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Architectural Technology

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BS Degree - Code #1452

Alan Vlakancic, Program Coordinator
Email Address: vlakanah@alfredstate.edu

Our four-year Bachelor of Science in architectural technology program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive architectural education. While the two-year AAS degree in architectural technology offers a broad range of skills, the four-year program continues the course of study by combining a holistic perspective of the built environment with an applied technical knowledge of construction systems and materials acquired throughout a four-year studio sequence.

All architecture degree programs share course work across the first two years, while the BS and BArch have some shared course work in the third and fourth years. This alignment demands that the AAS and BS in architectural technology are required to meet the same NAAB "Student Criteria” and “Program Criteria” that apply to the BArch program. The BArch program is the first and only fully accredited undergraduate professional architecture degree program in the SUNY system.

Advantages

  • Broad exposure gives students the ability to be conversant with and/or seek employment within the architectural field, and also in related professions that engage the built environment.
  • The degree may be accepted for credit toward professional licensure in New York State.
  • Alfred State offers multiple study abroad options through our signature 12-week semester study abroad program (offered in conjunction with Sant’Anna Institute in Sorrento, Italy) and other programs offered in conjunction with SUNY partners. To learn more, see www.alfredstate.edu/study-abroad.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

  • PSLO.1. = NAAB PC.1. Career Paths — The program helps students understand the path to becoming a licensed architect in the United States and the range of career opportunities available to them that utilize the discipline’s skills and knowledge.
  • PSLO.2. = NAAB PC.2 Design — The program promotes the role of design in shaping the built environment and conveys the methods by which design integrates multiple factors, in different settings and scales of development.
  • PSLO.3. = NAAB PC.3 Ecological Knowledge and Responsibility — The program provides a holistic understanding of the dynamic between built and natural environments, enabling future architects to responsibly mitigate climate change by leveraging ecological, advanced building performance, adaptation, and resilience principles in their work and advocacy activities.
  • PSLO.4. = NAAB PC.4 History and Theory — The program prepares students to understand the histories and theories of architecture and urbanism, framed by broad social, cultural, economic, and political forces.
  • PSLO.5. = NAAB PC.5 Innovation — The program expands students' understanding of the field and encourages exploration, risk-taking, and inventiveness.
  • PSLO.6. = NAAB PC.6 Leadership and Collaboration — The program helps students understand approaches to leadership in multidisciplinary teams, diverse stakeholder constituents, and dynamic physical and social contexts, and learn how to apply effective collaboration skills to solve complex problems.
  • PSLO.7. = NAAB PC.7 Learning and Teaching Culture — The program fosters a positive and respectful environment that encourages optimism, respect, sharing, engagement, and innovation among the members of its faculty, student body, administration, staff, and the profession.
  • PSLO.8. = NAAB PC.8 Social Equity and Inclusive Environments — The program deepens students understanding of diverse cultural and social contexts and helps students translate that into built environments that support and include people who have different backgrounds, resources, and abilities.
  • PSLO.9. = NAAB SC.1 Health, Safety, and Welfare in the Built Environment — How the program promotes students’ understanding of the role of the built environment in human health, safety, and welfare at multiple scales.
  • PSLO.10. = NAAB SC.2 Professional Practice — How the program fosters an understanding of professional ethics, the regulatory standards, and the fundamental business processes relevant to architectural practice in the United States.
  • PSLO.11. = NAAB SC.3 Regulatory Context — How the program enables students to understand the fundamental principles of life safety, land use, and related regulations that apply to buildings and sites within the US, and the evaluative criteria architects use to assess those regulations as part of a project.
  • PSLO.12. = NAAB SC.4 Technical Knowledge — How the program prepares students to understand the established and emerging systems, technologies, and assemblies of building construction, and the criteria architects use to assess those technologies against the design and performance objectives of projects.
  • PSLO.13. = NAAB SC.5 Design Synthesis — Ability to make design decisions within an-architectural project while demonstrating broad synthesis and consideration of user requirements, regulatory requirements, site conditions, ecological concerns, and accessible design.
  • PSLO.14. = NAAB SC.6 Building Integration — Ability to make design decisions within an architectural project while demonstrating broad integration and consideration of building envelope systems and assemblies, structural systems, environmental control systems and life safety systems.

Continuing Education Opportunities

Graduates wishing to continue their education may choose to apply to master's programs in architecture or related disciplines. The lengths of such programs vary and depend on institutional requirements.

Career Opportunities

  • Architectural designer
  • Registered Architect
  • 3D modeler/animator
  • Building Information Modeling (BIM) manager
  • Specifications writer
  • Code enforcement official

Employment Statistics

Employment and continuing education rate of 100 percent – 73 percent are employed; 27 percent continued their education.

Related Programs

Entrance Requirements/recommendations

Required: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2

Recommended: Pre-calculus, Physics

Required Course Prerequisites

If students do not place into MATH 1033 College Algebra, MATH 1084 Calculus I, MATH 1323 Quantitative Reasoning, 1034 College Algebra of Functions, 1054 Precalculus, or 2124 Statistical Methods & Analysis, then MATH 1014 Algebra Concepts is a required prerequisite for completion of the major.

If students do not place into PHYS 1024 General Physics I or PHYS 1044 College Physics I, then PHYS 1014 Introductory Physics is a required prerequisite for completion of this major.

Office of Accessibility Services

Students who believe they need a reasonable accommodation to properly participate in this program may contact Melanie Ryan in the Office of Accessibility Services. This office may be contacted by email at oas@alfredstate.edu  or by phone at 607-587-4506. Please keep in mind that some accommodations may take time to implement, so students seeking accommodations are encouraged to contact OAS as early as possible.

Transfer Students

Prior to studio placement within the BS architectural technology program, applicants from schools or programs with which Alfred State College does not have an active an articulation agreement must submit a comprehensive academic portfolio for review. This portfolio will include examples of student work, course syllabi, assignments, and grade reports and will be evaluated along with the student’s overall grade point average and studio course grades.

Students applying for transfer from schools with which Alfred State College has an existing and active articulation agreement (SUNY Delhi, Dutchess CC, Erie CC, Finger Lakes CC, Hudson Valley CC, SUNY Morrisville, Onondaga CC, Orange County CC) may submit a condensed design portfolio. 

Alfred State College uses SlideRoom to collect portfolio details, which will guide all students through the process of assembling the correct materials for the portfolio.

Typical Program

In the first and second years, a typical day consists of two one-hour lectures and a two-hour studio. At the third-year and fourth-year levels, the studio meeting times are three hours. Students can expect to spend additional time working on projects and course work out of studio.

Required Equipment

All students in both the architecture and interior design programs are required to purchase a computer in addition to other equipment. Typically the costs of these purchases can be covered using financial aid. Please consult a financial aid counselor for further details. A tier 2 laptop computer is required for students entering this degree program. Laptop specifications are available at www.alfredstate.edu/required-laptops

General Notes:

Entry level of student into math and composition/literature sequences is a function of student’s high school preparation and mathematics and English placement examinations.

Math through Technical Calculus I must be completed. Students who start at a higher level of math must meet SUNY general education and campus liberal arts and sciences course credit requirements for graduation.

Minimum combined GPA of 3.0 is required in Alfred State studio courses (ARCH 1184, ARCH 2394, ARCH 3104, and ARCH 4304) or comparable courses at another institution to guarantee admission into ARCH 5306 - Design Studio 3. A portfolio review is required of all continuing or transfer students not meeting this requirement.

If entry-level math requirement is met, take LAS elective to complete degree requirements of 3 or 4 credits, otherwise take free elective.

Students must complete at least one course from seven of the 10 SUNY General Education knowledge areas.

Minimum grade of “C” is required for ARCH 2394, ARCH 3014, ARCH 4104, ARCH 5306, ARCH 6306, ARCH 7306, and ARCH 8306.

Graduation Requirements

Successfully complete all courses in the prescribed eight-semester program and earn a minimum cumulative index of 2.0.

Architectural Technology - BS Degree

TYPICAL EIGHT-SEMESTER PROGRAM

First

ARCH 1184 Design Fundamentals 1 4
GLST 2113 Global & Diverse Perspectives 3
MATH 1034 College Algebra of Functions 4
FNAT 1303 Architectural History I 3
XXXX xxx3 Open Elective  3
      17

Second

ARCH 2394 Design Fundamentals 2 4
ARCH 2014 Computer Visualization 4
COMP 1503 Writing Studies 3
MATH 2043 College Trigonometry 3
PHYS 1024 General Physics I 4
      18

Third

ARCH 3104 Design Studio 1 4
ARCH 3014 Construction Technology 1 4
XXXX  xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective (Based on Semester 1 Math) 3
ARCH 3003 Environmental Controls 1 3
MATH 1063 Technical Calculus I 3
      17

Fourth

ARCH 4014 Construction Technology 2 4
ARCH 4013 Municipal Codes & Regulations 3
ARCH 4304 Design Studio 2 4
CIVL 4103 Structures I 3
SPCH 1083 Public Speaking 3
    OR  
SPCH xxx3 Effective Speaking Equivalent 3
      17

Fifth

ARCH 5306 Design Studio 3 6
FNAT 5303 Architectural History II 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective - Upper 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 3
      15

Sixth

ARCH 6306 Design Studio 4 6
CIVL 5213 Reinforced Concrete 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 3
XXXX xxx4 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 4
      16

Seventh

ARCH 7003 Environmental Controls 2 3
ARCH 7306 Design Studio 5 6
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective - Upper 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective - Upper 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 3
      18

Eighth

ARCH 8003 Professional Practice 3
ARCH 8306 Design Studio 6 6
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed./LAS Elective 3
      15

Be advised that a prior felony conviction may impede a student's ability to participate in an internship and/or to pursue licensure.