Bachelor of Arts in Architecture

• Our Fluid Campus offers study in Charleston, SC; Genoa, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain cultivating the understanding of diverse urban environments and cultures.
  
  
• The Clemson School of Architecture’s reputation assures employers that our graduates are prepared and ready to hit the ground running.
  
  
• We are a design program that celebrates critical thinking as well as the craft of making and doing.
  
  
• While most of our graduates go on to study architecture, some do not. Our program will prepare you for a future in any design or built environment discipline.
  
  
• We do not require a portfolio as an admission requirement for undergraduate admissions.

The Bachelor of Arts in Architecture prepares students for subsequent professional education by providing a sound general education, focused design studies, complementary support courses, and the requirement to study in an off-campus location. The School of Architecture emphasizes the relationship of buildings to the rest of the environment: built, natural, and cultural. The curriculum includes eight semesters of studio in addition to complementary courses in architectural history and theory and building technology. The Bachelor of Arts also includes requirements for a minor and modern language.

In the first two years of the program, students learn to apply the thinking and communications skills needed to pursue higher-level work in the discipline. The curriculum in the first two years also allows students to complete most of the University's general education requirements. In the junior year, students must select an off-campus, location-specific studio and co-required coursework in order to fulfill their off-campus study requirement. The final studio focuses on reflection and synthesis.

Click here to view the curriculum in the undergraduate catalog.

Today, it can take up to 12.5 years to become a licensed architect. Through Clemson’s IPAL program you can do it in 6.5 years.

The INTEGRATED PATH to ARCHITECTURAL LICENSURE (IPAL) program - provides an opportunity to fulfill the requirements for architectural licensure while completing the architectural degree. Clemson University’s School of Architecture has been selected by NCARB as one of the accredited programs to participate in this initiative and has developed a rigorous curriculum track that integrates the academic and experience components essential to architectural licensure. Architecture students selected for the program during their second year of undergraduate study will embark on a 4 ½ year track that integrates the academic components of architectural study with the internship and examination components of architectural practice. Two semesters of undergraduate study and two semesters of graduate study will take place at the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston (CAC.C), and summer internships will be necessary to fulfill the requirements.

Students selected for the IPAL program will commit to a coordinated work/study program that will include fulfilling Architectural Experience Program (AXP; formally known as IDP) internship credits and preparation for the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE). The IPAL academic track will require students to study both in Clemson and at the Clemson Architecture Center (CAC.C) in the new Clemson Design Center in Charleston (CDC.C), in a coordinated effort. The program is set up to provide a program of study that will include undergraduate and graduate study under the auspices of the IPAL track while at Clemson. This coordinated effort will include a curriculum of study requiring AXP internships during summers both at Clemson and the CAC.C as well as during typical semester breaks. This accelerated approach will begin with a summer internship between the second and third years and each summer thereafter. This structured approach is designed to prepare students to be in a position to successfully complete the program and earn licensing at the time of graduation in the summer of the sixth year. A diagram of the sequence illustrating the course of study is provided on this page.

Upon completion of the undergraduate degree, successful students will have had the opportunity to satisfy up to 50% of all AXP requirements. Graduate studies will also take advantage of the fluid campus relationship in Charleston and will include preparation for the ARE — to be taken in the summers after the fifth and sixth years, in addition to the internships.

No program can guarantee outcomes but the Clemson IPAL academic track will provide an opportunity to be successful and to significantly reduce the time between the start of academic study to successful completion of the ARE. Students who successfully complete the program will likely be in a competitive position in the workforce.

All undergraduate architecture students are required to complete a minor. Some popular choices are Business, Communication, Art, Music, Sustainability, and Digital Production Arts. To see a full list of minors that are available, visit the Undergraduate Catalog.

Students have meaningful experience beyond the classroom including:

• The opportunity to work on Service Learning Projects where students are able to work with local communities.
  
  
• The Fluid Campus, which allows students to experience different places and cultures.
  
  
• Robust student organizations that allow students to become involved in local and professional communities.

After graduation, some of our students decide to attend graduate school immediately upon completing their degree and attend a variety of schools. Other students choose to go into the workforce and gain experience in the profession before returning to graduate school.

During each Spring semester, students are invited to participate in our School of Architecture Career Fair. Students will have the opportunity to interview for full-time positions as well as Summer internships with firms from around the United States. Our robust alumni network ensures that students will have access to opportunities wherever they choose to venture. Below are examples of where our alumni are currently employed or continuing their education. 

Recent Employers and Job Titles

• McMillan Pazdan Smith — Intern Architect
• ZGF Architects — Graphic Designer
• Pavilion Development — Autocad Specialist/Site Designer
• Jeffrey Cole Architects — Project Designer
• AIA Columbus — Programming and Communications Coordinator
• Mondelez International — Associate Packaging Engineer
• Maxine Shriber Design — Junior Designer
• Steelman Partners — Project Coordinator

Recent Graduate Schools and Sought Degree Types

• Harvard University —M. Arch.
• Yale University —M. Arch.
• University of Pennsylvania —M. Arch.
• Illinois Institute of Technology —M. Arch.
• University of California, Los Angeles — M.Arch.
• University of Oregon — M.Arch.
• Clemson University — M.Arch.
• Washington University — M.Arch.
• Columbia University — M.Arch.
• Georgia Tech — Master of City and Regional Planning
• University of Texas at Austin — M.Arch.

While most of our students pursue architecture, some do decide to pursue careers in other fields like interior design, construction management, historic preservation, and landscape architecture.

Changing your major to architecture is a competitive process and based on space availability. 

A limited number of non-architecture majors are accepted into the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree program once per year at the end of June. Candidates must have completed ARCH 1010 and have a 3.0 overall GPR. Students will be accepted into the major based on their performance in ARCH 1010 and the availability of space. Typically, there will be twice as many students competing for admission as there are spaces available so admission into the program even after having completed ARCH 1010 is not assured. Change of major students will need to take ARCH 1010 during the first summer session and after their first year of college. 

Transfer students entering in the Fall semester with architecture studio equivalencies will not be considered for the Change of Major process. These students are encouraged to minor in architecture, complete their four-year degree in another major, and apply to the three-year Master of Architecture program. 

While Clemson accepts transfer students for January start, these students are not allowed to select architecture on the University application. Therefore, January-start transfer students who wish to major in architecture and have architecture studio equivalencies will be placed into the appropriate studio level pending space in that year level. At the end of the semester, if the student has a 3.0 overall GPR and there is room in the class, then the student will be granted admission.  

Undergraduate students here at Clemson University who want to change their major to architecture should register for a School of Architecture Tour through the link on our Visit page and set up an explore appointment in CUNavigate.