Architecture (BArch)

http://architecture.uoregon.edu

Architecture is about learning to make physical changes to our surroundings that enhance the quality of the built environment and our experience of life. This broad purpose includes providing shelter and environmental protection with the highest standards for energy efficiency and environmentally sustainable architecture, designing appropriate settings for human activities, and creating forms that are aesthetically pleasing and supportive of social well-being and environmental health.

While basics are taught in Eugene, as an advanced student, you may also study and work in the exciting urban setting of Portland at the UO’s White Stag Block. The Department of Architecture at the UO offers a large number of special topic courses, and a robust program of visiting architects from around the world who come to campus to lecture and teach. The department’s exceptional faculty bring strengths to a wide variety of areas that include:

  • healthy built environments
  • sustainable, resilient design
  • housing and urban design
  • design process and theory
  • art and science of building
  • computational design
  • lighting and lighting design

The Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The program leading to the B.Arch degree is a vibrant and collaborative learning environment that prepares students to be value-based leaders in the architecture and design disciplines as well as within the communities in which they work and live. 

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of issues of social justice and environmental sustainability as core components of a dynamic design process between built and natural environments.
  • Demonstrate the critical thinking, values, knowledge, skills, and practices they need to create meaningful architecture that resonates with people and their cultural, physical, and ecological worlds.
  • Develop a holistic design process that integrates human experience and building systems across a range of scales considering innovative approaches, methods and technologies.
  • Develop a critical understanding of the histories and theories of architecture and urbanism as framed by diverse social, cultural, economic, and political forces, nationally and globally.
  • Develop a capacity for collaboration along with an ability to communicate with diverse constituencies.
  • Understand the paths to becoming licensed as an architect and the associated professional ethics, regulatory requirements, and fundamental business processes relevant to architecture practice in the United States.

The five-year professional BArch degree program is highly structured the first two years and more flexible the last three. This flexibility allows each student to establish a study sequence according to individual interests and needs. Transfer students should be aware that an accelerated program is normally possible only for students who transfer from an NAAB-accredited architecture program.

Architecture Major Requirements

Introductory Architectural Design Studios
ARCH 283
ARCH 284
Architectural Design I
and Architectural Design II
12
ARCH 383
ARCH 384
Architectural Design III
and Architectural Design IV
12
Intermediate Architectural Design Studios
ARCH 484Architectural Design (repeatable studio for all professional-degree students; BArch students must complete four terms of ARCH 484) 124
Advanced Architectural Design Studios
ARCH 485
ARCH 486
Advanced Architectural Design I
and Advanced Architectural Design II
16
General Theory
ARCH 201Introduction to Architecture4
Architectural Design Theory and Practice
ARCH 202Design Skills3
ARCH 222Introduction to Architectural Computer Graphics4
ARCH 423Media for Design Development: [Topic]3
Architectural Design Theory and Practice
ARCH 430Architectural Contexts: Place and Culture4
ARCH 440Human Context of Design4
ARCH 450Spatial Composition4
Building Technology
ARCH 461Structural Behavior6
ARCH 462Structural Design6
ARCH 470Building Construction4
ARCH 471Building Enclosure4
ARCH 491
ARCH 492
Environmental Control Systems I
and Environmental Control Systems II
8
Approved advanced technology course 24
Professional Practice
ARCH 417Context of the Architectural Profession4
Architectural History
ARH 314History of World Architecture I4
ARH 315History of World Architecture II4
Two additional architectural history courses taught either in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture or the School of Architecture and Environment 38
Subject Area Electives 42
General Electives
Upper-Division elective courses outside the ARCH, ART, IARC, or MUP subject codes 5,616
PHYS 201General Physics4
or PHYS 251 Foundations of Physics I
PHYS 202General Physics4
or PHYS 252 Foundations of Physics I
Total Credits168
1

One may be Interior Design (IARC 484)Furniture Design (IARC 486), or Site Planning and Design (LA 489)

2

Approved advanced technology courses vary by term; visit department website for full list.

3

Approved architectural history courses vary by term; visit department website for full list.

4

Approved subject area electives vary by term; visit department website for full list. One 3-credit (minimum) subject area elective must be an approved design arts course (not technology or media).

5

Art history (ARH) courses at the 300 level or above taken beyond the art history requirement may be applied toward the upper-division, general-education elective requirements.

6

These courses delve into the literature of academic subjects outside the subject areas of architecture and interior architecture. The upper-division electives may not be courses in service, weekend seminar, human development, or leisure studies. They must be taken in residence at the University of Oregon.

 

Courses required for the major must be passed with a grade of at least C- or P or P* to count toward the major.

A sample plan for the bachelor of architecture degree is available on the department website.