Mar 28, 2024  
Undergraduate Catalog | 2021-2022 
    
Undergraduate Catalog | 2021-2022 Previous Edition

Architecture, B.A.


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The undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Architecture is a 4-year pre-professional foundation degree, which requires 128 credit hours. Students who wish to become registered architects must also earn a professional NAAB-accredited degree.  Graduates of UNC Charlotte’s B.A. in Architecture who maintain a 3.25 GPA may qualify for Advanced Standing in the Master of Architecture program, which leads to an accredited professional degree in a five-year timeframe (128+40).  Information on the Master of Architecture degree program may be found in the UNC Charlotte Graduate Catalog.

Admission Requirements


Freshmen and Transfers

  • Minimum GPA:  n/a (Freshmen); 2.0 (Transfers)
  • Declaration of Major:  Applicants must first apply to UNC Charlotte indicating the Architecture major as their intended major.  UNC Charlotte applications must be complete by January 31.  Applicants must also submit a second application to the School of Architecture (SoA) by the posted deadlines.  Students already enrolled at UNC Charlotte access the SoA Application from the School of Architecture’s website.  The SoA Undergraduate Admission Review includes an evaluation of the UNC Charlotte and SoA applications by a faculty committee with qualified applicants granted a personal interview (which will include a presentation of their portfolio of creative work).  All SoA admission decisions are completed by April 1 for entry beginning in the Fall semester.

Undergraduate admission to the School of Architecture is to the four-year Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A. in Architecture) – a pre-professional foundation degree that serves as a foundation for the 12-month M.Arch. degree (Advanced Standing). There are also options for dual-degrees and post-professional graduate studies in Urban Design, Geography, Business/Real Estate Development, and Computing and Information Systems.  Students who do not intend to pursue an accredited professional architecture degree may elect a modified undergraduate curriculum that allows greater academic flexibility.

Students who maintain a minimum GPA (3.25 in architectural studies through the Fourth Year) are automatically recommended for acceptance into the graduate Master of Architecture program.  Students with an “automatic admit” to the Advanced Standing M.Arch. program may enter the Summer term following completion of the B.A. degree program, or may defer one year and enroll in the subsequent academic year.  Students who do not have minimum GPA for the “automatic admit” must submit a separate application for admission to the graduate Master of Architecture program.

Degree Requirements


College Prospect for Success Course (2 credit hours)


All new freshmen in the College of Arts + Architecture must take the following:

General Education Courses (37-41 credit hours)


For details on required courses, refer to the General Education program .  Courses to meet these requirements are incorporated in the curriculum structure.  However, as part of their General Education Requirements, students in the B.A. in Architecture program must complete the following:

Foreign Language Requirement (0-8 credit hours)




Students in this major are required to demonstrate proficiency in the language of their choice through the 1202 level.  Proficiency can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

  • Completing the required coursework at UNC Charlotte
  • Completing three years of the same foreign language in high school through level three
  • Achieving a satisfactory score on the foreign languages placement test (in Spanish, French, or German)
  • Through approved transfer or transient credit earned at a college or university accredited by an accepted accrediting body
  • A combination of the above methods (e.g., placing out of or earning transfer or transient credit for 1201 and completing the 1202 course, completing 1201 and placing out of or earning transfer or transient credit for 1202)

Click here for a list of courses that meet the College of Arts + Architecture’s foreign language requirement. 

 

Core Program


All undergraduate students in the School of Architecture complete a three-year core sequence of courses designed to provide a solid understanding of fundamental issues, knowledge, and skills related to architecture.  These courses include a series of coordinated architecture design studios, skill-building seminars, a four-semester sequence of architectural history (three survey courses and one history topic elective), and four courses in building technology (one course in Architectural Materials, two courses in Structures, and one course in Environmental Systems Principles).  Students who do not intend to pursue an accredited professional degree (the M.Arch.) may complete only the Core Program and earn a non-pre-professional version of the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.  This alternative allows greater academic flexibility for students to augment their architectural studies with coursework from other University departments, allowing double major or minor in other disciplines, or preparation for graduate studies in related fields (such as planning, urban design, landscape architecture, or architectural history).

Advanced Program


Students who intend to pursue an accredited professional degree (the M.Arch.) must complete the Advanced Program and earn a pre-professional version of the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.  This presents opportunities for greater depth of inquiry, breadth of understanding and synthesis through advanced architectural design and electives.  Concentrated primarily in the Fourth Year of study, the Advanced Program includes an intensive building design studio in which students learn advanced computing skills, various topical design studios in which faculty steer focused research agendas, and additional courses in technology, history, and other topics that engage contemporary architecture.  The following courses are not required for the B.A. in Architecture degree, but are required for subsequent accredited degrees, such as the Master of Architecture at UNC Charlotte:

Degree Total = 128 Credit Hours


Advising


The advising program consists of two tiers: Staff Academic Advisor (Core Program advising) and Associate Director (Advanced Program advising).

Grade Requirements


One grade of D in any studio is permissible.  A second grade of D or F in a subsequent studio requires repeating the course.  Successive D and/or F grades in a studio that is taken for a second time results in suspension from the Architecture program. 

To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree, an overall GPA of 2.0 must be achieved in all courses offered by the School.

Students may not repeat an ARCH course more than once. Students are permitted one opportunity to repeat any architecture course. Earning a grade of F in the same course twice results in suspension from the Architecture program.

Students who are suspended from the University due to deficiencies in their academic performance will be suspended from the Architecture program.  If a student is readmitted to the University, they are not automatically readmitted into the Architecture program; they must appeal to the School of Architecture for reinstatement.  Students who are readmitted to the University under the Forgiveness Policy must also appeal to the School of Architecture for reinstatement into the Architecture program.

Suggested Curriculum


For a suggested curriculum for this degree to map out a path toward completing the major, please see the Academic Plan of Study available online at academics.uncc.edu.

Honors Program


For details about the Arts + Architecture Honors Program, visit the AAHP program page .

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