Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Architecture

The BA in Architecture at Rice University is strongly studio-based, giving students practical experience through design projects, model-making, fabrication, digital production, critiques, and architectural research. Students have access to dedicated architecture studios, the Brochstein Fabrication Lab, Gensler Digital Lab, research ateliers, galleries, and the Alice Pratt Brown Art and Architecture Library, while studio travel and professional engagement provide opportunities to connect architectural study with real places and practices.

• Design Studios: Architecture is taught through studio-based learning where students develop and test architectural ideas through design projects, critiques, presentations, and physical and digital production. Dedicated studios provide individual workspaces and interactive learning environments with large monitors and AV equipment.
• Digital Fabrication: The Gensler Digital Lab provides laser cutters, Ultimaker 3D printers, and a Gigabot 3D printer, while the Brochstein Fabrication Lab provides a 3-axis CNC mill, table saws, bandsaws, chop saw, sanders, and spray booth for architectural prototyping and model-making.
• Fabrication Coursework: Courses such as ARCH 350: Hardware // Software Making, Meaning, and Methods in Fabrication give students hands-on experience with laser cutting, 3D printing, CNC routing, design-to-fabrication workflows, and multi-material assemblies, culminating in a fabricated architectural hardware project.
• Hands-on Making: ARCH 350: Light Fabrication is another practical course in which students investigate material properties, craft techniques, and functional design through research, prototyping, demonstrations, group discussions, and reviews, producing multiple functional light fixtures.
• Research & Collaboration: William T. Cannady Hall includes research ateliers and flexible fabrication spaces designed to support architectural production, collaborative work, research, and exhibitions.
• Studio Travel: Undergraduate studio ARCH 401 includes embedded travel, with the school arranging transportation, lodging, flights, and excursions for applicable regional, North American, and international studio travel.
• Professional Exposure: The Architecture Mentorship program provides small-group visits to architecture offices and project sites around Houston, along with workshops and professional-development activities. Students can also participate in one- to seven-day externships to shadow professionals during university breaks.
• Architecture Library: The Alice Pratt Brown Art and Architecture Library, located in Fondren Library, serves as the School of Architecture’s dedicated library resource, supporting architectural study and research.
• Exhibition & Review Spaces: Farish Gallery serves as a major venue for lectures, roundtables, exhibitions, and final reviews, while the Jury Room provides a dedicated space for final reviews and classes.

The Rice University B.A. in Architecture gives graduates a broad foundation in design, architectural history and theory, technology, and research, preparing them for careers both within architecture and across related creative and built-environment fields. Rice reports that its architecture alumni work globally in architecture, planning, consulting, museums, universities, publishing, and technology, with alumni employed by organizations including Gensler, HOK, SOM, Studio Gang, Apple, and Architecture Research Office.

Typical career directions include architectural designer, urban planner, design/architecture consultant, and design or architecture researcher/writer.

• Career services and professional networking: Rice Architecture Mentorship connects students with alumni and professionals through mentoring, workshops, office and project-site visits, externships, guest lectures, and an architecture-specific Career Fair where firms meet and interview students.
• Professional experience: Students who continue into Rice’s B.Arch. sequence can enter the Preceptorship, which places students in leading architecture offices for a minimum of nine months as paid employees. Current participating firms include Johnston Marklee, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Thomas Phifer & Partners, and Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
• Industry connections: Rice Architecture maintains professional relationships with firms that employ its students and graduates; its published alumni/employer list includes Gensler, HOK, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Studio Gang, Bjarke Ingels Group, Ennead Architects, and Architecture Research Office.
• Employment reach: Rice Architecture reports alumni working in 44 U.S. states and 34 countries, with 171 alumni owning their own practices.
• Employment statistics and salaries: Rice Architecture’s official pages reviewed here do not publish a specific employment rate or salary figure for B.A. in Architecture graduates, so no salary or employment percentage is stated.
• Graduation outcomes: The four-year B.A. provides the liberal-arts foundation in architecture; students who wish to become professionally trained architects can apply for Rice’s subsequent B.Arch. sequence, while the B.A. also supports alternative academic and career paths.
• Accreditation value: The B.A. itself is an undergraduate liberal-arts degree rather than the professional B.Arch. degree. Rice’s professional B.Arch. pathway is the route described by the School for students continuing toward professional architectural education; therefore, the B.A. should not be presented as independently providing professional architectural licensure or NAAB professional-degree accreditation.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the four-year B.A. in Architecture, students at Rice can apply to the two-year B.Arch. sequence, which includes the Preceptorship and a final year of academic study. The B.A. can also provide a foundation for further graduate study in architecture or related fields, depending on the admission requirements of the chosen program.