Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)

5 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Carnegie Mellon University

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) at Carnegie Mellon University is a five-year, first professional degree designed for students committed to becoming licensed architects, combining intensive architectural design with technical, computational, historical, social, and professional studies. The program develops students through a structured sequence of 10 design studios, building technology courses, digital representation, urbanism, ethics, and advanced synthesis, while allowing students to shape their fourth- and fifth-year studies around their interests.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students establish their architectural foundation through 48-100 Architecture Design Studio: Core 1 – Foundations, 48-120 Digital Media I, and 48-121 Drawing I, while also developing practical making skills through 48-104 Shop Skills and beginning architectural history and ethics. The curriculum introduces both physical and digital approaches to architectural representation and gives students an early grounding in design, fabrication, and communication.

Year 2: Students progress into more technically and computationally focused work through 48-200 Architecture Design Studio: Core 3 – Tectonics, 48-215 Materials & Assembly, and 48-247 Fundamentals of Computational Design. They also study 48-241 Modern Architecture: History & Theory, 48-214 Generative Modeling, and building-performance concepts, connecting architectural design with materials, construction, computation, and historical theory.

Year 3: The curriculum expands into environmental, structural, and practice-oriented architecture through 48-300 Architecture Design Studio: Core 5 – Ecologies, 48-234 Structural Design 1: Form and Forces, and 48-315 Environmental Systems: Climate & Energy in Buildings. Students continue into 48-305 Architecture Design Studio: Praxis Studio 2, 48-324 Structural Design 2: Materials and Analysis, and 48-380 Constructing Value(s): Economies of Design, strengthening their understanding of ecological design, structural systems, environmental performance, and the economic context of architecture.

Year 4: Students move toward advanced integration through 48-400 Architecture Design Studio: Core 7 – Integrations and begin selecting advanced studio work through 48-410 Advanced Synthesis Options Studio II. Coursework such as 48-432 Environment II: Design Integration of Active Building Systems, 48-250 Urbanism and the Social Production of Space, 48-381 Issues of Practice, and 48-383 Ethics in Architecture connects integrated building systems with urbanism, professional practice, and architectural ethics.

Year 5: Students complete the professional studio sequence through 48-500 Advanced Option Studio and 48-510 Advanced Synthesis Options Studio IV or Thesis, using their final year to pursue advanced architectural interests and synthesize their design and technical knowledge. The program also provides scope for architectural electives and focused advanced study, preparing students to apply their education in professional architecture and related specialties.

Focus Areas:

Architectural design, building construction, architectural technology, digital media, computational design, generative modeling, digital fabrication, structural design, environmental systems, climate and energy, architecture history and theory, urbanism, design ethics and social justice, professional practice, and advanced architectural synthesis.

Learning Outcomes:

Professional architectural design capability, technical understanding of building systems and construction, computational and digital design skills, structural and environmental analysis, historical and theoretical understanding, ethical and social awareness, urban analysis, professional practice knowledge, and the ability to integrate these areas into advanced architectural work.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation):

NAAB-accredited: Carnegie Mellon University's B.Arch is a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited first professional degree. CMU states that its B.Arch and M.Arch are NAAB-accredited and meet the educational requirements for architectural licensure in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia; the B.Arch is also STEM-eligible for qualifying international F-1 students.

Reputation (Employability Rankings):

Not stated: Carnegie Mellon University's official B.Arch sources do not publish a program-specific QS, Guardian, or other employability ranking, so no ranking is assigned here. The university does state that the B.Arch prepares graduates for professional practice and can lead into key specialties within and around architecture.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Students in Carnegie Mellon University's Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) gain practical experience through a studio-centered curriculum that combines architectural design, technology, computation, fabrication, and research. The School of Architecture's work emphasizes experimentation with digital design, physical prototyping, computational methods, and architectural robotics, giving students opportunities to test ideas through both digital and physical production. The School also showcases student work through its annual EX-CHANGE exhibition and publication, which presents projects from undergraduate through doctoral study.

Practical learning opportunities include:

Design studios: Students develop architectural projects through studio-based learning, progressing from foundational design investigations toward increasingly complex architectural problems and integrating design, technology, representation, and building systems.
Digital design and CAD: Students engage with computer-aided design (CAD) and digital modeling workflows; School research and projects reference tools and platforms including AutoCAD, Rhinoceros 3D, SketchUp, CATIA, SolidWorks, Revit, and ArchiCAD.
Computational design: The School's research environment supports experimentation with parametric and computational design, allowing students to explore relationships between geometry, material behavior, fabrication, and architectural production.
Architectural robotics: Carnegie Mellon's architecture research includes robotic fabrication, including projects using six-degree-of-freedom robotic arms for hot-wire cutting, complex joinery, and the production of modular architectural elements.
Physical prototyping and fabrication: Students can translate digital concepts into physical studies through fabrication-oriented work involving robotic manufacturing, CNC processes, and material experimentation, strengthening the connection between computational design and making.
Research-led projects: School of Architecture projects investigate topics such as adaptive buildings, material tactics, building automation, visualization tools, scenario planning, and emerging construction systems, giving students opportunities to connect architectural design with broader technological and environmental questions.
Student exhibitions: EX-CHANGE is an annual School of Architecture exhibition and publication that presents student work from first year through PhD, giving undergraduate students a platform to document and publicly present their architectural projects.
Collaborative learning: EX-CHANGE also demonstrates the School's cross-level environment, with student teams and contributors from different years and architectural organizations participating in the presentation of work.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) at Carnegie Mellon University is a five-year professional degree designed for students pursuing careers as licensed architects, combining intensive architectural design with technical, professional, social and cultural studies. Graduates leave with a NAAB-accredited professional degree, while the program’s STEM eligibility can also provide eligible international F-1 students with access to a 24-month STEM OPT extension after the initial period of OPT.

Typical career roles: Architect, Architectural Designer, Design Technologist, Urban Designer.

Career progression and opportunities include:

Career development: CMU Architecture provides dedicated support for finding jobs and internships, portfolio development, networking and the professional licensure pathway, including workshops on establishing an NCARB record, AXP and the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).
Career services: CMU's Career & Professional Development Center assigns a dedicated Architecture career consultant and provides architecture-specific internship and job resources.
Employment outcome: For the Classes of 2024 and 2025, six months after graduation, 78% of Architecture graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school.
Salary outcome: The same official CMU data reports an average salary of $75,821 for the Classes of 2024 and 2025 six months after graduation.
Employer connections: CMU Architecture's 2026 employer list includes architecture and design organizations such as Gensler, HKS, HDR, Jacobs, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Perkins Eastman, SmithGroup, Stantec, WSP USA and ZGF Architects, alongside other architecture, development and engineering firms.
Internship support: The Measuring & Monitoring Services, Inc. Internship Fund provides financial support to eligible fourth-year B.Arch students undertaking a summer internship or project with established professionals or CMU faculty before their final undergraduate year.
Professional accreditation: The B.Arch is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). CMU explains that most U.S. registration boards require an accredited professional architecture degree as a prerequisite for licensure, giving the degree long-term value for students pursuing professional registration.
Licensure preparation: CMU publishes school-specific NCARB ARE pass rates; for 2025, reported pass rates ranged from 68% in Project Planning & Design to 85% in Project Development & Documentation, depending on the ARE division.
Graduation recognition: CMU Architecture's annual Graduation Awards recognize graduating students for leadership and service, professional promise, academic excellence, design and representation, and design research.

Further Academic Progression: After the B.Arch., students can continue at Carnegie Mellon through advanced programs including the Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), Master of Urban Design (MUD), M.S. in Computational Design, M.S. in Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management, M.S. in Building Performance & Diagnostics, or M.S. in Regenerative and Sustainable Design. Students interested in research can also progress to CMU's Ph.D. in Architecture, Ph.D. in Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management, Ph.D. in Building Performance & Diagnostics, or Ph.D. in Computational Design.