About Architecture

As one of the four departments within the Faculty of Architecture, the Department of Architecture offers a program of studies directed towards a professional Master of Architecture degree. The curriculum focuses on transforming the lessons of history, technology, culture, climate, regional and social aspirations into a program for architecture. Students have freedom to experiment with ideas and methods as they develop their own personal critical approaches to architectural design. The academic freedom, one of the program's highlights is visible in work done within the school as well as in the wide range of courses students elect to take outside of the faculty.

Providing a broad academic foundation, the core syllabus of sequential design studios covers a wide spectrum of investigations, ranging in scale from urban design to individual buildings and their construction details. Required and elective courses are designed to supplement the design studios. The Master of Architecture program is accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), with most graduates proceeding to professional registration and careers as practicing architects. The program produces graduates who are well versed in a wide range of critical issues. Through their study, students understand the contextual imperative of contemporary architectural exploration and production. With four departments in constant interaction, the Faculty of Architecture provides and excellent platform for discussing issues of sustainability and urban rehabilitation, the relevance of local and global contexts, and the importance of basic human emotions, needs and desires.

In Canada, all provincial associations recommend a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit Canadian professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of accredited degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. A program may be granted a five-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards. Masters degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.