Master of Architecture [M.Arch] From University of Virginia

The Master of Architecture curriculum emphasizes strong foundation studies in design with support courses in architectural history and theory, building, and representation. To gain broader understanding of the relationships within and parallel to the field of architecture, students take courses in the Departments of Architectural History, Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Environmental Planning. Upper-level graduate students are encouraged through an optional teaching elective to expand their knowledge by serving as teaching assistants to undergraduate students in design, theory, or technology courses.

The undergraduate education of a student defines the appropriate MArch degree path for him/her to submit an application. Students can pursue the degree in three years, two and a half years, or two years, depending on the number of architectural and general education courses completed prior to admission to the program. A thesis option typically adds a semester to the length of the student enrollment. An enrolled student must have completed a minimum of 45 credit hours of general studies (not related to architecture) during his/her undergraduate degree to complete the degree in the time allotted. This is a national accreditation requirement.

As part of a top research university, the MArch program is committed to the pursue of innovation. We want our students to be able to answer difficult questions with skills and imagination, but we have been equally focused in demanding the capacity of creating questions, rebelling against given situations, and speculating about non-evident futures. Education is understood beyond instruction, inquiry beyond skills building. We value the combined power of expertise and naivety for elaborating the most unexpected, eye-opening propositions. This program educates cultivated “design citizens”: creators, responsible members of the community, and socio-political activists with deep cultural foundations.

We design; this is our strength, our expertise, our responsibility, and what we are accountable for. We design new scenarios to address important current and future topics, seeking excellence, beauty and meaning, at every scale: from the detail to the city and the large landscapes. As Masters of Architecture candidates, students are committed from the very first year, to be relevant: asking relevant questions and trying relevant answers. Every student is committed to find out which is her or his place in society, in our culture, and in the history of architecture.