Undergraduate Degree Administrator:

Download a copy of the Undergraduate Student Handbook. Additional questions regarding the Course 4 curriculum can be addressed to the undergraduate degree administrator for the Department of Architecture:

Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSA)

The degree is granted once all 17 General Institute Requirements (GIRs) as well as the department requirements have been completed.

All architecture majors, regardless of degree or discipline stream, are required to take the following core subjects. All six will be completed by the end of sophomore year:

  • 4.111, Introduction to Architecture and Environmental Design (HASS-A, 12 units)
  • 4.112, Architecture Design Fundamentals I (12 units)
  • 4.302, Foundations in the Visual Arts & Design (CI-M 12 units)
  • 4.401, Architectural Building Systems, 12 units
  • 4.500, Introduction to Design Computing, 12 units
    and one of the following:
  • 4.605, Introduction to the History and Theory of Architecture, HASS-D category 3, 12 units
  • 4.601, Introduction to Art History, HASS-D category 3, HASS-A, 12 units

The Bachelor of Science in Art and Design (BSA) is the predominant undergraduate degree of the Department of Architecture. By the beginning of junior year, students begin concentrating in one of the four disciplines:

Architectural Design

Building Technology

Computation

Art, Culture and Technology

History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art

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Bachelor of Science in Architecture Studies (SBAS)

The degree is granted once all 17 General Institute Requirements (GIRs) and all departmental requirements have been met.

All architecture majors, regardless of degree or discipline stream, are required to take the following core subjects. All six should be completed by the end of sophomore year:

  • 4.111, Introduction to Architecture and Environmental Design, HASS-A, 12 units
  • 4.112, Architecture Design Fundamentals, 12 units
  • 4.302, Foundations in the Visual Arts & Design, CI-M, 12 units
  • 4.401, Architectural Building Systems, 12 units
  • 4.500, Introduction to Design Computing, 12 units
    and one of the following:
  • 4.605, Introduction to the History and Theory of Architecture, HASS-D category 3, HASS-A,
    12 units
  • 4.601, Introduction to Art History, HASS-D category 3, HASS-A, 12 units

Course 4-B is designed for students who are intellectually committed to subjects within the Department of Architecture but have educational objectives that cross departmental boundaries. With the approval of the department, a student may plan a course of study that meets his or her individual needs. The resulting program must incorporate fundamental areas within the department.

As early as possible, students should discuss their interests and intended programs with their advisors and departmental faculty members. A student who wishes to follow Course 4-B must first register as a Course 4 major.

By the end of sophomore year, the student is expected to submit to the department a proposal that includes:

  • a statement of educational goals
  • a list of subjects to be taken to fulfill these goals (84 units)
  • a timetable listing when the subjects will be taken

Once the Department of Architecture Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has approved the proposal, the student may officially switch to the 4-B major.

All 4-B majors are required to do a senior thesis and must take 4.THT, Thesis Research Design Seminar, the fall prior to submitting the thesis.

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Design Studios

Design studios are at the heart of architecture education, and MIT offers a broad range of studios devoted to design projects of increasing complexity. Introductory studio provides the background and vocabulary of design. It also helps undergraduates decide whether they want to continue in architecture as a major. Fundamental and advanced studios provide a progressive range of experience in form-making.

Undergraduate Architecture Design majors take six studios:

  • 4.111, Introduction to Architecture and Environmental Design, 12 units, spring or IAP (4.11A, 9 units)
  • 4.112, Architecture Design Fundamentals I, 12 units, fall
  • 4.113, Architecture Design Fundamentals II, 15 units, spring
  • 4.114, Architecture Design Studio I, CI-M, 21 units, fall
  • 4.115, Architecture Design Studio II, 21 units, spring
  • 4.116, Architectural Design Studio III, 21 units, fall

Two intermediate to advanced subjects in the same discipline may substitute the final studio. This option is usually made available to students who switch into the major after sophomore year and still wish to graduate within the four year undergraduate period.

Freshman who are determined to major in architecture are advised to take 4.111 in the spring of the freshman year. Only Course 4 majors and minors may advance to 4.114 and beyond.

Eligibility Requirements for Studio

Promotion from one studio to the next is not automatic. Grades lower than "C" will jeopardize advancement in the Architecture Design studio sequence.

Advancement eligibility rules ensure that students who enter intermediate or advanced studios are well prepared. No Course 4 undergraduate who enters the Department as a sophomore or first term Junior and is performing well should have to spend an extra semester at MIT to complete the program. View Eligibility List

Choosing Studios

The maximum size of the 4.114, 4.115 and 4.116 studio sections is 12 students. If there is more than one studio section, a lottery may be held.

At the beginning of each semester, every faculty member planning to teach a studio makes a 10-minute presentation of his/her program to the assembled department at the Preview of Design Studios. This is the opportunity for students to learn about studio offerings before making their lottery choices. The sessions are open to the department community, and everyone is encouraged to stop in.

Students' names must appear on the studio eligibility lists to ensure participation in the studio. This list is posted prior to Registration Day. Students should notify the department degree administrators if they believe there is an error in their status.

If there is to be a lottery, coded lottery ballots are available in Room 10-491M on Registration Day. Marked ballots must be turned into the Department of Architecture, Room 7-337, by 9 a.m. the day after studio presentations. A lottery drawing is held at 9:30 that morning in the headquarters of the Department of Architecture.

Students who drop out of studio after the lottery process may take a studio in the future if still eligible, but may not participate in the lottery process. They will be placed in the appropriate studio.

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Communication Requirement

MIT's Communication Requirement is designed to ensure that all undergraduates learn to write and speak effectively. All undergraduates receive substantial instruction and practice in general expository writing and speaking as well as in the forms of discourse common to their professional fields.

MIT undergraduates must complete two Communication Intensive subjects in the humanities, arts and social sciences (CI-H) and two Communication Intensive subjects in their major (CI-M). By the end of freshman year, students should have completed one CI-H subject. The second must be taken prior to graduation. A current list of available CI-H subjects can be found on the MIT Undergraduate Communication Requirement website.

The following subjects fulfill the CI-M requirement for Course 4 majors:

  • 4.114, Architecture Design Studio I (fall term)
  • 4.302, Foundations in the Visual Arts & Design for Majors (spring term)
  • 4.THT, Thesis Research Design Seminar (fall term)

4. 302 is normally completed by the end of the sophomore year. 4.114 is taken by architecture design students in the junior year. 4.THT is taken in the senior year by all students except for those following the Architecture Design discipline stream.

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Course 4 Minor Programs

A minor is a coherent program providing significant experience in the discipline. Students who successfully complete minor programs will have their fields of study specified as part of their Bachelor of Science degrees, thus giving public recognition of focused work in other disciplines.

The Department of Architecture offers three minor programs:

  • Minor in Architecture
    Minor advisor: Les Norford
    This minor provides students with an opportunity to explore architecture design as well as one or two of the related discipline areas.
  • Minor in the History of Architecture and Art (HASS Minor)
    Minor advisor: Kristel Smentek
    This minor program is designed to enable students to concentrate on the historical, theoretical and critical issues associated with artistic and architectural production. Introductions to the historical framework and stylistic conventions of art and architectural history are followed by more concentrated study of particular periods and theoretical problems in visual culture and in cultural history in general.
  • Minor in Art, Culture and Technology (HASS Minor)
    Minor advisors: Andrea Frank, Gediminas Urbonas
    This minor program expands the opportunities available to undergraduates to pursue an interest in hands-on artistic practice and critical debate. Students will gain skills and critical understanding in new genre art, including time based media, public art, interrogative design, photography, networked cultures, the production of space, and artistic research and transdisciplinary study.

Students majoring in Course 4 may not also minor in Architecture. However, they may minor in either the History of Architecture and Art (HTC) or Art Culture and Technology (ACT) if not following the Course 4 HTC or ACT discipline streams respectively.

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Course 4 HASS Concentrations

MIT provides a substantial and varied program in the humanities, arts, and social sciences that forms an essential part of the education of every undergraduate. This program is intended to ensure that students develop a broad understanding of human society, its traditions, and its institutions. The HASS requirement enables students to deepen their knowledge in a variety of cultural and disciplinary areas and encourages the development of sensibilities and skills vital to an effective and satisfying life as an individual, a professional, and a member of society.

The HASS Concentration is comprised of three or four approved subjects in a single field. The Concentration field advisor helps interested students develop a program of related subjects and approves the proposal prior to submission to the Office of the HASS Requirement. It is expected that the proposal will be submitted prior to the start of the junior year.

The Department of Architecture offers two different but inter-related HASS concentrations:

Course 4 majors are encouraged to select one of the above HASS concentrations. The only restriction is that students following the History of Architecture and Art discipline stream may not select a HASS concentration in the same area. The same is true for those following the Visual Arts & Design discipline stream.

It is not unusual for a concentration to develop into an established HASS minor. The Minor in the History of Architecture and Art or the Minor in Art, Culture and Technology may be an extension of the concentration in the same area.

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Foreign Exchange Programs

Course 4 Undergraduate Exchange Program with Hong Kong University and Delft University of Technology

Study abroad offers an opportunity for enrichment that goes beyond formal classroom education. Each fall, three MIT undergraduate students will have the opportunity to study architectural design at either Hong Kong University (HKU) or Delft University of Technology (TUD) in The Netherlands for one semester.

The architecture programs at MIT, HKU and TUD are similar in many ways. Each enjoys a high reputation, exists within an institution with strong commitments to technology and engineering, and conducts its courses in English. BSA Architecture Design students enroll in an advanced level studio at HKU or TUD during the first term of their senior year.

Eligibility

Only students who can easily complete all Institute and Department requirements in time for graduation are eligible. While attending HKU or TUD, MIT students take a program that includes their final Architecture Design studio requirement (21 units) plus 27 units of unrestricted elective.

Prerequisites

  • Enrollment as Course 4 Architecture Design discipline stream student
  • Completion of 4.115, 4.302, 4.401, 4.440, 4.500 and 4.605
  • No more than 48 units of coursework can be needed upon returning to MIT for the final semester (after completion of Delft program)
  • Completion of all phases of the Communications Requirement or a plan in place for completion during final term
  • Submission of the HASS Concentration Proposal
  • No more than 4 physical education points remaining

Students may apply early in the spring of junior year if they will have met these criteria by the end of that term. For more information, download the Department's foreign exchange program handout.

Deadline

Applications to the program must be made by Add Date of the spring semester of the junior year.

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Senior Thesis

The senior thesis is intended for students who wish to culminate their education with a challenge that would demand advanced work and reward them with portfolio material and developed viewpoints on a topic of importance. It is required for all of the discipline streams except for Architecture Design, where it is optional and can be used to fulfill 12 units of unrestricted elective requirements.

The nature of the work may be an original research or design project that involves additional learning of a substantive nature. The work must be documented with a written thesis, completed to institute specifications, within the final term of the senior year.

Thesis preparation subjects are taken the fall prior to registering for thesis and will assist students in preparing a thesis proposal and choosing a supervisor.

  • 4.119, Preparation for Undergraduate Architecture Design Thesis, a 3-unit class, is for Architecture Design stream students
  • 4.THTJ, Thesis Research Design Seminar, a 12-unit, CI-M class is required of students in the Building Technology, Computation, History of Architecture and Art, or Visual Arts stream. It is joint with DUSP 11.THTJ.
  • The supervisor may be a faculty member, lecturer, visiting faculty, or research scientist from within Course 4 (preferred), or from another department within MIT. If chosen from a department other than Architecture, a faculty member within Course 4 willing to work in conjunction with the supervisor will need to be added to the proposal as a reader. Normally, readers are not required, unless your thesis advisor requests one.

After the thesis proposal is approved and before registration for thesis, students must complete the Thesis Proposal Form and attach a thesis proposal, which includes a timetable for completion. The form must be signed by the thesis supervisor. If she/he is not a member of the Department, the proposal must also be signed by the Course 4 faculty reader. Submit the completed form to Renee Caso in Architecture Headquarters, room 7-337, by the completion of the fall term in which 4.119 or 4.THT is taken. Students who submit the completed form on time may register for 12 units of 4.THU. Students may not register for thesis after Add Date.

Upon satisfactory completion of the thesis, the supervisor will assign a grade. The grade will not be submitted to the Registrar until a copy of the final signed thesis document is submitted to Renee Caso in Headquarters by the published thesis deadline. Thesis presentations will be scheduled at the end of the term in coordination with graduate thesis presentations.

Thesis Guidelines and Deadlines

  • The Department must receive two copies of the thesis in accordance with the Specifications for Thesis Preparation published by the MIT Libraries Institute Archives to assist students in the preparation of the thesis document.
  • The department upholds the requirements of the Institute specifications. In addition, the Department of Architecture requires that each thesis contain a page listing the names and titles of each member of the thesis committee (if there is more than just the advisor). This page is to be inserted between the title page and the abstract. Students should review the thesis checklist before submitting the thesis to the department degree administrator. The "Accepted by" signature on the title page should be J. Meejin Yoon, Director of the Undergraduate Architecture Program.
  • The deadline for submitting the approved, archival copies of the thesis is set by the Department and is just prior to the Institute's deadline for the last day to go off of the Degree List noted in the Academic Calendar. Only minor corrections in formatting and proofing will be accepted after this date and only at the discretion of the department undergraduate administrator.
  • All theses are submitted to the Course 4 Undergraduate Administrator, Renee Caso
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Undergraduate Internship

IAP Coordinator: John Fernandez

Every January during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), the Department of Architecture, organizes an internship program for juniors and seniors to work in local architectural offices. This experience provides students with valuable hands-on training, an opportunity to improve skills and an inside look at the workings of an everyday architectural practice.

Internships require full-time work for the entire month. Student interns earn six pass/fail units that can be used toward elective credit. All qualified students (4.114 is a prerequisite) are encouraged to participate. Participating students must register for 4.280, Undergraduate Architecture Internship, during IAP. An internship planning meeting takes place in November, prior to IAP. (Graduate students who wish to participate register for 4.287, Graduate Architecture Internship.)

An internship planning meeting will take place in late October for those interested.

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Freshman Year

The Department of Architecture is a rich and varied educational environment for study and practice of architecture and art. It has strong traditions of concern for human values, and for finding appropriate roles for architecture in society. It is a place where the individual creativity of a student can be cultivated and nurtured in a framework of values that is socially and environmentally responsible.

The Department's range of activity extends from addressing significant social, ecological, and environmental issues to building in today's market economy; from recent and future technological advances, especially in areas of computation and energy, to advances in design practice and research, The Department seeks to relate these issues to architectural theory and practice in this and other countries, bringing them into relationship with skills thinking, and heritage of architecture.

Freshman Pre-Orientation Program

A number of Pre-Orientation Programs are offered each August as a way for incoming freshman to get a sneak preview of MIT and some of the departments. Our department offers an opportunity to interested freshman to Discover Architecture & Planning.

Freshman Seminars

  • 4.A22, The Physics of Energy — A collaboration among three faculty in different departments that work on projects that involve energy. The hands-on seminar explores systems that make, use, and convert electric power.
  • 4.A24, Resources and the Built Environment: Design and Build a "Green" Structure — Delves into the built environment as a source of both the most pressing challenge and greatest opportunity for addressing global climate change. Students will build a very small, off-the-grid, high performance building, among other things.

Recommended Course 4 Subjects for Freshman

  • 4.100, Architecture Workshop: Form and Material — A fun way to explore the Architecture Department during IAP. Join in an intensive design and fabrication workshop where you create models and half-size prototypes that explore the characteristics of concrete and wood. Study how architectural detail can impact the perception and creation of larger built structures and environments.
  • 4.111, Introduction to Architecture and Environmental Design — This studio class is for students who are intending to major in architecture, or students who want to get a taste of what architecture is about. It is the first in a series of architecture design studios, which is the heart of architecture education. The class meets twice a week for three hours each session and 12 units is awarded upon successful completion. Though the class is offered in spring, it is recommended that freshman take it in the spring term.
  • 4.605, Introduction to the History and Theory of Architecture — This popular introductory class is a survey on the history of architecture and urbanism from Ancient Egypt to the present. It will satisfy a HASS-Distribution, and provides a solid background for other classes in architecture history. It is offered in the spring and is one of the required classes for the major.

A list of current Department of Architecture subject offerings can be found on our Course 4 Class Offerings site.

Download a copy of the undergraduate student handbook.

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Awards and Fellowships

Ennis Research Award for African-American Women

Terms

The family of Rosalia Elisa Ennis, (MArch '76) has established a research award in her memory in the MIT Department of Architecture. The annual award of $1000 will be given to an African-American woman student in any Department program (including undergraduate) for research and research-related travel in the field of architecture. It is hoped that the final product of the research will be of publishable quality. Projects need not only be written. The award might, for example, support the preparation of a final competition submission, travel in support of archival research, or visual documentation of a building, set of buildings or place.

Eligibility

African-American women in any architecture department program.

Process

The application process consists of

  1. A completed application cover sheet 
  2. A statement of the research topic, maximum 5 pages
  3. A description of how the grant would be used to contribute to the applicant's research, including a brief resume of the applicant
  4. A budget, up to a maximum of $1,500

Schedule

Deadline for proposals: November 28, 2011 by 5pm in 7-337

Announcement of winners: December 9, 2011

Leon B. Groisser Undergraduate Travel Fellowship

Terms

Gifts of friends and alumni/ae of Leon B. Groisser ('48 and '70), and MIT Architecture Faculty member from 1968 through 1996, established a travel fellowship award to a Department of Architecture undergraduate major for research-related travel during IAP.

Eligibility

Any Course IV undergraduate major in his or her senior year who will complete a thesis in the Spring term immediately following the proposed IAP period of travel.  

Process

A committee of Architecture faculty members appointed by the Department Head of Architecture administers the award. Selection will be on the basis of the promise of the proposal as it relates to developing the Architecture thesis.  

The application consists of:

  1. A completed application cover sheet 
  2. A statement of the research topic, maximum 5 pages, including a description of how the grant would be used to contribute to the applicant's research
  3. A brief resume of the applicant
  4. A budget, up to a maximum of $1,500.

Submission should be unbound, page numbered, and reproducible by black-and-white copier.

Schedule

Deadline for proposals: November 28, 2011 by 5pm in 7-337

Announcement of winners: December 9, 2011

Floyd A. Naramore Architectural Memorial Fellowship Fund

The Department of Architecture sponsors a limited number of tuition fellowships for outstanding BSA students who continue their studies in the field of architecture at the Master's level. Awards are limited to attendance at any university west of the Mississippi River. However, first preference is given to students who continue their studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, and second preference to any university on the Pacific Coast.

Awards are granted upon a competitive process and consist of a half-tuition fellowship, not to exceed the cost of 50% of MIT's academic year tuition. Students must be enrolled full-time, and grants are made only for the cost of tuition and may not be used to pay required fees, duplicate financial aid, or to pay room and board or other educational costs. The tuition fellowship is renewable for the semesters of residency of the degree program, up to a total of four semesters.

The application deadline is April 1 of each year. Applicants should send a copy of their admission letter, financial aid offer, official statement of the required semesters of residency for the degree, and a statement of the cost of attendance.

Questions may be addressed to Rebecca Chamberlain

Applications should be addressed to Rebecca Chamberlain

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Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Department of Architecture has many Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) projects, ranging from research in building technology (indoor air quality, building energy analysis, thermal comfort, ventilation systems, etc.) to computer graphics (visualization, image synthesis, computer-aided design, etc.) to architecture and art (public art projects, creating electronic media, museum installations, etc.)

The Course 4 UROP coordinator is Lawrence Sass. For more information, contact the UROP Office at MIT. A listing of Course 4 opportunities can be found on this site.

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