BS Architecture

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Pennsylvania State University University Park

Program Overview

Penn State’s Architecture, B.S. is a four-year, 120-credit pre-professional program at University Park that combines architectural design with history, theory, structural systems, building construction, environmental systems, visual communication, and technology. It suits students who want a broad foundation in architecture and related fields such as construction, real estate development, public administration, and historic preservation, or who plan to continue into graduate study in architecture, urban planning, law, or related design disciplines.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students begin with the foundations of architectural thinking and representation through ARCH 131 Basic Design Studio I, ARCH 121 Visual Communications I, and ARCH 210 Ideas Across Time in Architecture and Urbanism. These courses establish the design, visual communication, historical, and conceptual skills that underpin later architectural study.

Year 2: The curriculum develops design capability and technical understanding through ARCH 132 Basic Design Studio II, ARCH 231 Architectural Design I, and ARCH 203 Materials and Building Construction I. Students progress from foundational design exercises toward designing architectural environments while learning how materials and construction methods influence design decisions.

Year 3: Students advance into more complex architectural work through ARCH 232 Architectural Design II, ARCH 204 Materials and Building Construction II, and AE 421 Architectural Structural Systems I. The program also introduces deeper theoretical and environmental considerations through courses such as ARCH 311W Architectural and Planning Theories and ARCH 380 Building Environmental Systems I.

Year 4: Students consolidate their architectural knowledge through advanced and supporting options such as ARCH 331 Architectural Design III, ARCH 412 Integrative Energy and Environmental Design, ARCH 451 Architectural Professional Practice, ARCH 480 Technical Systems Integration, or ARCH 481 Digital Design Media. The B.S. also includes ARCH 499 Foreign Studies, a 12-credit component that provides an international dimension to the architecture curriculum.

Focus Areas

Culture, Society, Space; Design Computing; Material Matters; Sustainability — these are the four research clusters identified by Penn State Architecture, covering the relationship between built environments and society, digital technologies and design, materials and processes, and sustainable architectural practice.

Learning Outcomes

Design, visual communication, architectural history and theory, structural systems, building construction, environmental systems, professional practice, and systems integration — the curriculum brings these areas together through architectural studio and supporting coursework, while the program develops students for further study or careers in architecture and related fields.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

Pre-professional, non-accredited degree — Penn State explicitly states that the Architecture B.S. is a non-accredited degree and that the B.Arch. is the NAAB-accredited professional architecture degree; in Pennsylvania, the B.Arch. is the professional degree recognized for licensure application.

Reputation (Employability Rankings)

Architecture reputation: Penn State’s Department of Architecture states that its professional B.Arch. has been ranked in the top 20 of DesignIntelligence B.Arch. rankings since their inception and reports an annual Stuckeman School Career Day involving 81 companies from 13 states; these figures refer to the broader architecture program/B.Arch. rather than specifically ranking the B.S.

University reputation: Penn State was No. 89 globally and No. 24 in the U.S. in the university’s 2025 QS World University Rankings, although this is an overall university ranking rather than an architecture-specific employability ranking.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The BS Architecture at Penn State gives students a strongly studio-based learning experience supported by collaborative design spaces, model-making, hands-on construction, community engagement, and digital fabrication. Students work in the Stuckeman Family Building, a 111,382-square-foot facility with integrated studios, a model construction shop, digital fabrication lab, design presentation spaces, and the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library. The program also connects undergraduate students with research and creative work through the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, Hamer Center for Community Design, and Center for Ecology plus Design.

These facilities and project-based opportunities give architecture students practical ways to develop their design and making skills:

Design Studios: The Stuckeman Family Building provides open, integrated studio spaces designed to support collaborative and multidisciplinary design, with approximately 300 flexible workstations reported for architecture students.
Model Making & Construction: Penn State Architecture emphasizes drawing, model-making, community outreach/service learning, hands-on construction, design-build, and digital fabrication as part of its architectural education.
Digital Fabrication: The Digital Fabrication Lab provides students with access to digital fabrication capabilities, including an architectural robotics lab, supporting experimentation with computational design and fabrication.
Computational Design: The Stuckeman Center for Design Computing provides computational facilities for design research and learning, with undergraduate students able to participate in research projects as research assistants.
Advanced Modeling: The Stuckeman School includes an Advanced Geometric Modeling Lab, supporting computational approaches to architectural design and modeling.
Immersive Environments: The Immersive Environments Lab is part of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing and supports research and learning involving immersive environments and visualization.
Material & Digital Making: The ForMat Lab combines computational design with material experimentation and provides digital fabrication tools, hand tools, electronics equipment, and workbenches; undergraduate students participate in the interdisciplinary research group.
Research Projects: The Stuckeman Center involves undergraduate students as research assistants in faculty-led projects, providing an opportunity to gain experience with advanced computational design research.
Community Design: The Hamer Center for Community Design supports community-engaged design research and project-based learning in areas including affordable housing, energy and community resilience, and sustainable environments.
Architecture Library: The Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library is located within the Stuckeman Family Building, giving architecture students a dedicated academic resource alongside their studios and fabrication facilities.
Exhibitions & Presentations: The Stuckeman Hallway Gallery displays faculty and student work, while dedicated presentation and jury spaces within Stuckeman support the review and presentation of architectural projects.
Interdisciplinary Research: Students can engage with the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, Hamer Center for Community Design, and Center for Ecology plus Design, creating opportunities to connect architecture with computation, community design, sustainability, and ecological research.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Penn State B.S. in Architecture provides a broad foundation for careers across architecture and the built environment, while also preparing students for professional architecture study or other graduate fields. Because this is a four-year pre-professional, non-accredited degree, students seeking architectural licensure would normally continue into a professional architecture degree before completing the required internship and licensing examinations.

Career pathways: The degree can support roles such as architectural designer, construction professional, real estate development professional, and historic preservation professional, while Penn State also notes that architecture graduates have pursued creative careers including digital environments, branding, lighting products, and custom jewelry.
Career Services: Stuckeman School Career Services provides resume, cover-letter and portfolio assistance, guidance on internships and careers, licensure information, salary discussions, portfolio preparation sessions, NCARB Architectural Experience Program® information sessions, alumni panels, and Career Day opportunities.
Internships & Employment: Students are encouraged to complete multiple design-industry internships during their undergraduate studies, including opportunities that may be available for academic credit. The annual Stuckeman School Career Day connects architecture students directly with professional design and engineering firms for internship and employment opportunities.
Industry Connections: Stuckeman School operates an Industry Partner Program through which companies and firms collaborate with the school on research, design innovation, building processes, energy efficiency, resiliency, and carbon reduction. Industry partners also participate in events such as Career Day and research activities.
Employer Networking: The Stuckeman School's Career Day brings professional firms together with students and provides networking opportunities with alumni and professionals across architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic design.
Employment Statistics: Penn State's official Architecture B.S. materials do not publish a specific employment rate or graduate salary figure for this B.S. program. The university does publish a virtually 100% placement figure for its separate Architectural Engineering program, so that statistic should not be applied to Architecture B.S. graduates.
Accreditation & Licensure: The B.S. in Architecture itself is not accredited as a professional architecture degree. Penn State states that students seeking a direct route toward architectural licensure should pursue the five-year NAAB-accredited B.Arch.; the B.S. can instead serve as preparation for a subsequent professional architecture degree.
Graduation Outcomes: Graduates can enter architecture-related and broader design fields, while Penn State specifically identifies construction, real estate development, public administration, and historic preservation among possible career areas. The degree can also lead into graduate study in architecture, landscape architecture, computer science, geography, urban studies, art history, and other design-related disciplines.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the B.S. in Architecture, students can pursue Penn State's M.Arch. professional degree to prepare for professional practice and architectural licensure, or pursue the M.S. in Architecture for advanced research and independent design work. Penn State also identifies graduate pathways in architecture, landscape architecture, computer science, geography, urban studies, systems logistics, art history, and related fields.