UF School of Architecture - Degree Program

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Program Overview

The University of Florida’s Bachelor of Design in Architecture (BDes Arch) program leads to a preprofessional undergraduate degree that serves as excellent preparation for graduate school studies toward an accredited two-year Master of Architecture degree, the educational credentials you need for licensure as a registered practicing architect. Bachelor of Design students follow a four-year curricular track that combines general education and architecture courses.

Design studio lies at the heart of the UF Bachelor of Design program. Both the design process and its architectural product are the result of a complex interplay of various phenomena. The form, function, program and aesthetics of architecture are shaped by many things: by human behavior, perception and activity; by the limitations and potential of materiality, structure and construction; by interaction of the exterior with the interior, and the built object with its natural setting; and by historical precedents and cultural values that invest the built environment with meaning and relevance. In the studio sequence, you will progressively and thoroughly explore these various formal, conceptual and technical considerations, learning how they interrelate in the creation of space.

The ideas and experience that you gain in design studio are reinforced and amplified by support courses in history, theory, structural tectonics, building technology, and construction materials and methods. Design studio and support courses are not isolated from each other as mutually exclusive territories, for the subject matter covered in the support courses are determining factors in the design process that generates architecture. This holistic understanding is crucial if architecture is to be competent, meaningful and fully functional.

Electives and general education courses in biological and physical sciences, the humanities, language, mathematics and social sciences further contribute to the depth and breadth of your educational background, making you a knowledgeable and well-rounded citizen of the world in which you will design and build.

Admission Requirements ( back to top)

The UF School of Architecture accepts new students into its Bachelor of Design program for Fall Semester or Summer Semester A only. There are three ways that you can enter the program:

Entering Freshman: Any student admitted to UF can declare architecture as his or her major and take the courses in the lower division of the UF Bachelor of Design program.

Community College Transfer: Any student who has earned an Associate of Arts degree from an accredited community college and qualified for admission to the University of Florida can transfer into the UF Bachelor of Design program’s lower division with the approval of the UF School of Architecture, on a space available basis. Applying for Summer Semester A admission is recommended for such community college transfers, as all of the first year undergraduate architecture courses are offered over the summer to help transfer students integrate into the program while reducing their stay at UF from four years to three.

Upper Division Transfer: Any student who has earned an Associate of Arts degree in the course of completing a two-year pre-architecture program at one of five Florida community colleges (Broward Community College, Hillsborough Community College, Miami-Dade Community College, Palm Beach Community College or St. Petersburg Junior College) can apply for direct admission into the UF Bachelor of Design program’s upper division. Both UF and community college applicants for upper division placement are ranked competitively according to overall grade point average, architectural grade point average and faculty evaluation of design studio work in the annual Pin-Up Exhibits (all calculated by UF standards) to determine whether or not they qualify for placement in the upper division of the UF Bachelor of Design curriculum.

New students are accepted for Fall Semester admission or Summer Semester A admission. Please refer to the UF Office of Admissions for the application deadlines.

Curriculum ( back to top)

Bachelor of Design students must earn at least 120 credits to receive their degree. The program is divided into two stages: lower division (the first and second years) and upper division (the third and fourth years). The following curriculum outlines the general education and architecture courses required for graduation.

Pre-Professional Program (Lower Division )

Year 1: Fall (16 credits)
ARC 1301 Architectural Design 1 (4 credits)
Social and Behavioral Science (3 credits)*
Composition (3 credits)*
Physical and Biological Science (3 credits)*
Mathematics (3 credits)*

Year 1: Spring (17 credits)
ARC 1302 Architectural Design 2 (4 credits)
ARC 1701 Architectural History 1 (3 credits)
MAC 1147 / Precalculus Math (4 credits)*
Social and Behavioral Science (3 credits)*
Humanities (3 credits)*

Summer
Undergraduate students are required to take a total of 9 summer credits.
AA graduates are exempt.

Year 2: Fall (14 credits)
ARC 2303 Architectural Design 3 (5 credits)
ARC 1702 Architectural History 2 (3 credits)
ARC 2201 Architectural Theory 1 (3 credits)
ARC 2180 Introduction to Digital Architecture (3 credits)

Year 2: Spring (14 credits)
ARC 2304 Architectural Design 4 (5 credits)
ARC 2461 Materials and Methods of Construction 1 (3 credits)
PHY 2004 Applied Physics 1 (3 credits)*
Social and Behavioral Science (3 credits)*

* University General Education Curriculum

General Education Requirements

Composition 24,000 words -
Freshman Comp + courses to total 24,000 words of writing

Humanities 12 credits

Biological and Physical Sciences 6 credits

Social and Behavioral Science 9 credits

Selective Admission : All students must apply for admission into the professional program during the sequential ARC 2304 Design 4 semester. Admissions criteria is based on successful completion of required courses, preprofessional GPA, architectural GPA, and an evaluation of studio work.

All Pre-professional requirements (60 credits) must be completed before entering the Professional Program.

The following information is applicable to University of Florida students AND transfer students who are preparing to apply for admissions into the upper division program.

2008 Upper Division Brochure

2008 Upper Division Application (UF students)

2008 Upper Division Application (transfer students)

Professional Program (Upper Division)

Year 3: Fall (15 credits)
ARC 3320 Architectural Design 5 (6 credits)
ARC 3502 Architectural Structures (3 credits)
ARC 1702 Architectural History 3(3 credits)
Upper Division Elective (3 credits) **

Year 3: Spring (15 credits)
ARC 3321 Architectural Design 6 (6 credits)
ARC 3610 Environmental Technology 1 (3 credits)
ARC 3181 Advanced Topics in Digital Architecture (3 credits)
Upper Division Elective (3 credits) **

Year 4: Fall (15 credits)
ARC 4322 Architectural Design 7 (6 credits)
ARC 4220 Architectural Theory 2 (3 credits)
ARC 4620 Environmental Technology 2 (3 credits)
Upper Division Elective (3 credits) **

Year 4: Spring (15 credits)
ARC 4323 Architectural Design 8 (6 credits)
ARC 3463 Materials and Methods 2 (3 credits)
Upper Division Elective (6 credits) **

** Electives are undergraduate courses numbered 3000 or higher in any subject, program or college within UF, chosen according to your personal interests and preferences. Courses in foreign languages of which you are not a native speaker, numbered 1000 or higher, also qualify as electives.