Undergraduate Design Studios

Undergraduate Architecture 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 studios provide the background and vocabulary of design. They also help undergraduates decide whether they want to continue in architecture. Intermediate and advanced studios provide a progressive range of experience in form-making.

Studio Sequence
Undergraduate Architecture Design majors take two introductory studios:

4.111, Experiencing Architecture Studio, 12 units, fall or spring
4.112, Integrated Architecture Design Studio, 12 units, fall or IAP (4.12A, 9 units)

Three intermediate studios:

4.113, Applied Architecture Design Studio I, 15 units, spring
4.114, Applied Architecture Design Studio II, CI-M, 21 units, fall
4.115, Applied Architecture Design Studio III, 21 units, spring

And either one advanced studio:

4.116, Advanced Architectural Design Studio, 21 units, fall

OR two intermediate to advanced subjects in the same discipline. 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 the intermediate level studios.

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.

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, then students may choose their studio through a lottery.

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 lottery. This list is posted prior to Registration Day. Students should notify the department degree administrators noted on the studio eligibility lists if they believe there is an error in their status.

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.

Quick Links
Undergraduate Studio Eligibility Requirements
Studio eligibility lists