Architecture Undergraduate Programs

August 1, 2026: Admissions Cycle Opens!

• Application instructions for Fall 2027 admission posted on our website.

November 1, 2026 (11:59 pm)

• Early Action application deadline for freshmen applicants for Fall 2027 for all primary materials required by UNC Charlotte
• Freshmen applicants who miss this deadline may be considered after regular admissions, not Early Action.
• Transfer students and current UNC Charlotte students seeking a change-of-major are ineligible for Early Action (see below)

November 15, 2026 (11:59 pm)

• Early Action deadline for all secondary, part two application materials required by the School of Architecture (SoA)
• Applicants who miss this deadline may be considered after regular admissions, not Early Action.

December 21, 2026

• Early Action decisions released by the UNC Charlotte Admissions office.

January 1, 2027 (11:59 pm)

• Priority deadline for transfer students and current UNC Charlotte students seeking a change-of-major.
• Applicants in these cohorts who complete their secondary, part two application materials by this date will be notified on a rolling basis beginning in January 2027.

February 1, 2027 (11:59 pm)

• Final application deadline for Fall 2027 cycle for all primary materials required by UNC Charlotte all applicant types.

February 15, 2027 (11:59 pm)

• Final deadline for all secondary, part two application materials required by UNC Charlotte and the SoA; all applicant types.

April 1, 2027

• All applicants notified of their decision no later than this date
• Some applicants may receive a notification earlier than this date on a rolling basis 

May 1, 2027

• Deadline for admitted applicants to submit their “Intent to Enroll” decision
• Seats offered to admitted applicants to the SoA will be rescinded if no intention is declared
• If space allows, new secondary, part two application will be accepted

Where can I find more information about your undergraduate program? 

• In addition to the main website of our undergraduate program, please visit our Academics pages, which have more information about our concentrations.
• The rest of this FAQ site has a lot of information and may answer some questions you didn’t know you had! Reviewing it is a great way to learn about the program.

I still have questions about the program, can I make an appointment to meet or speak with an advisor or a member of the admissions team?

• The SoA admissions team offers many ways to ask individual questions and to learn more about the program after reviewing the information online, but it does not have the capacity to schedule individual appointments with prospective students.
• The main information event is the UNC Charlotte Open House, which includes university-wide and SoA-specific tours, presentations, and info sessions. The date will be posted on our information sites when it is announced by the University (it occurs on a Saturday morning, usually in late September or early October).
• We understand that not everyone will be able to attend that event, so we also hold monthly Q&A sessions (both in-person and virtual), during which applicants may ask specific or general questions about the program or the application process.
• We also welcome specific or general questions not addressed on our websites via email: soa-admissions@charlotte.edu 
• Unfortunately, our academic advisors do not have the capacity to meet with applicants, but they participate in many of our events. Please direct your admissions questions directly to the admissions team at the email above, not to our advisors.

How can I visit the school? Do you offer tours?

• Student-led tours of our facilities are offered on a regular basis when classes are in session. The schedule of tours for the Fall 2026 Semester will be posted on our website by late August 2026. They will not begin until early September. These tours will not include any meetings with faculty, advisors, or the admissions team.
• The fall UNC Charlotte Open House and all SoA in-person Q&A sessions with faculty, advisors, and the admissions team also include student-led tours.
• Self-guide tours may be conducted anytime during regular business hours (even during the summer!) using this guide. You may encounter a student, staff member or faculty member along the way, but we can’t guarantee that you will be able to speak anyone (emailing us and attending one of our scheduled events is highly recommended).
• Take a virtual tour here.

My original letter of acceptance from UNC Charlotte says my major is “Pre-Architecture.” What does that mean?

• Pre-architecture is a temporary status given to applicants who declare an interest in the major when they apply to the University. They maintain that status until the School of Architecture makes its decision on the secondary application, which happens after the initial letter that says “Pre-Architecture” is issued. Pre-Architecture is not a major that students can take, but rather only a designation given to applicants interested in the Architecture major. Once the admissions cycle is over, students accepted into the Architecture program become “Architecture” majors automatically, and students not accepted into the Architecture program but who still attend UNC Charlotte become undeclared majors automatically, and they may then select a different major. No student will remain in “Pre-Architecture” once they are enrolled.

Can non-majors take Architecture courses to get ahead in case they are accepted into the program for Fall 2027?

• No, courses required by the major are restricted to students in the program. The curriculum of the program is tightly sequenced and bundled, and courses cannot be taken out of sequence before their prerequisite courses or without their co-requisite courses. Students who enter our program as sophomores or juniors are placed into our first-year studio, alongside true freshmen.
• Every year, we offer General Education courses (ARCH 1501 or ARCH 1502 and a section of AMDM 1575 taught by architecture faculty), which are open to all students, regardless of their major, but these courses are not required for the major.

If I don’t begin the Architecture program as a true freshman, can I still graduate in four years?

• Yes, students who enter the program as sophomores or juniors may still graduate as seniors (after four years of college) with a B.A. in Architecture. Students who graduate with only two years of architectural coursework will require a longer graduate program than students with three or four years of coursework in our program in order to earn the accredited M.Arch degree needed for licensure, but there is a pathway to graduation in four years total.

If I wasn’t accepted into the program this year, should I consider earning a different major and pursue architecture in graduate school instead?

• Maybe, and it is worth considering. Students with significant transfer credits or early college credits (50 or more credits) are encouraged to consider earning a bachelor’s degree in any other major, and then joining us for graduate school. Our graduate program may be pursued either after earning our major or after earning any undergraduate major (the length of the graduate program will vary depending on your earned major, but the graduate degree ultimately earned will be

When will I be notified of the SoA’s decision?

• All applicants will be notified of the SoA’s decision on their application after UNC Charlotte’s Undergraduate Admissions has issued its decision on general admission to the University.
• Freshmen applicants who meet the Early Action deadline (see Calendar above for details) are likely to be notified of both decisions (from Undergraduate Admissions and the SoA) by December 21, 2026, but delays may push the notification date into early 2027.
• All transfer applicants, current UNC Charlotte students seeking a change-of-major, and freshmen applicants who complete their applications after November 1, 2026 (and/or their secondary application materials after November, 15, 2026) will be notified on a rolling basis beginning in January 2027. Applicants in these cohorts who complete their secondary materials by January 1, 2027, will be notified of an initial decision before February 15, 2027.
• More specific dates cannot be provided because they will depend on the number of applications received by certain dates, which cannot be predicted. 

What if I submit my secondary materials after the Early Action deadline, but I submitted my main application to UNC Charlotte by that date?

• Your application will be considered for Early Action by UNC Charlotte, but not by the SoA (all secondary materials must be submitted by November 15 (11:59 pm) to receive an Early Action decision from the SoA. The SoA will review your application after it completes its Early Action reviews.

I missed the final deadline, can I still be considered for Fall 2027?

• It is unlilkely (but possible) that we will have seats available for late applications.
• Applications received late will not be considered for Fall 2027 unless space becomes available after May 1, 2027.
• We will post a notice on our website (and here) about the possibility of accepting late applications, with instructions if it is possible.
• Applicants should not complete the secondary materials until/unless they are informed that we will accept late applications.
• UNC Charlotte will still review your late application, according to its policies, regardless of whether the SoA will review it.

What is the acceptance rate for the program?

• The SoA does not publish its acceptance rates because acceptance rates from previous cycles are not necessarily relevant to the current cycle, as the size and qualifications of applicant pool change year-to-year. Additionally, the size of the program changes year-to-year based on institutional variables and pedagogical developments.

Does the program have quotas for transfer students or out-of-state applicants?

• No, the SoA does not have any quotas for transfer students or out-of-state applicants. All applicants are evaluated alongside each other for the same seats in our first-year class.

I was already admitted by the University, and my letter of acceptance for the University says my major is “Pre-Architecture.” What does that mean?

• Pre-architecture is a temporary status given to applicants who declare an interest in the major when they apply to the University. They maintain that status until the School of Architecture makes its decision on the secondary application, which happens after the initial letter that says “Pre-Architecture” is issued. Pre-Architecture is not a major that students can take, but rather only a designation given to applicants interested in the Architecture major. Once the admissions cycle is over, students accepted into the Architecture program become “Architecture” majors automatically, and students not accepted into the Architecture program but who still attend UNC Charlotte become undeclared majors automatically, and they may then select a different major. No student will remain in “Pre-Architecture” once they are enrolled.

I have credits from another architecture program. Does the SoA offer advanced placement?

• Applicants who have earned substantial credit hours in architectural courses at another institution, and/or who have significant professional experience in the field, may be considered for advanced placement into second-year or third-year Architecture courses after they have been admitted to the program. An admitted applicant may request consideration for advanced placement, once their decision is rendered. In all cases, advance placement decisions are separate from the admissions process and will not be considered until an applicant has been admitted to both UNC Charlotte and the SoA.
• Although a portfolio is not required for the Secondary Application to the SoA, it is required to be considered for advanced placement; applicants may submit a portfolio following their acceptance to the SoA if they believe they may earn advanced placement.

If I don’t begin the Architecture program as a true freshman, can I still graduate in four years?

• Yes, students who enter the program as sophomores or juniors may still graduate as seniors (after four years of college) with a B.A. in Architecture. We offer three concentrations that require different amounts of credits, and they feed directly into the three tracks of our Master of Architecture program. Depending on your concentration, the length of the M.Arch. will vary (more courses as an undergraduate means fewer courses required at the graduate level), but there is a pathway to graduation in four years total.

Will any specific courses or extracurricular activities help my application?

• No, the admissions committee will look primarily at your application exercises, your general academic performance, and your overall extracurricular activities. No specific classes or types of extracurricular activities are valued more than others.

How do I submit my secondary materials?

• Detailed instructions on how to submit secondary materials using your Future 49er Portal will be posted in the “Submission Instructions” tab above by August 1.

Can I submit my secondary materials via email or by using a link to a cloud server?

• No, all secondary materials must be submitted through your Future 49er Portal and verified as complete in the Application Checklist section of that portal (if you do not see that section, you did not select “Architecture” as your intended major, contact admissions@charlotte.edu to update that). 

How long should I spend on these exercises?

• We suggest that you spend no more than a couple of hours on Exercise 1 and Exercise 2 (for a total of about 4 hours). For Exercise 3, we suggest that you spend about two hours capturing footage and about another two hours editing it. 

I’m not sure I understand the point of the exercises, can you explain more, so that I know I am doing them right?

• Our exercises are not tests or tricks, and there are many “right” ways to do them, including ways we don’t expect and can’t predict. Read (and re-read) the instructions carefully, do some practice experiments, and then just have some fun with them. We are looking for passion and potential, and we understand that critical thinking is an open-ended practice that different people do in different ways. We are open to your interpretations of our exercise instructions.

Do you have tips for photographing, scanning, and/or manipulating digital images?

• If you don’t have access to a flatbed scanner, use a scanning app linked to your smartphone camera instead of the camera app itself (this will produce a more scan-like image).
• When photographing or scanning images, be sure that they are well-positioned, well-lit, in-focus, centered, and appropriately cropped (if needed).
• Use a neutral-color backdrop for your work (avoid patterns or bright colors). 
• All images should be sized at least 1024 X 768 pixels (landscape) or 768 X 1024 pixels (portrait).  Smaller sized images may not exhibit necessary detail; larger may be difficult to upload.
• All images should have a resolution of 72 dpi/ppi (dots/pixels per inch). 
• Save JPEG files as “Quality 10” images using a “Baseline Standard” option. 
• Always save an original copy of your image and create a back-up of each to ensure that you  always have a record of your work.

Does submitting the optional portfolio increase my chances of admission?

• No, the SoA Admissions Committee is not looking for any specific type of experience in their applicants, and it gives the same full consideration to all applicants who complete the required secondary materials. Additionally, in previous cycles, our records show that half of our accepted students did submit a portfolio, and half of them did not.

What are the format guidelines for the optional portfolio?

• PDF format; name your file: “Lastname_SoA_portfolio.pdf” (must be a single file)
• Page size: Letter (8.5” x 11”) or Tabloid (11” x 17”), either vertical or horizontal orientation
• Page limit: no more than 10 pages, including covers
• File size limit: 20 MB maximum