The goal of undergraduate studies at SCI-Arc is the pursuit of the creativity and critical thinking needed for success and leadership in architecture in the twenty-first century. Organized around Design Studio, Liberal Arts, Architectural History + Theory, Visual Studies, and Applied Studies, SCI-Arc’s B.Arch is recognized as one of the most experimental and progressive architecture programs in the world.
Bachelor of Architecture
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The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program at SCI-Arc is a five-year professional degree, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), focusing on both design excellence and intellectual breadth through a liberal arts-based education.
SCI-Arc’s B.Arch program produces individuals who are savvy, broad-thinking, and primed to become leaders of their profession. Students emerge with sophisticated portfolios of work that make them highly competitive in the global architectural marketplace. B.Arch graduates are poised to establish their own practices and become licensed professionals, enter top international architectural offices, or continue on to higher education in the world’s most competitive graduate programs.
"Once you enter into this community, you instantly hear the constant shuffling of 3D printers, the clicking of the computer mouse, the pacing of footsteps, the chatters and laughters of friends, the resonance of rolling chairs, the imprinting of red markers... And you can feel the overflowing yet harmonious aura of stress, commitment and love."
Heading titleA Commitment to Experimentation and Theory
The design culture of the B.Arch program is focused both on the discipline of architecture, regarding its history, theory, and techniques, as well as on the profession of architecture itself, in terms of building technology, innovations in design and construction, and professional practice. The project-based curriculum of the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program is centered around the design studio, where students develop visual literacy, learn design skills, test ideas, and receive continuous, personal feedback from faculty and peers.
“Through the B.Arch program, I learned that I’m capable of pushing way beyond my imagined boundaries resulting in the progress of me becoming a better version of myself year by year. I believe that the beginning of a design is always a question and as architects, we look for the best suitable solution. Through the experience in the B.Arch program, I learned how to find these solutions that create a conversation of their own.”
Heading titleEducating Contemporary Architects
In contrast to long-standing vocational models of architectural education, SCI-Arc’s B.Arch curriculum educates students to address contemporary challenges and emerge as architectural leaders of the twenty-first century. Today, architects must be adroit and prepared to articulate and defend ideas to a broad array of audiences with clarity, confidence, and perspective. At SCI-Arc, we believe this is achieved through concentrated exposure to different forms of knowledge and a keen understanding of the ways in which various disciplines can disrupt one another, revealing new ways of seeing, thinking, and making.
Heading titleA Professionally Accredited Education
The B.Arch program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), allowing graduates to pursue architectural licensure for professional practice in the United States.
Consistently ranked in the top ten professional architecture programs in the United States, SCI-Arc’s B.Arch enjoys an international reputation of excellence for implementing a progressive architectural education that prepares students to successfully enter professional practice.
Heading titleA Design Lifestyle
The B.Arch program at SCI-Arc is dedicated to pursuing design innovation.
Starting in their first semester, students are immersed in hands-on, project-based design studio courses through which they learn and practice the concepts and skills necessary to design contemporary architecture. During studio hours, faculty meet with students individually and in groups to discuss the progression of their design project. Conversations born in studio often extend beyond the walls of SCI-Arc, animating the spaces and neighborhood the school calls home.
Model by third year B.Arch students Ali-Berk Senbas and Navid Simanian.
"A big part of learning these softwares and new technologies has to do with the pedagogy of the school. I’m excited to see how I’ll take these techniques forward later in my education and career."
Heading titleA Faculty of Practitioners
SCI-Arc faculty is primarily comprised of practicing architects. Learning from active practitioners not only provides a window into the lives of professionals, but also enables students to develop a wide-reaching network with options to pursue professional internships and employment outside the school.
Heading titleAlumni
SCI-Arc has more than four thousand alumni working all over the globe in a variety of professional architecture and design practices. B.Arch alumni have worked at such important practices as Gehry Partners, Morphosis, Zaha Hadid Architects, Gensler, AECOM, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, among many others.
