BA in Architecture

BA in Architecture

The Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree at the David R. Ravin School of Architecture (SoA) is a unique undergraduate program, providing both a liberal arts education and pre-professional training. The SoA provides a nationally distinct undergraduate program that provides both a liberal arts education and pre-professional training. By promoting a holistic view of the built environment, it trains future leaders in both architecture and its related disciplines. Through a dedication to design research, a strong affiliation with the arts, and a growing set of relationships with the other departments at UNC Charlotte, students here expand their knowledge and follow their interests, and degree pathways that include minors and double-majors give them a competitive edge as architectural practitioners.

Students interested in becoming registered architects are offered multiple pathways to that goal, catered to their individual goals and circumstances. The liberal arts foundation of the program, meanwhile, allows students to apply their interest in architecture not only to a career in architecture, but also to careers in urban design and planning, community engagement, historical and cultural research, sustainability research and practice, construction and building technologies, real estate development, new media, and other fields. The undergraduate program at the SoA feeds directly into its many graduate programs, creating a vibrant environment in which students of different ages and experience-levels interact with, mentor, and learn from each other. At the SoA, we educate critical thinkers capable of tackling the uncertainties of the future and of adapting to emerging career opportunities. 

Program Pathways

The Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree (B.A. in Arch.) is a 128-credit degree that offers students multiple pathways to careers in architecture and its related disciplines. It is a pre-professional degree that qualifies students to pursue two distinct pathways to an accredited professional degree at the graduate level. ​At the same time, it is a liberal arts degree that accommodates combining an interest in architecture with other educational and career goals. As students progress through the program, our advising team helps them to find the pathway that best suits their needs and aspirations, and the degree offers a rare degree of flexibility compared to other pre-professional degrees in architecture. Students may adjust their pathways after they begin to optimize their educational opportunities as they grow and learn in a vibrant urban research institution with renowned resources. The flexible structure of the B.A. in Arch. degree reflects the inherent complexity of how architecture is created, through a synthesis of design vision, technological knowledge, environmental responsibility, sophisticated problem-solving, creative leadership, and interdisciplinary collaborations, all filtered through cultural, historical, and theoretical perspectives, and realized through effective visual and verbal communication. Architecture, in short, is built upon an intellectual foundation that embraces the widest possible range of knowledge and ideas, and our undergraduate program is perfectly situated within its institution to prepare students for that reality.

Pathways through the B.A. in Arch. program include:

• A pre-professional track (80 credits in the ARCH major), leading to our 12-month graduate degree (M.Arch. Advanced Standing), which includes 4 years of studio learning and a streamlined pathway to an accredited degree.
• A pre-professional track (80 credits in the ARCH major), leading to our 2-year graduate degree (M.Arch. II), which includes 4 years of studio learning and opportunities for specialization in our research labs and centers.
• A pre-professional track (61 credits in the ARCH major), leading to our 2-year graduate degree (M.Arch. II), which includes 3 years of studio learning and opportunities to pursue minors or additional coursework in other departments (this track also allows students who enter the program with transfer credits to graduate after only three years of ARCH coursework).
• A liberal arts track (61 credits in the ARCH major), leading to an undergraduate degree that includes additional coursework in other departments and may be applied toward a career in a related discipline.
• A minor in Architectural History and Heritage (18 credits), which may be pursued by both majors and non-majors.

Undergraduate Course Descriptions

See a sample course layout of BA in Architecture courses. Course information can also be found in the UNC Charlotte Undergraduate Catalog.