Architecture (B.A.)

FAST FACTS ›

  • We are a design program that celebrates critical thinking, but we also have a strong appreciation for making and doing.
  • The Clemson architecture program's reputation assures employers that our graduates are prepared, ready to hit the ground running.
  • We offer a culture of strong faculty-student engagement, with a focus on sustainability and healthy communities.
  • Newly renovated and restored, Lee Hall offers students an environment that elegantly blends historic and contemporary modern architecture.
ABOUT.

You consider yourself an innovator, a visionary, a student of design. You enjoy looking at buildings and spaces and thinking about what makes them great. You understand that architecture and the places it helps to shape will play a central role in our society in the decades ahead — creating solutions for many of the challenges facing us and answering questions about how we will live, work and play. You want to help find those answers; you want to design the future. At Clemson, you will join an intense, close-knit community of award-winning professors, gifted practitioners and motivated students. You will learn how to “think with your hands” and emerge ready to continue on to graduate school to become a licensed architect or enter the design profession.

CLASSES.

What you'll study:

Through every part of our program, you’ll be encouraged to tap into your creativity and learn to express that creativity in your approach to design projects. Learn the basics of building design and construction, and lay the groundwork for pursuing a master's degree in architecture and other fields.

Your first two years of study prepare you for the Fluid Campus with courses in design, drawing and computer applications, as well as required courses in science, math, social sciences and the humanities. Computer integration in the design studios is emphasized in the second year. First- and second-year students study public speaking through a joint program with the Department of Communication Studies.

Years three and four are largely devoted to studio work, with at least one semester spent at one of Clemson’s Fluid Campus locations in Charleston, S.C; Genoa, Italy; or Barcelona, Spain.

Clemson’s undergraduate architecture program is a pre-professional program. Clemson’s graduate architecture program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture. See full accreditation statement here.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM.

With every task you take on — inside and outside the classroom — you’ll develop critical-thinking, research and analysis skills, and an ability to engage theory and culture with an understanding of how these forces work together in the built environment.

Internships and Research Projects:

VIDEO (▶):
Listen as fourth-year undergrad Daniel Hutcherson talks about the culture of creativity and collaboration in Lee Hall.
BARCELONA:
In our Barcelona, Spain, program history meets modernity as you examine architecture through the lens of key social, political and historical movements, studying firsthand sites ranging from the iconic to the contemporary.
CHARLESTON:
The Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston bridges academia and practice by teaching in a hybrid environment. Devoted to service learning, Charleston studios tackle urban design and fabrication projects.
GENOA:
Clemson’s Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies provides living, classroom and design studio space — as well as a home base for day trips and longer travels — in a 19th-century Italian villa.
LIBRARY:
The Gunnin Architecture Library has more than 46,000 volumes of books and bound periodicals and 183 periodical subscriptions related to the fields of visual arts, design and building.
GALLERY/CVA:
The Lee Gallery and Center for Visual Arts located in Lee Hall provide a dynamic intellectual and physical environment where art is created, exhibited and interpreted.

Connect with Other Students:

CAREERS.

What are students doing at graduation?*

32%

Employed

61%

Grad School

3%

Seeking Employment

3%

Other

Where are students headed at graduation?*

Recent employers and job titles*

  • McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture — Intern Architect
  • Gensler — Architectural Designer
  • DLR/WWCOT, China — Intern Architect

Recent graduate schools and sought degree types*

  • Virginia Tech — M.Arch.
  • University of California, Berkeley — M.Arch.
  • Washington University — M.Arch.

Common Career Areas**

  • Residential Architecture
    • Commercial/Institutional Architecture
      • Related Professional
        • Urban Planning
        • Real Estate Developing
        • Contracting
        • Property Assessment
        • Landscape Design
        • Product Design 
        • Graphic Design 
        • Interior Design 
        • Digital Fabrication
        • Engineering
        • Consulting
        • Project Management
        • Product Development/Marketing
        • Law
        • Writing/Journalism
        • Set Designers
      • Education
        • Teaching
        • Research
        • Administration
        • Information/Library Science
      • Historic Preservation
        • Architectural History
        • Curating
        • Architectural Conservatory
        • Preservation/Restoration
        • Research
        • Historic Interior Design
      *Provided by the department.
      **Used w/permission from Univ. of Tennessee.
      FIND OUT MORE.

      Have more questions or want more information? Fill out the form below, which goes directly to the following department contact as well as our admissions office.

      Robert Hogan, Undergraduate Director
      864-656-3914 — hrobert@clemson.edu