The Master of Science in Architectural Studies (MSAS) offers work leading to a non-professional degree in architecture for those seeking an education or wanting to do research in specialized areas of architectural studies including historic preservation. Students holding a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from accredited institutions are eligible for enrollment in this program. An individual curriculum is developed for each student with faculty advisors. Students in preservation studies must complete 35 credit hours including a required thesis, which usually involves three academic semesters.
Architectural preservation involves the analysis, maintenance, design and appropriate development of culturally significant structures, urban spaces, communities and landscapes. The school offers studios, coursework, research opportunities and hands-on field experiences in preservation history, theory, and practice. Interdisciplinary studies are encouraged in the College’s Building Construction, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, and Planning programs, as well as in other campus disciplines such as law, business, history, museum studies and archaeology.
Founded in 1972, the Preservation Institute: Nantucket (PI:N), provides nine credits of preservation coursework in a summer program on historic Nantucket Island that involves preservation theory and practice, field documentation, archival research and archival photography. The Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI:C), provides summer design workshops at different sites in the Caribbean and Latin America. The PI:C curriculum emphasizes the design of compatible new construction for historic communities and developing preservation resources for the Internet. The Vicenza Institute of Architecture (VIA), in Vicenza, Italy, offers unique fall and spring semester opportunities for preservation studies and individual research. (RECAP), the Research and Education Center for Architectural Preservation, provides opportunities for funded research participation and hands-on field experience in historic preservation.
The curriculum is designed to be interdisciplinary and flexible. Each student will work with their faculty advisor and the Master of Science faculty committee to develop an appropriate academic program reflecting the student’s academic and/or professional background and interests in preservation. Interdisciplinary coursework in other college and campus disciplines is encouraged, as is participation in the school’s off-campus programs. The Master of Science degree requires completion of 35 total credit hours and a thesis. Students may begin the program in fall or spring, or in one of the off-campus summer programs.
Note 1: Students are encouraged to get field experience by participating in UF off-campus programs or summer preservation field schools.
Note 2: Preservation Technology courses can be taken independently in any order, allowing students to begin in either fall or spring terms.
Note 3: Each semester the Beinecke-Reeves Chair in Historic Preservation will offer course(s) in preservation history, theory or practice.
Note 4: This is a requirement for all MSAS candidates, and 3 credits must be taken in the last semester. Only 6 credits count toward the degree.
Note 5: Electives are developed by each student in consultation with their faculty advisor, and can be in any UF program.
Note 6: Research and academic studies can be arranged with individual faculty at UF and at the Vicenza Institute of Architecture (VIA) program.
