°Ä²Ê¿ª½±

Architecture Minor

Architecture graduate schools highly value the strong liberal arts backgrounds of °Ä²Ê¿ª½± students.

Architecture Minor

The architecture minor is housed within °Ä²Ê¿ª½±'s Department of Art. While such a minor is not required for graduate admissions, students interested in pursuing graduate-level architectural studies should consider the opportunity while at °Ä²Ê¿ª½±.

A Coherent Course of Study

°Ä²Ê¿ª½± students minoring in architecture build an understanding of the power of the built environment to shape lives and embody social values. The minor offers a coherent course of study focusing on architecture as a cultural and intellectual product. Courses examine historical architecture in a wide range of intellectual, social, and political contexts including:

  • the value of the built environment and architecture’s intimate relationship to design, space, place, and human behavior
  • the history and theory of architecture across time and place, in the context of local and global developments
  • the interdisciplinary nature of architecture and its intersection with other forms of art and media
  • the impact of conflict and climate on architectural heritage
  • creative design through studio practice

Architecture minor requirements

 

Graduate Study Recommendations

 Professor Padma Kaimal gestures to a sculpted feature
The architecture minor examines architecture as a cultural and intellectual product.

Academic experience in the liberal arts is highly valued by the best graduate schools. The following are some curricular recommendations for °Ä²Ê¿ª½± students who anticipate pursuing graduate work in architecture:

  • It is strongly recommended that you take upper-level studio art courses, especially drawing (ARTS 211), sculpture (ARTS 263 or ARTS 264), or architectural design courses (ARTS 271).
  • Calculus and physics are expected for admission to graduate-level architecture programs. Students should therefore take at least one semester of calculus and one semester of physics (PHYS 105 or PHYS 111).
  • Students may also bolster their résumés with upper-level architectural design courses.

Architectural History and Theory

Students interested in pursuing an advanced degree specifically in architectural history and theory should:

  • study a foreign language such as (but not limited to) German or French to achieve reading proficiency, and;
  • participate in an approved semester-long study abroad program in art history or pre-architecture, such as DIS in Copenhagen, in order to experience global architecture firsthand.

Pre-Architecture Contact

As early as possible, we encourage you to speak with the pre-architecture adviser:

Carolyn Guile

Associate Professor of Art; Co-Director, Center for Freedom & Western Civilization