Plan Description
The School of Architecture offers an NAAB accredited Master of Architecture professional degree (M. Arch). The M. Arch. program has the goals of developing students’ abilities to conceive and accurately represent environmentally sound and aesthetically fitting spaces at different scales and to provide a basis for understanding the consequences that these spaces have for their inhabitants, for society, and for the environment. The program supports critical thinking, design research, and paths toward licensure through award-winning faculty, world-class facilities, and a one-of-a-kind living laboratory (The Great Basin, Mojave Desert, Las Vegas, The Strip, and some of Earth’s most engaging environments). The program serves its students, the profession, the state, and a diverse global community with studies focused on the built environment of a sustainable future.
Accreditation:
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 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 preprofessional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Architecture, offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:
- M. Arch. (pre-professional degree + 48 graduate credits)
- M. Arch. (non-preprofessional degree + 48-90 credits)
Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2025
For more information about your program, including your graduate program handbook and learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Directory.
Plan Admission Requirements
Application deadlines
Applications available on the UNLV Graduate College website.
Each Master of Architecture program applicant must:
- Hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree from a regionally accredited college or international equivalent
- Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.00 or higher
- Submit a design portfolio for review
- Submit a statement of intent
- Submit two letters of reference
- Submit a writing sample.
All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.
The Master of Architecture program offers prospective students two paths:
- For applicants holding a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BS Arch), or its equivalent, the program offers a two-year degree path in the 4+2 program.
- For applicants with academic backgrounds outside of architecture or holding a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, the program offers an alternative path through the 3 year plus degree program. The duration of the 3+ path varies based on an individual student’s academic background and preparation. Each student applying for admission will be individually assessed and provided a course of study. This 3+ path starts in the summer with 12 credits of preparatory course work.
Interested applicants can find detailed information about the Master of Architecture program directly from the School of Architecture’s web site.
Students are accepted into a degree program as described in the Graduate Catalog. The faculty and corresponding sub-disciplines and sub-plans within the described programs are subject to change at any time.
Required Courses – Credits: 24
Elective Courses – Credits: 18
Complete 18 credits of advisor-approved elective coursework.
Degree Requirements
- Students are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale. Any student whose GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on probation and will have one semester to raise their GPA to 3.00 or higher. Failure to meet the requirements of academic probation may result in separation.
- Only those courses in which a student receives a grade of B- or better may be used for graduate credit. Students must comply with all UNLV and Graduate College policies.
- Students are required to declare a subplan by the end of their first year.
- In order to assess the student’s progress in the program, the School of Architecture Graduate Committee will meet once a year with the student to determine whether or not they may advance to the next graduate year.
- In consultation with their advisor, a student will organize a thesis committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
- The master’s thesis will have to focus on an area of concentration approved by the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee and supported by elective course work related to the selected concentration subject. The student should register for thesis credits during the last year in the program.
Graduation Requirements
The student must submit and successfully defend their thesis by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
The student must submit a bound copy of their thesis to the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee chair and to the Architecture Studies Library. The school reserves the right to retain any or all student projects for the program’s future use and exhibition.
After the thesis defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their thesis to the Graduate College for format check. Once the thesis format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for thesis defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.
Preparatory Courses – Credits: 24
Preparatory Building Science Courses – Credits: 18
Preparatory Clinical Internship – Credits: 0
Required Courses – Credits: 24
Elective Courses – Credits: 18
Complete 18 credits of advisor-approved elective coursework.
Degree Requirements
- Students are required to complete preparatory work before proceeding to the final four semesters of the program. The duration and total credits required for the program vary based on an individual student’s academic background and preparation. Each student will be individually assessed to determine these preparatory requirements.
- Students are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale. Any student whose GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on probation and will have one semester to raise their GPA to 3.00 or higher. Failure to meet the requirements of academic probation may result in separation.
- Only those courses in which a student receives a grade of B- or better may be used for graduate credit. Students must comply with all UNLV and Graduate College policies.
- Students are required to declare a subplan by the end of their first year.
- In order to assess the student’s progress in the program, the School of Architecture Graduate Committee will meet once a year with the student to determine whether or not they may advance to the next graduate year.
- In consultation with their advisor, a student will organize a thesis committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
- The master’s thesis will have to focus on an area of concentration approved by the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee and supported by elective course work related to the selected concentration subject. The student should register for thesis credits during the last year in the program.
Graduation Requirements
The student must submit and successfully defend their thesis by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
The student must submit a bound copy of their thesis to the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee chair and to the Architecture Studies Library. The school reserves the right to retain any or all student projects for the program’s future use and exhibition.
After the thesis defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their thesis to the Graduate College for format check. Once the thesis format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for thesis defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.
Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.