Architecture

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Want to get hands-on experience with design building and digital fabrication? Want to prepare for a career while traveling abroad and working directly with industries across the globe? Want to make an impact through socially responsible and environmentally sensitive design? If your answer is yes, then you’ll find the perfect fit with our Department of Architecture.
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Want to get hands-on experience with design building and digital fabrication? Want to prepare for a career while traveling abroad and working directly with industries across the globe? Want to make an impact through socially responsible and environmentally sensitive design? If your answer is yes, then you’ll find the perfect fit with our Department of Architecture.

In the Department of Architecture, we believe that the study of architecture involves questioning assumptions, reflecting on history, and rethinking the future so as to meaningfully contribute to the creation of just and equitable societies. That’s why we are committed to the design studio as a space in which conceptual, practical, and theoretical thinking is integrated with the everyday, the material, the technological, and the humane.

The nationally ranked Department of Architecture at Iowa State University provides two graduate degrees in architecture:

1. Master of Architecture: NAAB accredited professional architecture degree providing the foundation for licensure in the United States. This STEM-designated 90 credit degree does not require an undergraduate degree in architecture but can be accelerated for those holding a Bachelor of Architecture.

2. Master of Science in Architecture: a 30 credit research degree for those with prior knowledge or experience in the field of architecture. Thesis required.


Degrees Offered:

  • Master of Archiecture (M.Arch.)
  • Master of Science (M.S.)

How long does it take to earn a degree?

  • Median time to earn the master’s: 2.8 years (Methods)

Melissa Stenstrom

msten@iastate.edu
515-294-3366
Iowa State University
715 Bissell Road
159 College of Design
Ames, IA 50011-3094

Learning Goals

  • Comprehensive design skills in the field of architecture based on ethical responsibilities to clients, the wider society, and the physical environment.
  • Understanding of diverse cultural and social contexts and translation of this knowledge into design of built environments that support and include people of various backgrounds, resources, and abilities.
  • Understanding of the role of the built environment in human health, safety, and welfare at multiple scales, and application of this knowledge in architectural design.
  • Ecological knowledge and responsibility in respect of the agency and impact of design in conditions of climate crisis.
  • Knowledge of 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.
  • Develop research questions and respond to them with appropriate methods.
  • Knowledge of the histories and theories of architecture, landscape and urbanism, and how these are related to social, cultural, economic, environmental and political contexts.
  • 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.
  • Familiarity with the regulatory contexts and codes relevant to architectural practice in the United States.
  • The path to becoming a licensed architect in the United States, the range of career opportunities available, and how the graduate program prepares for professional practice.

Admission Requirements

Graduate College Requirements:

  • 4 year Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent)
  • Academic Records/Transcripts
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA (Program may alter requirement.)
  • Proof of English Proficiency.

Program Specific Requirements:

  • M.S. Applicants: Research Proposal - Your proposal must be discussed with a member of the Department of Architecture faculty prior to application. The Admissions committee will take into account that faculty member’s recommendation in their decision regarding admission.
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Digital portfolio
  • Program Requires GRE: No
  • Program Requires GMAT: No
  • Program Will Review Without TOEFL or IELTS: No

International Requirements:

  • Financial Statement:  Application
  • English Proficiency Minimum:
    TOEFL Paper (PBT) 550
    TOEFL Internet (iBT) 79
    IELTS 6.5
    PTE 53
    Duolingo (approved through spring 2026) 115

Application Requirements

Application Deadlines:

Apply by January 4 for priority admission and graduate assistantship consideration. Applications received after that date will be reviewed as program resources permit. Spring and Summer entry not available for the Master of Architecture.

Application Details:

This program is open to domestic and international students.

Application Instructions