Undergraduate Architecture is a five-year B.Arch.program that prepares students with an early interest in architecture to become leading professional practitioners. Students at Pratt learn that architecture is a meaningful cultural contribution, requiring both imagination and material realization within a larger social and ethical context. The five-year design sequence offers a thorough foundation in architecture, integrating critical thinking, design, technology, building, representation and social responsibility. Students strive for creative and intellectual independence and inspired architectural research. Firmly committed to contemporary material practices, the program is currently developing initiatives to integrate new technologies into the curriculum.
Bachelor of Architecture
The Bachelor of Architecture program is a professional program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) requiring a minimum of five years of study. Most states require that individuals intending to become architects hold an accredited degree. These professional degrees are structured to educate those who aspire to registration and licensure to practice as architects. The 175 credits required for the Bachelor of Architecture degree are organized in three main categories: a core of required courses in architectural study, liberal arts courses, and electives. The core of ninety-eight credits is primarily taken in the first three years and is designed to give basic professional preparation in architectural design, construction technology, graphic communication, and the humanistic aspects of design.
The liberal arts areas require forty-five credits, of which nine are taken within the School of Architecture (ARCH 206, ARCH 207, ARCH 308), six credits in English, six in cultural history, six in science, and six in social science. The remaining twelve credits are taken as electives selected from the liberal arts courses offered by the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The elective courses are composed of eighteen credits of professional electives selected from courses offered by the School of Architecture’s undergraduate and graduate programs, and fourteen all-Institute electives, selected from courses offered by any school in the Institute. By purposefully selecting courses within all elective areas during their last four semesters, students can develop their own unique architectural education based on their own needs and goals. This personalized fourth-year curriculum is directed toward culmination in the fifth-year degree project. Individual curricula may be developed to place more emphasis on such subject areas as design, preservation, building technology, history and theory, planning, construction management, and urban design in the final two years of study. The degree project year completes the student’s academic architectural experience with an in-depth design study, preceded and accompanied by research. The degree project is executed with guidance from critics chosen by the student. Options combining the undergraduate degrees with various masters’ degrees are also available in planning and facilities management.
