Master of Architecture
About This Program
The Master of Architecture is a three-year professional degree designed for students who hold an undergraduate degree in a field other than architecture. The program prepares graduates to engage architecture as a critical, creative, and ethical practice. It cultivates designers who can imagine and construct the built environment as a site of cultural expression, environmental responsibility, and social transformation. Architecture is approached as both an intellectual discipline and a material art—one that operates across scales and engages with the pressing challenges of our time, from climate adaptation and housing equity to emerging technologies and global urbanization.
The curriculum integrates design, history and theory, tectonics, and visual studies into a progressive and interconnected sequence. The Design Studio forms the pedagogical core, guiding students through a scaffolded exploration of architectural thinking: from abstraction and materiality to context and building systems integration. Each studio cultivates critical and technical fluency while encouraging experimentation, collaboration, and reflection. Advanced studios engage issues such as housing, urban design, and research, culminating in an integrative studio that synthesizes the full range of design, technical, and theoretical capacities.
Other areas of study complement and expand the work of the studio. The History and Theory sequence situates architecture within global cultural and urban histories, cultivating the analytical and critical capacities necessary for reflective practice. Visual Studies develops representational literacy across analog, digital, and computational media, strengthening students’ ability to visualize and communicate design ideas. The Tectonics sequence grounds design in the material, structural, and environmental realities of construction, fostering an understanding of how architectural ideas take form through systems of making and assembly. The Architecture + Environment sequence situates design within ecological systems, preparing students to address environmental performance, resilience, and planetary stewardship. Finally, Professional Practice connects these domains to the ethical, economic, and collaborative frameworks of contemporary practice.
Located in the dynamic Dallas–Fort Worth region, the program draws on a richly diverse and expanding urban context as both laboratory and catalyst. Through integrated coursework and design inquiry, students develop the imagination, technical fluency, and critical vision to shape architecture’s role in creating more just, resilient, and inspiring futures.
The Master of Architecture is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
Competencies
- Health, Safety, and Welfare in the Built Environment—Upon graduation, students will understand the impact of the built environment on human health, safety, and welfare at multiple scales, from buildings to cities.
- Professional Practice—Upon graduation, students will value professional ethics, the regulatory requirements, the fundamental business processes relevant to architecture practice in the United States, and the forces influencing change in these subjects.
- Regulatory Context—Upon graduation, students will be able to apply the fundamental principles of life safety, land use, and current laws and regulations to buildings and sites in the United States, and use the fundamental principles in the evaluative process architects use to comply with those laws and regulations as part of a project.
- Technical Knowledge—Upon graduation, students will understand the established and emerging systems, technologies, and assemblies of building construction, and can apply the methods and criteria architects use to assess those technologies against the design, economics, and performance objectives of projects.
- Design Synthesis—Upon graduation, students will have the ability to make design decisions within architectural projects while demonstrating synthesis of user requirements, regulatory requirements, site conditions, and accessible design, and consideration of the measurable environmental impacts of their design decisions.
- Building Integration—Upon graduation, students will have the ability to make design decisions within architectural projects while demonstrating integration of building envelope systems and assemblies, structural systems, environmental control systems, life safety systems, and the measurable outcomes of building performance.
Admissions Criteria
Unconditional Admission
For unconditional admission the candidate must:
- Hold a baccalaureate (BS or BA) degree from an accredited program in a subject outside architecture, such as liberal arts, sciences, business, or another profession.
- Have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 as calculated by Graduate Admissions.
- Have a minimum total score of 297 on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) with a minimum score of 154 in the verbal portion.
- Submit three letters of recommendation from sources who are familiar with the applicant's academic record, preferably former professors. (For applicants who have been out of school for an extended period, letters of recommendation may be from professional sources if academic ones are no longer available).
- Submit a short 200-word personal statement providing evidence of professional or academic goals consistent with the Architecture Program.
- International students from non-native English-speaking countries must submit English language test scores as described in the requirements for Graduate Admissions.
- Submission of a design portfolio is optional. Candidates are encouraged to submit portfolios of creative work including freehand drawings or sketches, painting, graphic design, architectural or furniture design.
Probationary Admission
Candidates who do not meet the criteria for unconditional admission will be considered for probationary admission in which they will be required to maintain a grade of B or better in the first 12 credit hours of courses in the program. To be considered for probationary acceptance, the candidate must perform well on four of the following six criteria:
- Undergraduate performance in relevant courses
- Work experience
- GPA
- GRE
- Portfolio review (optional)
- Letters of recommendation
Note: Applicants whose native language is not English who do not meet the program's minimum TOEFL score, may be asked to complete extramural training in English through the Pathways Admission Program described in the Admission section of this Catalog.
Provisional Admission
An applicant unable to supply all required documentation prior to the submission deadline but who otherwise appears to meet admission requirements may be granted provisional admission. All missing documentation must be received before the end of the first semester of study.
Deferred Admission
A deferred admission may be granted when a file is incomplete or when a denied decision is not appropriate.
Waiver of Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
A waiver of the Graduate Record Exam may be considered for a UT Arlington undergraduate who has completed an undergraduate degree in Architecture or Interior Design; the student's GPA must equal or exceed 3.50 in all undergraduate coursework completed at UT Arlington. The GRE waiver may also be extended to other UT Arlington undergraduates who have completed an undergraduate degree at UT Arlington; the student's GPA must equal or exceed a 3.50 in all undergraduate coursework completed at UT Arlington. The final decision to waive the GRE also requires a positive review of completed coursework by the graduate advisor to determine the applicant's readiness to study Architecture.
Denial of Admission
Candidates who do not satisfy the requirements for probationary admission will not be admitted.
Graduate Teaching/Research Assistantships
To be considered for a Graduate Teaching or Research Assistantship, the candidate must be admitted unconditionally. In order to be eligible for teaching assistantships, students whose native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency as described in the requirements for Graduate Admissions.
Fellowships and Scholarships
To be considered for fellowships or scholarships in the Program the candidate must admitted without provisional conditions and have a favorable review in most of the evaluation criteria. Fellowships and scholarships in architecture are limited and very competitive. Generally, candidates must be new students coming to UT Arlington, must have a GPA of 3.0 in their last 60 undergraduate credit hours and any graduate hours, and must be enrolled in a minimum of 9 hours in both long semesters to retain their fellowships or scholarships. For further information and to apply for scholarships visit the CAPPA Scholarships and Financial Aid website.
Curriculum
| Foundations | ||
| ARCH 5301 | INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE | 3 |
| ARCH 5303 | HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY I: FOUNDATIONS | 3 |
| ARCH 5304 | HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY II: MODERNITY IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT | 3 |
| ARCH 5331 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | 3 |
| ARCH 5373 | HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY III: CONTEMPORARY THEORY | 3 |
| ARCH 5374 | HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY IV: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES | 3 |
| ARCH 5375 | ARCHITECTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT I | 3 |
| ARCH 5376 | ARCHITECTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT II | 3 |
| ARCH 5382 | TECTONICS I: STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS | 3 |
| ARCH 5383 | TECTONICS II: MATERIALS, FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY | 3 |
| ARCH 5384 | TECTONICS III: APPLIED STRUCTURES | 3 |
| ARCH 5385 | TECTONICS IV: BUILDING INTEGRATION LAB | 3 |
| ARCH 5390 | VISUAL STUDIES I | 3 |
| ARCH 5392 | VISUAL STUDIES II | 3 |
| ARCH 5393 | VISUAL STUDIES III | 3 |
| ARCH 5690 | DESIGN STUDIO I: ABSTRACTION | 6 |
| ARCH 5692 | DESIGN STUDIO II: MATERIALITY | 6 |
| ARCH 5693 | DESIGN STUDIO III: CONTEXT | 6 |
| ARCH 5694 | DESIGN STUDIO IV: ENVIRONMENT | 6 |
| ARCH 5695 | DESIGN STUDIO V: HOUSING | 6 |
| ARCH 5696 | DESIGN STUDIO VI: RESEARCH | 6 |
| ARCH 5697 | DESIGN STUDIO VII: INTEGRATION | 6 |
| Electives | ||
| Select three 5000-level Architecture courses. | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 96 | |
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | Spring Semester | Hours | ||
| ARCH 5301 | 3 | ARCH 5375 | 3 | ||
| ARCH 5303 | 3 | ARCH 5382 | 3 | ||
| ARCH 5390 | 3 | ARCH 5392 | 3 | ||
| ARCH 5690 | 6 | ARCH 5692 | 6 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Summer Semester | Hours | Fall Semester | Hours | Spring Semester | Hours |
| ARCH 5393 | 3 | ARCH 5376 | 3 | ARCH 5304 | 3 |
| ARCH 5693 | 6 | ARCH 5383 | 3 | ARCH 5384 | 3 |
| ARCH 5694 | 6 | ARCH 5695 | 6 | ||
| ARCH 53XX | 3 | ARCH 53xx | 3 | ||
| 9 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Semester | Hours | Spring Semester | Hours | ||
| ARCH 5331 | 3 | ARCH 5374 | 3 | ||
| ARCH 5373 | 3 | ARCH 5385 | 3 | ||
| ARCH 5696 | 6 | ARCH 5697 | 6 | ||
| ARCH 53xx | 3 | ||||
| 15 | 12 | ||||
| Total Hours: 96 | |||||
Advising Resources
The College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at UT Arlington equips students with skills and knowledge to address real-world challenges in design, public policy, and research. Our Advising Office supports academic and career success. Explore our Future Students page to connect with an Academic Advisor and shape your future.
Location:
203 CAPPA Building
Email:
cappa.advising@uta.edu
Phone:
817-272-2801