Post-Professional Degree

Jordan H. Carver, Director of Post-Professional Studies

The post-professional degree program is for students already holding a professional degree in architecture (B.Arch., or an equivalent first professional degree) who seek a second, advanced degree and who are interested in pursuing transdisciplinary design research that expands our understanding of how the designed environment—objects, interiors, buildings, cities, landscapes, relations—intersects with broad cultural, political, economic, technical, and environmental forces.

The Post-Professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) is granted to students already holding a professional degree in architecture (B.Arch., or an equivalent first professional degree). This degree is not accredited by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) and does not fulfill the education requirement for licensure in those jurisdictions adhering to the requirements established by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).

Mission

The post-professional design research program is founded on the premise that architects can contribute to myriad urgent global challenges by advancing design research as a new framework for practice. The post-professional M.Arch. II expands the possibilities for design, representation, and spatial thinking to produce new forms of knowledge addressing a broad array of contemporary topics.

Core Research Curriculum

Our two-year core curriculum equips students with an advanced degree that builds upon their previous architectural training to pursue both group and independent design research centered around an independent thesis project. The curriculum consists of a first-year seminar sequence and a second-year independent studio sequence. The design research sequences allows students to explore the breadth of courses offered at the School of Architecture and the larger community of courses throughout Yale University while providing a supportive environment that fosters interaction, dialogue, and a sense of common purpose.

Academic Flexibility

With only four required courses, the program offers students considerable freedom to shape their own curriculum to develop an increasingly responsive, critical, and speculative relationship to their work. In addition to the curriculum outlined above, during the first two terms, students enroll in advanced design studios taught by leading practitioners from around the world. These studios are the same ones offered to M.Arch. I students. Students also take elective courses offered by the school. These courses fall into the broad categories of design and visualization, technology and practice, history and theory, and urbanism and landscape. In addition, design research students are required to take two classes outside the School of Architecture. At the beginning of each term, students meet with the program director and their faculty advisers to help choose elective courses that support their general interests and relevant classes that support their thesis project. 

Community

The relatively small size of the post-professional student body coupled with the modest size of the School of Architecture allows our students to form a collective identity while immersing themselves within the wider community. Enrolling in the required courses builds solidarity among M.Arch. II students. At the same time, advanced studios and elective seminars allow post-professional students to engage with other School of Architecture students as well as students from other Yale departments.

Thesis

The program is centered around the development of an original thesis project. The thesis is broadly conceived and allows for many different possibilities without a clearly defined format. A design thesis can utilize different forms of representation, at different scales, and can be realized into different media including publications, exhibitions, performances, or digital experiences. Thesis projects are unified by a rigorous engagement with media and media production including drawing and image-making and a written component elaborating the critical stakes of the project that situates the work within various conceptual, theoretical, and historical contexts. 

In its most simple form, a thesis is a claim. It is not simply a design project, but one that takes a stand on a topic, site, issue, or idea, and presents rigorous, original research in support of that claim. In this context, original research is one key vehicle for producing new forms of architectural knowledge. Doing original research means engaging with archives and objects, conducting field studies, and defining ways in which techniques of spatial production relate to other methods of research. This transdisciplinary approach not only looks outward to practices beyond the traditional purview of architecture but asks what architecture and spatial thinking can contribute to other disciplines.

Simply defined, the Yale M.Arch II thesis is an original, research-based design project that develops new forms of spatial thinking and representation to complex issues and their intersections with architecture, space, geography, form, subjectivity, and aesthetics.

Course of Study

In course titles, “a” designates fall term, and “b” designates spring term. The school reserves the right to change the prescribed course of study as necessary.

M.Arch. II: Total Requirement: 72 credits

First-Year Required Courses

Pre-First Year (Summer)
ARCH 5091	Fundamentals of Modeling and Fabrication	0
ARCH 5093	Resources for Design Research	0
Fall
Advanced Design Studio		9
ARCH 7003	Design Research I: Design as Research	3
Elective		3
Elective		3
Spring
Advanced Design Studio		9
ARCH 7004	Design Research II: Cross-Disciplinary	3
Elective		3
Elective		3

Second-Year Required Courses

Fall
ARCH 5005	Independent Design Research Studio I	9
Elective		3
Elective		3
Elective		3
Spring
ARCH 5006	Independent Design Research Studio II	9
Elective		3
Elective		3
Elective		3

Summer Preparation Courses for Incoming M.Arch. II Students

In the three weeks before the beginning of the fall term, the school offers an integrated set of preparatory workshops required for incoming M.Arch. II students.

1. Summer Shops Techniques Course (ARCH 5091). This one-week course introduces incoming students to the school’s fabrication equipment and shops. The course stresses good and safe shop techniques. Students are not allowed to use the school’s shops unless they have satisfactorily completed this course.
2. Summer Digital Media Orientation Course (included in ARCH 5093). This two-part workshop, which occurs during the same week as Summer Shops Techniques, covers accessing the school’s servers, the use of the school’s equipment, and the school’s digital media policies and procedures.
3. Arts Library Research Methods (included in ARCH 5093). This ninety-minute session covers various strategies to answer research questions pertaining to course curricula and topics by using tools such as the Yale University online catalog, architecture databases, image resources, print resources, and archival resources.

School Portfolio

In addition to the 72 satisfactorily completed course credits, a student must satisfactorily complete the portfolio requirement (as described under Academic Regulations in the chapter Life at the School of Architecture) in order to receive an M.Arch. degree. The portfolio requirement is administered and periodically reviewed by the Design Committee.

Thesis Submission

All graduating students must submit a copy of their completed thesis project. All thesis projects must be submitted according to the guidelines established within the program handbook. 

Academic Rules and Regulations

Procedures and restrictions for the M.Arch. II program can be found in the School’s Academic Rules and Regulations section of the School of Architecture Handbook. This handbook is available online at http://architecture.yale.edu/academics/school-handbook.