Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Visit MIT's website here: architecture.mit.edu
Undergraduate Degrees
Situated in MIT's rich and intense educational environment, architecture and design programs emphasize the interconnected relationship between architecture, design, building technology, computation, and the history, theory and criticism of architecture, art and design. The
Department's extensive offerings reflect the commitment to the cultural, social, political, technological and ecological issues of the built environment, and the teaching of architecture, art, and design not just as a means to an end, but as a form of knowledge and creative practice.
The MIT Department of Architecture offers two undergraduate majors providing a deep and broad undergraduate education in the fields of architecture, art, and design. The Bachelor of Science in Architecture curriculum is structured to teach essential basics in architecture and its related disciplines while providing maximum flexibility for personal exploration. The range of studios, lectures, workshops and seminars provides an active learning environment in which individual creativity and criticality can be nurtured. The programs are continually evolving to engage new ways of thinking about architecture, art and design.
The Bachelor of Science in Art and Design curriculum provides a rigorous but flexible program of study in which students learn about design as a process, fundamental principles of design, and a variety of design practices including the design of objects, information, and experiences.The curriculum is strongly rooted in MIT's "mens et manus," or mind and hand ethos, offering a rigorous conceptual foundation along with strong practical skills that can be applied across diverse design domains.
Graduate Degrees
The Master of Architecture is a professional degree program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The pedagogical approaches that faculty bring to the teaching of architectural design derive both from their years of professional practice and from their engagement with design research. The core sequence of studios is structured to provide students with an intense and immersive experience in the contemporary discipline of design, where the understanding of drawing, geometry, representation, and fabrication is integrated with classes that bring a core understanding of building technology and sustainability, architectural culture and precedent, urban theory and computation in architecture. The three semester options studios engage both MIT design faculty and a series of visiting studio professors. The design problems that are chosen relate to issues in practice and society challenging the architectural profession and vary in scale, context, and content.
The Master of Science in Architecture Studies is a two-year program of advanced study founded on research and inquiry in architecture as a discipline and as a practice. The SMArchS program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study. The degree may be pursued in one of six areas: Architectural Design, Architecture & Urbanism, Building Technology, Design & Computation, History, Theory & Criticism, and the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture. With one of these areas as an intellectual home, students are encouraged to explore connections in their research across these areas, and other programs and departments throughout MIT.
