The Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is a three-year NAAB-accredited, STEM-certified professional program. Our 84-credit, three-year track is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree, including majors other than one of the architectural design professions. This program is also available in a 56-credit, two-year Advanced Standing track. Admission to Advanced Standing is highly competitive and merit-based. Candidates for Advanced Standing are selected by the Architecture Department’s Admissions Committee and the Chair of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design.

The M.Arch program is structured with a core curriculum of design, history-theory, technology, and media courses, followed by an advanced curriculum of applied research and elective courses. The entire curriculum is designed to equip students with the professional knowledge required for becoming a successful architect.

We believe in an integrative approach to architecture. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the diverse practices and modes of inquiry that converge in the architectural discipline and profession.

In the first three semesters, the core curriculum is structured to coordinate learning across design, technical, historico-theoretical, and media courses. In the fourth semester, this coordinated learning culminates in the Integrative Studio. Unique to the GA/LA/UD, the Integrative Studio combines the teaching of architectural design, building systems, and regulatory compliance into a single course. Collaboration is a fundamental aspect of the Integrative studio: students work on a single architectural project in teams, supported by GA/LA/UD faculty and a cohort of technical consultants from leading New York City firms. During the last two semesters, our M.Arch program further compliments the Integrative Studio with an advanced curriculum of studio and elective courses. In these advanced courses, students engage in directed research projects alongside a diverse group of faculty members from Pratt Institute and the architectural profession at large.

Our integrative approach begins, does not end, with our program. By integrating different modes of architectural knowledge and practice, and engaging audiences both within and outside the architectural professions, our M.Arch program equips graduates with the unique ability to intervene in the complex systems shaping the building and living environment.

Integrative Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to make complex design decisions that integrate architectural ideas with structural, building, and regulatory systems. Their integrative thinking advances environmental stewardship, social equity, and community resilience in all aspects of design work.

Environmental Design Practice:

Our M.Arch students are trained to embrace their responsibility as stewards of the environment. Their work reflects a deep awareness of architecture’s impact on the living and building environments by integrating research on fragile ecosystems, ecologically responsive technologies, and sustainable materials.

Inclusive and Equitable Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to view equity, diversity, and inclusion as an integral aspect of design. They understand their responsibility to consider diverse needs, values, and physical abilities in design practices, and act on that understanding by integrating an ethos of equity and inclusion in their architectural solutions.

Design Knowledge:

Our M.Arch students are trained to think critically about architecture’s role in the world. They use cutting-edge design methods, media, and technologies to advance architectural knowledge within the discipline and in culture more broadly. 

Collaborative Design:

Our M.Arch students are trained to practice creative leadership that benefits their clients, communities, and society at large. Their design work builds relationships, from collaborations with consultants and industry experts to outreach with community partners and stakeholders.

Design Learning:

Our M.Arch students are trained to ask thought-provoking questions throughout their careers and their lives. They value forms of inquiry and collaborative exploration that deepen their understanding of architecture’s connections to complex systems, including bodies of historical-theoretical knowledge, socio-economic forces, environmental dynamics, and cultural contexts.

Take A Look At How Our Courses Advance Design Research And Thinking