Individuals admitted with advanced standing normally begin with the third term of the program and must complete a minimum of five terms of full-time study in residence. Under special circumstances, students may receive permission to reduce their course load and extend their studies over a longer period of time.

Please note that the MArch program is now designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation.  Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

In the United States, most 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 professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB accredited degree programs:

Master of Architecture  (non-pre-professional degree + 105 graduate credit hours on the NAAB scale)
Note: this is equivalent to 140 units in the GSD course unit calculations.

Master of Architecture AP (pre-professional degree + 75 graduate credit hours on the NAAB scale)
Note: this is equivalent to 100 units in the GSD course unit calculations.

NAAB Conditions and Procedures for Accreditation

For more information, please visit the NAAB Accreditation Information and Resources page.

Harvard is more than the Graduate School of Design. There are 12 additional graduate and professional schools, along with the College, that together weave a rich tapestry of relevant courses and resources. Like all Harvard students, MRE students enjoy cross-registration privileges that enable them to take eligible courses at the Harvard Business School, the Kennedy School, the Law School, the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the College, and other Harvard graduate schools. Students may also cross-register in eligible classes at MIT.

The professional schools are supplemented by centers and institutes that sponsor conferences, guest speakers, research, and fellowships. The Joint Center for Housing Studies , co-administered by the GSD and the Kennedy School, publishes the heavily cited annual “State of the Nation’s Housing” report and enjoys long-standing relationships with some of the world’s largest housing developers, owners, and managers. Working from its specially designed and constructed HouseZero building, the GSD’s own Center for Green Buildings and Cities produces research on how existing buildings can dramatically reduce their energy footprints. Other Harvard centers and initiatives such as The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability , the Center for the Environment (part of the Salata Institute), the Taubman Center for State and Local Government , and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative sponsor many public programs with particular relevance to real estate study and practice.

The MRE program provides robust career assistance that starts with networking and continues with connecting. A dedicated MRE faculty member has the task of overseeing career help from faculty, alumni, and friends of the program. Most MRE faculty members are well-known practitioners who enjoy strong relationships with real estate organizations and individuals worldwide. Leading real estate practitioners regularly visit the program, give presentations, and meet privately with students over meals and other informal settings. A student-run Harvard GSD Real Estate Club co-sponsors with its Harvard Business and Law School counterparts an annual spring real estate conference. The Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization tap into Harvard’s vast alumni base of real estate professionals. The Practicum, while not designed to generate job offers, nevertheless does from time to time and furthermore connects students with other industry players.

MRE graduates are prepared to assume a wide variety of positions in private for-profit, private not-for-profit, and public entities engaged in real estate endeavors around the world. Typical employers include developers, asset managers, private equity firms, project and construction managers, community development corporations, family offices, affordable housing developers and managers, governments and quasi-public agencies, real estate advisory and consulting firms, and anchor institutions such as universities and medical institutions. Some MRE graduates choose to set off on their own entrepreneurial path. Others return to the organizations where they worked prior to matriculation, but with opportunities for promotion and new directions. After graduating, the range of employment categories is broad and has included: Acquisitions, Asset Management, Development, Planning and Design, Private Equity/Investment Banking, Real Estate Advisory, and Technology.

The MRE program is a designated STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months following graduation. Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

In the fall of 2020, Dean Sarah Whiting initiated a process to investigate the possibility of introducing a master’s degree in real estate at the Graduate School of Design. She asked Urban Planning and Design Professor Jerold Kayden, who subsequently became the degree’s Founding Director, to prepare, in consultation with faculty, students, alumni, and scholars and practitioners, a proposal that would describe the degree’s mission, curriculum, faculty, student backgrounds, and other relevant features. That degree proposal was submitted to and approved by the GSD’s voting faculty in the spring of 2021, advanced to the President and Provost of Harvard during the summer, and ultimately approved by the Harvard Corporation in December of 2021. Applications to the program commenced in the fall of 2022. The inaugural class matriculated in the fall of 2023 and graduated in the summer of 2024. The program is now hosting its third cohort of students. Between alumni and current students, the total number of MRE students is around 115.

Drawing on the strengths of the department, school, and university, GSD planning students learn how to understand, analyze, and influence the variety of forces—social, economic, cultural, legal, political, ecological, and aesthetic, among others—shaping the built environment. Four key areas of concern animate the learning environment: how planning can manage change in complex environments; dealing with multiple scales and systems; engaging ethically with problems now and in the future; and planning as an active practice where implementation matters.

A two-year enrollment of roughly 80 students and a core, interdisciplinary faculty of scholars and practitioners generate an intimate, engaged educational atmosphere in which students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for leadership positions in their future professional careers.

The planning program administers joint degree programs with the Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Planning students often cross-register in courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Kennedy School, and the schools of business, law, education, engineering, and public health. Students in the urban planning program also take courses offered by the GSD’s other degree programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, design studies, and design engineering. They can cross-register in courses offered by the neighboring Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Loeb Fellowship program is a terrific resource for students, bringing mid-career professionals, many of them in planning and related areas, to the GSD for a year. Each year, the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy , collaborating with the American Planning Association and Harvard, convenes planning directors from the 30 largest cities in the U.S. to discuss emerging issues. Urban planning students interact with the directors informally and in a classroom setting.

Studio, thesis, and class projects link students to communities in the Boston area and beyond. The school’s Community Service Fellowship Program (CSFP) provides both summer internships in the U.S. and small overseas travel grants. Various Harvard units provide summer and winter opportunities relevant to urban planning students, including the Rappaport Public Policy Summer Fellowship , Edward M. Gramlich Fellowship in Community and Economic Development , and Presidential Public Service Fellowships . There is also funding for research travel (e.g., thesis data collection) or independent internships in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and elsewhere.

Four terms of full-time study in residence are normally required for award of the degree. Under special circumstances, students may receive permission to reduce their course loads and extend their studies over a longer period of time. Concurrent and joint degree candidates must consult the rules governing concurrent and joint degrees for information on residency requirements.

Please note that the MUP program is designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation. Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

The Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program, combined with practical experience and the AICP exam, leads to professional certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners. Harvard has not determined whether the program meets the educational requirements for professional licensure in any state other than Massachusetts.

Organizations both big and small worldwide are interested in GSD students and alumni. Urban planning training brings a wealth of knowledge and transferable skills outside of traditional practice to many industries, including but not limited to consulting, planning, government, higher education, non-profits, and other public and private institutions in the United States and internationally.

Admission with No Previous Professional Education

Individuals who have completed a four-year Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in any field (architecture or other) are eligible for admission to the first term of the professional degree program. Preference for admission is given to applicants who have completed a balanced undergraduate education that includes study in the arts, sciences, and humanities.  Four college-level, semester-long courses are specifically required as prerequisites for admission to the M.Arch-1 program: one semester of calculus; one semester of physics (algebra-based, covering mechanics and thermodynamics); and two semesters of history of architecture(together covering Renaissance through Modern periods at minimum). Applicants must achieve a grade of B- or better in each of these courses. Applicants who have scored a 4 or 5 on AP Calculus or AP Physics exams will be considered to have met these prerequisites only if their undergraduate transcript acknowledges the results by awarding institutional credit.

Preparation in the visual arts is desirable and may include drawing, sculpture, and/or graphics. Courses in the humanities, philosophy, literature, and economics are also recommended but are not required.

The Graduate School of Design offers a Pre-Core Workshop to incoming students, which is required for all entering Master of Architecture students without an undergraduate degree in architecture. The workshop may also be required or recommended for students whose portfolios demonstrate a need for more depth of knowledge with software used to design and represent architectural projects (for example, Rhino, V-Ray, AutoCAD, Illustrator, Photoshop). The workshop allows students to set up their computers, their GSD network accounts, and to familiarize themselves with the GSD’s Digital facilities prior to the start of classes. Most importantly, the workshop allows incoming students to gain a basic knowledge of the workflows and digital techniques used in the context of studios: 3D software basics, rendering basics, data-transfer from 3D software, output and model building techniques using CAD/CAM facilities. No academic credit is given for the workshop.

A minimum of seven terms of full-time study in residence, including thesis, is required. Under special circumstances, students may receive permission to reduce their course load and extend their studies over a longer period of time.

Please note that the MArch program is now designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation.  Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

In the United States, most 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 professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB accredited degree programs:

Master of Architecture  (non-pre-professional degree + 105 graduate credit hours on the NAAB scale)
Note: this is equivalent to 140 units in the GSD course unit calculations.

Master of Architecture AP (pre-professional degree + 75 graduate credit hours on the NAAB scale)
Note: this is equivalent to 100 units in the GSD course unit calculations.

NAAB Conditions and Procedures for Accreditation

For more information, please visit the NAAB Accreditation Information and Resources page.

Individuals admitted with advanced standing to the MLA I AP normally begin with the third term of the program and must complete a minimum of four terms of full-time study in residence.

Please note that the MLA I, MLA I AP, and MLA II programs are now designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation.  Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board. Combined with practical experience, it meets the requirements for licensure in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Admission with No Previous Professional Education:

Individuals who have completed a four-year Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in any field are eligible for admission to the first term of the professional degree program. Preference for admission is given to applicants who have completed a balanced undergraduate education that includes study in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Three college-level, semester-long courses are specifically required as prerequisites for admission to the MLA I program: one semester of environmental science; one semester of history of the built environment (this could include history of architecture, history of gardens and designed landscapes, environmental history, urban history); and at least one semester of visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpture, graphics). Applicants must achieve a grade of B- or better in each of these courses. Courses in the humanities, philosophy, literature, and economics are also recommended but are not required.

For students entering the three-year MLA I program, a minimum of six terms of full-time study in residence is required.

Please note that the MLA I, MLA I AP, and MLA II programs are now designated as a STEM program. Accordingly, international students holding F-1 visas may be eligible for a 24-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension on top of their initial OPT of 12 months, for a total of 36 months, following graduation.  Each F-1 student must petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve the 24-month STEM extension, and Harvard does not represent or warrant that USCIS will grant any individual petition.

The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program is accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board. Combined with practical experience, it meets the requirements for licensure in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.