Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.)

Iowa State University

The Department of Architecture is committed to the study of architecture as a cultural discipline in which issues of practice, of the multiplicity of social formations in which buildings exist, and of environmental effects are integrated with building design through construction, space, material, form and use. Architecture arises from the aspirations that diverse individuals and groups have for their physical environment, and from the social enterprise of designing and fabricating the landscape we inhabit. It involves individual and multiple buildings, the spaces within them, and the exterior landscape. The undergraduate program in architecture is an accredited 165-credit five-year undergraduate professional program, including the 31-credit Core Design Program, leading to the Bachelor of Architecture degree (B. Arch). The program provides opportunities for general education as well as preparation for professional practice and/or graduate study. An optional one-semester foreign study program is offered to fourth-year students. Other study abroad opportunities are also available for short-term and semester-long duration. Students completing their bachelor’s degree may opt to include a wide range of minor option as part of their course of study. A number of minors related to design, including digital media, critical studies, urban studies, and sustainability, can be integrated within their regular course of study for details, please refer to the College of Design website. For students entering the professional program after completion of the Core Design Program, the department requires purchase on their own or through the college of a laptop/notebook computer and appropriate software. Information is provided to students about computer requirements at the time of acceptance to the program.

College of Design