For Students Entering Fall 2023

For requirements for students entering in previous years, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

A candidate will be recommended for the Master of Architecture as a professional degree upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 140 units. MArch I students pursue the following seven semester course of study:

First Semester

  • 8 units STU 1101 First Semester Architecture Core Studio: PROJECT
  • 2 units VIS 2121 (M1) Architectural Representation I
  • 2 units VIS 2122 (M2) Architectural Representation II
  • 4 units HIS 4223 Modernism and Its Counter-Narratives
  • 2 units SCI 6121 (M1) Environmental Systems I
  • 2 units SCI 6122 (M2) Environmental Systems II

Second Semester

  • 8 units STU 1102 Second Semester Architecture Core Studio: SITUATE
  • 2 units SCI 6125 (M3) Building Simulation
  • 2 units SCI 6126 (M4) Materials
  • 4 units SCI 6227 Structural Design I
  • 4 units Buildings, Texts, and Contexts Requirement** or Distributional or General Electives****

Third Semester

  • 8 units STU 1201 Third Semester Architecture Core Studio: INTEGRATE
  • 4 units HIS 4100 Buildings, Texts, and Contexts: Origins and Ends
  • 4 units SCI 6123 Construction Systems
  • 4 units SCI 6229 Structural Design II

Fourth Semester

  • 8 units STU 1202 Fourth Semester Architecture Core Studio: RELATE
  • 4 units SCI 6230 Cases in Contemporary Construction
  • 8 units Buildings, Texts, and Contexts Requirement** or Digital Media Requirement*** or Distributional or General Electives****

Fifth Semester

  • 8 units Option Studio*
  • 4 units PRO 7212 Foundations of Practice
  • 8 units Distributional or General Electives****

Sixth Semester

  • 8 units Option Studio*
  • 4 units ADV 9203 Thesis Prep Course (or pre-approved alternative)*****
  • 8 units Distributional or General Electives****

Note:  The department encourages students to take electives that support thesis interests during their sixth semester.

Seventh Semester

  • 12 units ADV 9301 Independent Design Thesis
  • 8 units Distributional or General Electives****

Footnotes

*A minimum of one Option Studio must be offered through the Department of Architecture.

**A 4-unit Buildings, Texts, and Contexts course must be taken in the second or fourth semester. Offerings may vary by year.

***A 4-unit Digital Media Requirement course must be taken in the third or fourth semester. Offerings may vary by year.

****Students are required to fulfill the following distributional electives:

8 units of advanced history electives
4 units of global culture and diversity
4 units of professional practice electives

An approved list of distributional electives is posted  in the myHarvard course catalog each term. Please note that some courses may count toward the satisfaction of two distributional electives. For example, an advanced history course may also fulfill a global culture and diversity requirement. For more information, please visit the MArch Distributional Electives page.

General electives may be fulfilled through any course at the GSD or cross-registered courses at Harvard schools, MIT or the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.

*****Students are required to take ADV 9203 in their sixth semester; however, an alternative thesis prep course may be approved by petition to the department.

Requirements for students entering in fall 2022
Requirements for students entering in fall 2021
Requirements for students entering in fall 2020
Requirements for students entering in fall 2019
Requirements for students entering in fall 2018
Requirements for students entering in fall 2017

If you entered in an earlier year and are uncertain of your program requirements, please contact the Department of Architecture.