This program offers students who have earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from an institution other than Northeastern University to engage in the urban-focused curriculum that is offered at the School of Architecture. Students are awarded a MArch degree, which is NAAB-accredited.
Year One
Urban Architecture Studio (ARCH 6115) engages students with a series of design interventions to improve our public realm. Students have the opportunity to learn about timely issues, including decarbonization and adaptive reuse, at the scale of the human, material, building, and urban networks.
Option Studio (ARCH 5115) offers topical content that best aligns with the research and practice expertise of the faculty, which provides students with the latest concepts in architectural design, theory, and research on a consistently updated and rotating basis. Students select their top choices of studio topics and instructors, giving them more flexibility in the areas for which they would like to focus their education. Additionally, students take classes in technology as well as architecture seminars and electives.
Year Two
Integration Studio (ARCH 7120) and Integrated Building Systems (ARCH 7220) encourage students to explore the theories and practices of integrating building systems, their detailing and assembly, to create high-performing, long-lasting, and humane architecture. These courses offer students an opportunity to draw on the full range of their prior architectural education to produce a design that synthesizes specific criteria to build sustainable and culturally valuable environments for generations of human use.
In the final year, students also engage in a two-semester research and design project based on pertinent contemporary topics chosen by the graduate faculty. In the fall semester, students study contemporary research strategies and ethics in architecture, landscape, and urbanism, giving them the opportunity to formulate original approaches to design thinking and research. This research will serve as the basis of the intellectual framework for the individual students' design projects in the spring semester. This final degree project parallels an in-depth professional practice course that analyzes all of the contingencies of successful architectural projects, including architectural offices and their project management strategies, real estate development criteria, and associated project finance.
Beginning with students admitted in the fall of 2026, all students pursuing on-ground master's degree programs must complete a university-level experiential learning requirement. This requirement may be fulfilled through the curriculum, co-op, or other work- or industry-integrated learning experiences.
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
Core Requirements
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| ARCH 5210 | Environmental Systems | 4 |
| ARCH 7220 | Integrated Building Systems | 4 |
| ARCH 5115 | Option Studio | 6 |
| ARCH 6115 | Urban Architecture Studio | 6 |
| ARCH 7120 | Integration Studio | 6 |
| ARCH 5430 | Introduction to Professional Practice in Architecture | 4 |
| ARCH 6440 | Case Studies 2 | 4 |
| 8 |
| Design Tactics and Operations | |
| Theories of Architecture and Urbanism | |
| Architectural and Urban Histories | |
| Graduate Topics in Architecture | |
| ARCH 7140 | Master’s Degree Project | 6 |
| ARCH 7430 | Topics In Research Methods in Architectural Design | 4 |
Concentrations or Electives Option
A concentration is not required. Students may complete the electives option in lieu of a concentration.
Program Credit/GPA Requirements
60 total semester hours required (64 if a concentration is declared)
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
Data Visualization Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
ARTG 5150
and ARTG 5151 | Information Visualization Principles and Practices
and Information Design Critique Seminar | 4 |
| ARTG 5330 | Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals | 4 |
| 4 |
| Visual Cognition | |
| Information Design Theory and Critical Thinking | |
| Information Design Mapping Strategies | |
Experience Design Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| ARTG 5610 | Design Systems | 4 |
| ARTG 6310 | Design for Behavior and Experience | 4 |
| 4 |
| Experience Design Studio 1: Principles | |
| Notational Systems for Experience | |
| Prototyping for Experience Design | |
Extended Realities Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| EXRE 5010 | Immersive Media: Extended Realities (XR) History, Theory, and Impact | 4 |
| 8 |
| Developing Extended Realities (XR) | |
| Designing Extended Realities (XR) | |
| 3D Modeling and Asset Creation Principles | |
Sustainable Building Systems Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| SBSY 5100 | Sustainable Design and Technologies in Construction | 4 |
| SBSY 5200 | Sustainable Engineering Systems for Buildings | 4 |
| 4 |
| Life Cycle Assessment of Materials, Products, and Infrastructure | |
| Building Performance Simulation | |
| Information Systems for Integrated Project Delivery | |
Sustainable Urban Environments Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| SUEN 6340 | Topics in Urban Environmental Design | 4 |
| 8 |
| Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change | |
| Implementation and Visualization for Urban Environments 1 | |
| Implementation and Visualization for Urban Environments 2 | |
| Cities, Nature, and Design in Contemporary History and Theory | |
| Urban Ecologies and Technologies 1 | |
| Urban Ecologies and Technologies 2 | |
| Pro-Seminar: Issues in Designed Urban Environments | |
Urban Analytics Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| ARTG 5320 | Statistics for Design | 4 |
| ARTG 5330 | Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals | 4 |
| ARTG 6330 | Information Design Mapping Strategies | 4 |
Urban Studies Concentration
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| LPSC 7312 | Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change | 4 |
| PPUA 6201 | The 21st-Century City: Urban Opportunities and Challenges in a Global Context | 4 |
| SUEN 6340 | Topics in Urban Environmental Design | 4 |
| |
Electives Option
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| 8 |
