The Hammons School of Architecture (HSA) offers two major degrees:
The courses required by both architecture degrees are integrated with Your Drury Fusion, the general education curriculum of the university. This integrated curriculum provides a rigorous design-focused education within a broad liberal arts context. Accordingly, the curriculum requires all students to complete internships, to participate in community-engagement studios, and to study abroad in an approved architecture-based international program.
The first two years of the M. Arch. and B.S.A.S. recommended courses of study constitute the lower-division portion of the curricula. Enrollment in the first year of the lower division is based upon acceptance to the university.
Admission to the upper division requires a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 and the completion of the following courses with a grade of C- or better:
Drury University’s Hammons School of Architecture (HSA) welcomes transfer students and strives to make their transition to Drury as smooth as possible. Our 5-year professional M.Arch. allows a quicker path to practice and licensure than the more typical 6-year programs, and transfer students can take advantage of this to decrease their overall time in school.
Drury’s 5-year curriculum also means that admitted transfer students will not have to reapply to a subsequent graduate M.Arch. , as is often the case with “four plus two” programs.
Transferring students will be placed in an appropriate year-level within our program, based on a review of portfolios and transcripts.
Students interested in transferring to Drury’s architecture program should send a portfolio and transcripts to the attention of Dr. Robert Weddle, Dean, Hammons School of Architecture, at rweddle@drury.edu. Portfolios should clearly demonstrate work completed in architectural design studios along with other architecture-based courses. Letters of recommendation can also be helpful for students hoping to receive advanced placement within our program.
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Advising
Because the architecture curricula are sequentially structured, it is important to fully review and understand the co-requisites and pre-requisites for all courses. Students are encouraged to meet with an advisor at least each semester in order to review plans and progress toward graduation. Student progress is reviewed at the end of each semester to assure prerequisites have been completed with acceptable grades (minimum C-) before students are allowed to advance to the next year-level of the program.
Incomplete Grades
The grade of “I” (incomplete) in any prerequisite course will necessitate the completion of that work and receipt of a final satisfactory grade prior to the first day of any course requiring the prerequisite. Students who have not completed the prerequisite for any ARCH or MARC course as of the first day of class will not be permitted to continue in the course.
GPA Requirement
Upper division students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75. Students whose GPA drops below 2.75 must make progress each semester toward re-achieving the 2.75 GPA. Any further decline in GPA will result in removal from the architecture program. No ARCH or MARC designated course shall count toward graduation without a grade of C- or better. Failure to make a C- or better in any ARCH or MARC designated course after two tries will result in removal from the architecture program.
Most students considering careers in architecture should follow the requirements and courses of study described below for the Master of Architecture degree. This five-year program leads to a nationally accredited professional degree meeting the requirements for eventual licensure.
For various reasons, some students may prefer the four-year non-accredited pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. Since the courses of study for these two degrees are identical for the first seven semesters of either program, students may freely declare or change major paths at any point prior to applying for graduation.
It is important that students carefully consider the ramifications of degree-path selection, since the B.S.A.S. degree will require a subsequent graduate-level accredited professional degree from another institution prior to licensure. Students receiving the Drury B.S.A.S. degree will not be eligible to also receive the Drury M. Arch. Degree, since both are considered undergraduate degrees. Degree-path options and selections should be discussed carefully with advisors, and students opting for the B.S.A.S. path who have particular career goals may benefit from consulting advising plans available in the office of the HSA Associate Dean.
The required International Architecture Program experience may be met by:
The minimum requirements for approved programs are that the program must be at least 5 weeks in duration and must include both FUSE 320 and FUSE 350 or approved equivalents. A student wishing to satisfy the International Architecture Program requirement with a non-Drury program must make a written proposal to the HSA International Studies Committee during the spring semester prior to admission to the HSA upper division. Deadlines for study-abroad applications and payment deposits will be distributed to all students during their first year.
The 360 hours of approved internship required for the M.Arch. degree must take place after completion of 60 hours of coursework and prior to admission to the fifth year of the M.Arch. program. Internship experience is documented through enrollment in and completion of the ARCH 461 Architecture Internship course.
Transfer students seeking advanced placement in the studio sequence must submit a portfolio and transcripts. Transfer students, at the judgment of the faculty, may be admitted to the upper division on a probationary status for one semester, with subsequent full admission depending on performance.
Students in either the M.Arch. or the B.S.A.S. program are required to have their own laptop computers and necessary software prior to beginning their fourth semester of study (spring of second year). Recommended specifications for laptops and software are updated regularly and are available to students on the school’s website and in the Hammons School of Architecture Student Handbook.
Students participating in either the upper or lower divisions of the M. Arch. or B.S.A.S. curriculum are assessed Architecture Program Fees in the amount of $1000 per semester based on enrollment in the following architectural design studios:
Fees support curricular and extra-curricular program enhancements consistent with maintaining a nationally accredited professional architecture program.
*The HSA M. Arch. degree is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which requires that all accredited programs post the following statement:
In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.
Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
Drury University, Hammons School of Architecture, offers the following NAAB-accredited program: M. Arch. (168 total credit hours;minimum 30 master’s-level credit hours)
Next accreditation visit: 2024.
