skip navigation 1-800-4-ALFRED (425-3733)

Architecture

Print PDF

BArch Degree – Code #0135

Matthew DiRado, Program Coordinator
Email Address: diradoma@alfredstate.edu

You're considering studying architecture? You have found the right place! The Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) program helps prepare students to be well-rounded, creative, and socially responsible architects who shape our world through the design of meaningful and inspirational spaces. The BArch is a fully accredited professional program, preparing students for employment and the opportunity to pursue licensure shortly after graduation, reducing the need for further graduate education or an advanced degree.

Advantages

  • Students enrolled in the BArch program have had the opportunity to select a “cognate area of focus to allow them to develop additional expertise.” A list of options is available in the department office or from an academic advisor. 
  • Upon successful completion of the BArch degree, graduates may begin an internship and the other professional steps leading to licensure as a registered, practicing architect. Students may participate in the Architectural Experience Program (AXP) while enrolled at Alfred State. 
  • The BArch program provides a career-focused, project-based education integrating theory and practice with a strong multidisciplinary foundation that draws upon an institutional heritage of building and technology.
  • 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.

NAAB Accreditation Information

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with US regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

Alfred State Department of Architecture and Design offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program: Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) 156 Credit Hours

A detailed archive of NAAB-related accreditation documents is available on our website.

Post-Graduate Studies

BArch graduates who wish to continue academic study may choose to apply at another institution to master's or doctoral programs in architecture or related disciplines.

Career Opportunities

A wide range of career opportunities are available to graduates of this accredited degree: intern architect, practicing architect (after successfully meeting state registration requirements), or practitioner in related sub-fields that include, but not limited to: sustainable architecture, urban design, interior architecture, adaptive reuse and historic preservation, building construction management, hospitality design, lighting design, acoustical design, religious building design, and others.

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.

Entrance Requirements/Recommendations

Required: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 , and Pre-Calculus.

Recommended: Physics is strongly recommended.

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.

Portfolio Requirements

All students who apply to the BArch program are required to submit a portfolio of creative work that demonstrates their interest in design and the built environment.

Through the portfolio, the department hopes to get a sense of the applicant as a creative individual. We understand that the portfolio will not demonstrate mastery of architecture, but instead present a student’s potential through explorations and representation of the built environment, which may be presented as art work such as drawings, sketches, models, sculpture, or photographs. The portfolio should focus mainly on the  representation of space, but may also include a small representation of creative work such as woodworking, crafts, graphic design, and/or other creative endeavors (e.g., high school, college course) or from personal pursuits (e.g., employment, hobbies). Each portfolio should be a balanced representation of both two- and three-dimensional works. 

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

Portfolio Requirements for Transfer Students

All transfer students from other institutions applying to the BArch program must submit a portfolio of creative work demonstrating their interest in design and the built environment.  Students applying for transfer from institutions 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, and Orange County CC, should submit a design portfolio responding to the requirements above. 

 

Applicants from institutions with which Alfred State College does not have an active articulation agreement must submit a comprehensive academic portfolio for review which 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.

 

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

Employment Statistics

Employment and continuing education rate of 100 percent – 100 percent are employed.

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, fourth-year, and fifth-year levels, the studio meeting times are three hours. Students can expect to spend additional time working on projects and course work outside of studio.

General Notes:

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

All students who transfer in courses from another institution must undergo an academic portfolio review before placement in any studio course.

A minimum grade of “C” is required in the following courses to continue from one studio course to the next and to meet graduation requirements: ARCH 1184, ARCH 2394, ARCH 3014, ARCH 4104, ARCH 5306, ARCH 6306, ARCH 7306, ARCH 8306, ARCH 8716, and ARCH 8776.

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 all SUNY general education and campus liberal arts and sciences course credit requirements for graduation.

Graduation Requirements

A student must successfully complete all courses in the prescribed program and earn a minimum cumulative index of 2.0.

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 3 laptop computer is required, and a tier 4 laptop computer is recommended, for students entering this degree program.  Laptop specifications are available at www.alfredstate.edu/required-laptops

Architecture - BArch Degree

TYPICAL TEN-SEMESTER PROGRAM

First

ARCH 1184 Design Fundamentals 1 4
FNAT 2333 Survey of Design 3
FNAT 1303 Architectural History I 3
GLST 2113 Global & Diverse Perspectives 3
MATH 1054 Precalculus 4
      17

Second

ARCH 2394 Design Fundamentals 2 4
ARCH 2014 Computer Visualization 4
MATH 1063 Technical Calculus I 3
COMP 1503 Writing Studies 3
PHYS 1024 General Physics I 4
      18

Third

ARCH 3104 Design Studio 1 4
ARCH 3014 Construction Technology 1 4
ARCH 3003 Environmental Controls 1 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen. Ed. Elective 3
SOCI 1163 General Sociology 3
      17

Fourth

ARCH 4304 Design Studio 2 4
ARCH 4014 Construction Technology 2 4
ARCH 4013 Municipal Codes & Regulations 3
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 Concentration Elective 3
SOCI 5213 Science, Technology & Society 3
      15

Sixth

ARCH 6306 Design Studio 4 6
CIVL 5213 Reinforced Concrete 3
XXXX xxx3 Concentration Elective 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen Ed Elective/ Humanities 3
      15

Seventh

ARCH 7306 Design Studio 5 6
ARCH 7003 Environmental Controls 2 3
XXXX xxx3 Concentration Elective 3
COMP 5703 Technical Writing II 3
      15

Eighth

ARCH 8306 Design Studio 6 6
ARCH 8003 Professional Practice 3
XXXX xxx3 Concentration Elective 3
XXXX xxx3 Gen Ed Elective (AH) 3
      15

Ninth

ARCH 8716 Design Studio 7-Thesis Defntn 6
ARCH 8733 Modern Architectural Theory 3
ARCH 8753 Advanced Structural Concepts 3
XXXX xxx3 Concentration Elective 3
      15

Tenth

ARCH 8776 Design Studio 8-Thesis Develop 6
ARCH 8793 Professional Development 3
XXXX xxx3 Concentration Elective 3
      12

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