Architectural education is transformative. Its goal is to build in students the consciousness of an architect. The core values of the Graduate Program in Architecture are based on a design-centered curriculum that promotes personal development, ethical imperatives, critical thinking, and ecologically sustainable practices. These values are expressed in an education that challenges students to expand their awareness, to become leaders, to master the discipline, and to engage real-world problems in their cultural and social contexts with the responsibility of stewardship for the built and natural environment. The program is committed to preparing students for leadership roles not only within the profession but also within the broader communities they join and influence.
In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Master’s degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, that when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The Master of Architecture program at the University of Tennessee received a full 6-year accreditation as a result of its last NAAB accreditation review.
The School of Architecture offers three tracks leading to the Master of Architecture degree:
Track 1 is a post-professional degree for students with an accredited professional degree in architecture who seek to develop an
area of specialization.
Track 2 is a two-year path in the professional degree program for students with a 4-year pre-professional bachelor’s degree in
architecture from a NAAB accredited program or foreign equivalent.
Track 3 is a professional degree program for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree in another field.
Within the Master of Architecture degree, the College of Architecture and Design offers optional concentrations in Urban Design and in Sustainable Design.
A concentration in the MArch Track 2 and 3 requires a minimum of:
• One focus area studio and two directed elective courses, or
• Four directed elective courses
Requirements may vary by concentration area. Additionally, a concentration in the MArch Track 1 requires an approved thesis in the topic area.
The following must be submitted by all applicants directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:
• A completed Graduate Application for Admission. Visit their website at http://graduateadmissions.utk.edu/req.shtml for the application process.
• The general portion scores of the Graduate Record Examination. Applicants should take the GRE at least six weeks in advance of application for admission.
• For applicants whose native language is not English, scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
In addition to meeting the Graduate School’s minimum requirements, the following specific admission requirements must be submitted to the Graduate Program in Architecture:
For applicants to all Tracks:
• An essay addressing the applicant’s intent and expectations for study in the program.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• A required portfolio illustrating evidence of visual creativity and/or graphic capabilities.
• A personal on-site interview is desirable but not mandatory.
For Track 3 applicants, additionally:
• A four-year Bachelor’s degree with a 3.00 GPA from an accredited college or university, or international equivalent degree and equivalent grades, as determined by the Graduate Admissions Office. Candidates with a GPA less than 3.00 may be considered for conditional admission when evidence of exceptional promise is identified. Applicants in their senior year are eligible to apply.
• Undergraduate prerequisites are 1) 12 semester hours of humanities courses, 2) one course in physics, and 3) one pre-calculus math course including trigonometry and logarithms (or college calculus or equivalent). Completion of prerequisites is not required prior to application.
Preparatory courses recommended but not required include: 1) a second course in physics, 2) calculus, 3) freehand drawing (highly recommended).
For both Track 2 and 3 applicants, additionally:
• A curriculum plan will be developed with each accepted applicant on a case-by-case basis, based on the applicant’s prior education. Upon the applicant’s acceptance of admission, applicants must provide comprehensive information documenting all professional courses for review of advanced standing or course waivers in the professional degree. This detailed information (syllabi, etc) is not reviewed during the application process.
For Track 2 applicants, additionally:
• A four-year degree (typically, BS, BED, or BA) in architecture, with a 3.00 GPA, or international equivalent degree and equivalent grades, as determined by the Graduate Admissions Office. Placement in the 2-year Track 2 program requires a minimum of 24 semester hours of design studio. Applicants in their senior year are eligible to apply.
• A portfolio illustrating evidence of visual creativity and/or graphic capabilities, which must include prior academic and (if applicable) professional design work.
For Track 1 applicants:
• A professional degree in architecture (5-yr Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture, or Doctor of Architecture) with a 3.00 GPA, from an NAAB accredited program or international equivalent degree and equivalent grades, as determined by the Graduate Admissions Office. Applicants in their final year of a professional program are eligible to apply.
• A portfolio illustrating evidence of visual creativity and/or graphic capabilities, which must include prior academic and (if applicable) professional design work.
• An essay of intent identifying a specific area of study aligned with the general goals of the Architecture Graduate Program and the existing research / scholarship interests of the standing faculty in the College of Architecture and Design. Applicants may choose focus on either advanced design skills or research-oriented focus.
• Prior contact with individual faculty members in the applicants interest area and with the program’s Director of Graduate Studies is highly recommended.
Track 1 requires a minimum of 36 semester hours of graduate course work, taking approximately three semesters of full-time study. A concentration area of study from among the currently available options must be selected. Self-designed concentrations will also be considered upon petition to the College’s Director of Graduate Studies.
Track 1 requires 6 hours of Thesis 500 with a public presentation and oral defense of the thesis. For Tracks 2 and 3, the thesis is optional and requires a minimum design studio GPA of 3.5 in the three semesters preceding the thesis semester, as well as approval by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Track 2 requires a minimum of 60 semester hours of graduate course work, taking approximately two years of full-time study. A concentration within the program options is optional.
Track 3 normally requires 102 semester hours of graduate course work, taking approximately three and a half years of full-time study. Students with prior formal education in design may receive advanced placement upon admission. In such cases, Track 3 requires a minimum of 75 semester hours of graduate course work. A concentration within the program options is optional.
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