Pennsylvania State University
Department of Architecture
Setting
The Pennsylvania State University occupies a beautiful campus in State College, in a rural area of central Pennsylvania that is within convenient travel distance of major metropolitan centers. Students take courses in related departments such as art, art history, landscape architecture, and engineering. The Department shares the award winning "green" (LEED Gold Rating) Stuckeman Family Building with the Department of Landscape Architecture. Facilities include a state-of-the-art shop, an outdoor building yard, digital fabrication equipment and an Immersive Environments Lab for 3D visualization. Transfer students are admitted upon portfolio and transcript review. Students also benefit from the innumerable opportunities for diverse educational, cultural, and recreational activities that a large and comprehensive state university provides. The relatively small size of the program encourages intense and informal interaction between students and a committed, energetic faculty. The studio is often the setting for such interaction. Studio facilities are available on a 24-hour basis. Each student is assigned a permanent workstation in the facilities,which are centrally located on the campus.
School Philosophy
Undergraduate Philosophy - The objectives of the Department of Architecture are to provide excellence in professional, resident instruction in the field of architecture and opportunities for exploration and research related to the areas of theory and practice in architecture community and urban digital design and fabrication, advanced visualization, sustainability, and architectural theory. The focus is on the content of design, namely the acquisition of knowledge and skills through studio education and the acquisition of professional values, perspectives, and attitudes. Graduate Philosophy - Penn State offers a post-professional graduate program leading to a Master of Architecture degree. The Master of Architecture program provides individuals who hold a baccalaureate degree in architecture (B.Arch.) the opportunity to expand their knowledge of architectural design and architectural and urban theory.
Programs
The five-year accredited Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) degree is a progressive program that prepares students to practice architecture and to be leaders in the profession. First year provides students with an array of skills from hand drawing and modeling to digital design and fabrication. Second year is an integration of these skills with architectural challenges including structures, materials and theory. Third year allows for students to synthesize their knowledge and skills in a more comprehensive manner with the addition of environmental controls, culture and theory. Fourth year takes a broader view at urban design issues and provides international experience with a semester abroad in Rome. The degree program culminates with a comprehensive thesis studio exploring design challenges individually chosen by students and guided by experienced faculty. The post-professional Master of Architecture program offers three distinct options for graduate-level studies: Community & Urban Design; Digital Design; and Culture, Society, & Space. All three courses of study offer an engagement with faculty who are recognized leaders in their field, and all three programs are housed within the new state-of-the-art LEED Gold certified Stuckeman Family Building.
of Focus
1. Community Design
2. Design/Build
3. Digital Design & Visualization
4. Historic Preservation
5. Materials and Construction
6. Urbanism
Opportunities
Study Abroad
Facilities
Large-format Printer
Laser Cutter
Woodshop
3D Printing
Metalshop
Fabrication Lab
Policies
Transfer Policies
(Transfer applicants, also known as advanced standing applicants, have graduated from high school and attempted 18 or more semester credit hours of college coursework after high school graduation.)There is a two–part process for transfer applications. The Undergraduate Admissions Office handles the first porton of applicaiton to the Bachelor of Architecture program, followed by the Department of Architecture portfolio review. The admissions decision rests with the Undergraduate Admissions Office with recommendations from the Department of Architecture.
For more information, click here: (https://stuckeman.psu.edu/apply/barch)
