ARCHImaster

The School of Architecture's Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture program [MASA] supports students in independent research based studies characterized by close collaborative links with faculty. The School offers an intimate milieu for the exchange of research and ideas among students of an internationally diverse background. The School is also able to draw upon related disciplines such as Community and Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Geography, Art History, Visual Art, and Theory. Recently the programme has been enriched by the inclusion of students from related disciplines. Working closely with a mentor, students are encouraged to utilize the resources of the wider University community while engaging in individual research. The degree provides an opportunity for those who wish to redefine their professional aims to immerse themselves in a research environment. The programme can be completed in sixteen months; two terms of full time residency are required. The areas of research interest noted elsewhere suggest something of the range of concerns in which School expertise exists. Students in the MASA program should anticipate direct critical engagements with a primary faculty mentor who will in due course serve as their Thesis Committee Chair. Apart from the internal protocols of thesis topic presentation and defence, it is an expectation of the programme that students will be successful in presenting their work through peer reviewed conferences or publications. Faculty will assist in this process. Curriculum To obtain the MASA degree, a student must successfully complete thirty credits of study including a twelve-credit Thesis and the three-credit core course Arch 568 Research Methods in Architecture. The fifteen credits of elective coursework is structured on an individual basis and elaborated through discussion between students and their faculty mentors. In addition to agreed interdisciplinary coursework in academic units throughout the University, MASA students are engaged through seminar coursework with other students from the programme and upper-level MArch students. Elective Coursework Students prepare individual curriculum in consultation with their faculty mentor. The interdisciplinary nature of architectural research encourages coursework from outside of the School. It is not unusual to undertake directed studies in which specialist research, often in anticipation of the thesis work, are closely supervised by School faculty. In addition, advanced level seminars delivered within the MArch programme constitute an important resource. The following schedule of courses gives some sense of the correspondence between School seminars and the major research thrusts within the MASA program. Environmental Imperatives Arch 540 | Vertical Topic Studio Arch 571 | Advanced Seminar on Building Technology Arch 572 | Advanced Structures Arch 573 | Advanced Topics in Environmental Design History and Cultural Studies Arch 522 | Current Issues in Architecture Arch 561 | Advanced Topics in Architectural History and Theory Advanced Design Research Arch 522 | Current Issues in Architecture Arch 540 | Vertical Topic Studio Arch 571 | Advanced Seminar on Building Technology Arch 572 | Advanced Structures Arch 561 | Advanced Topics in Architectural History and Theory Urban Design and Community Activism Arch 540 | Vertical Topic Studio Arch 573 | Advanced Topics in Environmental Studies Advanced Research in Digital Applications Arch 540 | Vertical Topic Studio Arch 577 | Seminar in Advanced Computer Applications