哥伦比亚大学

The Architecture major establishes an intellectual context for students to interpret the relation of form, space, program, materials and media to human life and thought. Through the Architecture curriculum, students participate in the ongoing shaping of knowledge about the built environment and learn to see architecture as one among many forms of cultural production. At the same time, the major stresses the necessity of learning disciplinary-specific tools, methods, terms and critiques. Thus, work in the studio, lecture or seminar asks that students treat architecture as a form of research and speculation which complement the liberal arts mission of expansive thinking.

14 classes required

The required classes are broken down into four categories: studio, history/theory, senior courses, and the cluster.

Studio Requirement – 4 Courses
• Architectural Representation: Abstraction
• Architectural Representation: Perception
• Architectural Design I
• Architectural Design II

History/Theory Requirement – 5 Courses
• Perceptions of Architecture
• Pre-1750 elective course
• Post-1750 elective course
• Two elective courses
(It is recommended that one of these courses be on non-western architecture)

Senior Courses Requirement – 2 Courses
• Senior Seminar
• Elective Architecture seminar (another Senior Seminar in the Department or senior level seminar elsewhere across the University, Architectural Design III Studio, or Independent Research)

Cluster – 3 Courses
All majors are asked to complement their work with a thematic unit (three courses) called the "cluster." The cluster is devised by each student based on their interest in historical, technical, place-specific or issue-specific themes. The cluster sets up the opportunity for students to think in cross-disciplinary terms and to enrich their architectural work as they work through other forms of knowledge. (Examples include: New York City, Sustainability, Digital Design and New Media).

Graduation Requirements

The major also requires that students submit a portfolio and a writing sample before graduation. The design portfolio includes representative work from all design studios and the writing sample is a paper or essay from a senior level architecture or architecture-related course. Final submissions are archived in the department, the portfolios are displayed at the end of the year show, and both are used to award graduation honors.