The strength of the graduate program lies in its internationally renowned faculty who reflect a diverse set of backgrounds with a long-standing commitment to professional practice and scholarly research.
Additionally, our faculty engage in collaborative cross-specialization research and advising. The School of Architecture offers seven Master degree programs.
The Master of Science in Architecture (MSA) is a 9-month program, introducing practitioners to the fundamentals of both computational design and building performance and diagnostics. Applicants to the program are expected to have a prior degree related to the building sector, including architecture, engineering, planning, or management. By design, the degree can be completed in nine months, allowing those who are already established in the industry to take a leave and return with relatively little discontinuity in their professional careers.
The Master of Science in Architecture-Engineering-Construction Management (MSAECM) is structured as a 9-month or 16-month program. Offered jointly with the Department of Civil Environmental Engineering, this program aims to prepare building professionals for decision-making careers that can have a positive impact on economic, environmental, and ethical concerns through the management of design, construction, use, and maintenance of facilities.
The Master of Science in Building Performance and Diagnostics (MSBPD) is a 2-year (four semester) program intended for practitioners, researchers, and educators in architecture and the building industry who wish to be leaders in advanced building technologies and their performance. The program covers state-of-the-art approaches to building systems integration and total building performance, culminating with a project in which students must apply this knowledge to realistic problems, using appropriate analytical and modeling skills.
The Master of Science in Computational Design (MSCD) program is intended primarily for practitioners in the building industry who wish to broaden their knowledge about the state-of-the-art in computer approaches and applications to architectural and building sciences; and for individuals who wish to pursue research careers in these areas. The MSCD program is three (3) semesters long, with an optional fourth semester. This would be particularly beneficial to those students wishing or intending to pursue a PhD in Computational Design.
The Master of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD) is structured as a 12-month program (Fall-Spring-Summer), intended for recent graduates and practicing professionals with degrees related to the built environment, including architecture, landscape architecture, ecology, engineering, construction, interior architecture/design, facilities management, and others. Utilizing the expertise within our world-renowned research center, the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, this program provides an integrated, interdisciplinary education that will enable its graduates to reshape the built environment in a sustainable fashion. The program covers, in depth, a range of sustainable design and high-performance green building issues and culminates with a project in which students are asked to apply the knowledge they have acquired to a project of their definition.
The Master of Tangible Interaction Design (MTID) is a 3-semester program (Fall-Spring-Fall, with an optional 4th semester) in computational technologies in making. It serves those with significant technical knowledge who seek design experience and those with significant design, art, or architecture experience who wish to master technological means of making. The program includes coursework in software, electronics, and fabrication techniques for building working prototypes of tangible embedded interactive systems.
The Master of Urban Design (MUD) is a 12-month (Fall-Spring-Summer) program preparing graduates for careers using design to critically address environmental, economic, social and cultural issues affecting the contemporary metropolis. The program is open to students with prior design training possessing at minimum a four-year bachelor’s degree in architecture, landscape architecture or urban/city planning. Studios explore strategies for sustainable development in a variety of settings including the shrinking post-industrial city, the suburban periphery, and the rapidly urbanizing region. In partnership with the Remaking Cities Institute, the program's Pittsburgh-based studios emphasize citizen engagement and participatory design, exploring problems of urban neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure development, and suburban transformation.
Prospective students interested in applying to any of the graduate programs in the School of Architecture should view the application instructions and requirements. All applications are handled by the School of Architecture Graduate Office as well as financial aid and other information.
Additional information is available on expenses and financial aid.