicants whose native language is not English.

Student Learning Outcomes

A. Ability to explain, compare, and contrast architectural research methods applicable to the program’s concentration area

B. Ability to select and apply learned architectural research methods appropriate to a design problem for an independent thesis

C. Ability to demonstrate the critical application of current and near-future concepts, trends, and standards for architecture through an applied design+research project

D. Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse points of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions, and test alternative outcomes against relevant criteria and standards

E. Ability to apply contemporary design research tools and techniques for the purposes of visualization, assessment, and design

F. Ability to select a topic area relevant to the program’s concentration area and develop research questions within the concentration that form the foundation of an independent design+research thesis

G. Ability to document and communicate a design+research endeavor using discipline-specific modalities (professional and academic presentation formats including academic papers or posters, whitepapers and reports, competition submissions, etc.)

Major Requirements

Students will complete 30 credit hours of course work. Students work closely with the program coordinator, their advisor, and the graduate program chair to determine which courses they should take to develop their research project.

All master’s students must present a final project to their committee members representing a culmination of what they have learned in their research.

Off Campus Study

Students interested in off campus study should discuss how off campus study may enhance their research project with their advisor and the graduate program chair. Requests for off campus study will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Note

The Master of Science in Architecture is a “post-professional” degree, typically earned after completing a NAAB-accredited B.Arch. or M.Arch., and it alone does not qualify as a professional degree leading to eligibility for the Architectural Registration Exam or licensure in the USA.