Architecture

Architecture is the design of the built environment: buildings, groups of buildings, communities, and their surroundings. As a profession, it is an art, science, and business with careers available in private firms, government, theater and film, industrial corporations, public and private institutions, schools of architecture, and in architectural research.

At Miami, a major in architecture leads to the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. This is a four-year pre-professional program that prepares you for the two-year Master of Architecture program (accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board) offered at Miami. Miami has established this "four-plus-two" system to ensure that undergraduate students gain much more than a strictly technical or vocational education. Instead, you will graduate with a well-rounded liberal arts education plus research skills and design training that make you competitive and marketable to graduate schools as well as in professional practice. About 80 percent of our graduating seniors go on to master's programs at Miami or other universities.

Distinctive Features

Interdisciplinary approach: Because architecture students especially need to see the connections between various disciplines, the first-year studio is an interdisciplinary studio, drawing both teaching staff and design problems from architecture, interior design, graphic design, industrial design, and the studio arts.

Studio focus: The Department of Architecture and Interior Design at Miami in some ways resembles a large architectural office with small design studios working on projects at many levels. In the junior and senior years, 12 to 15 students are assigned to one faculty member in studio. The small size encourages both the exchange of ideas and intense effort. Because students often work long hours in the studio, the architecture and interior design building is secured but available to majors 24 hours a day. The studio becomes a community of individual effort and mutual support.

Selective admission: Because the study of architecture requires special potential, admission to the major is selective. Your credentials will be reviewed both by the Office of Admission and the Department of Architecture and Interior Design. Admission to a major in architecture is based on scholastic achievement, creative potential, and university admission.

Your Program of Study

During the first two years of the architecture program, you will take courses in graphic media, introductory principles of structural and mechanical systems, and history and theory of architecture, as well as four architectural design studios. You will also develop a palette of traditional and digital graphic techniques. These include common commercial software applications such as Form·Z, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Lightscape.

In your junior and senior years, you choose courses in specified areas: design studios, history, urban studies, landscape, theory and philosophy, graphic communication, and the building sciences. As part of Miami's liberal education requirement, you will also complete a sequence of courses in advanced liberal learning and a capstone experience.

Getting Licensed

To become licensed as an architect, you need a professional degree in architecture and officially documented experience as an intern in an architectural firm. This combination of academic preparation and practical experience qualifies you to take the state licensing examination. The purpose of professional licensure and registration is to ensure public safety and health in the built environment.

Since under certain circumstances internships may begin during undergraduate education, the Department of Architecture and Interior Design can help place you with an architectural firm where you can be employed during summer breaks. This can provide you with some professional experience before you move on to graduate studies.

After You Graduate

With training in architecture, you are prepared to work in many fields. In addition to careers with private architectural firms, students can pursue jobs in commercial, industrial, and retail design; facilities management; real estate and development; engineering; sales and manufacturing; and museum and gallery management, design, and installation. You can also become a historian, theorist, or critic.

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For more information about Miami's program in architecture:

Department of Architecture and Interior Design
101 Alumni Hall
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-7210
arcid@muohio.edu
www.muohio.edu/architecture