Bachelor of Design in Architecture (BDes)

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture at UCF is built around an immersive, studio-driven approach that connects design, technology, sustainability, and real-world architectural practice. Students develop practical skills through design studios, digital architecture coursework, materials and construction studies, portfolio reviews, industry connections, and access to digital fabrication and collaborative facilities:

• Design Studios: Students progress through hands-on courses including ARC 1301C Design 1, ARC 1302 Architectural Design II, ARC 2303 Architectural Design III, and ARC 2304 Architectural Design IV, developing architectural concepts through studio-based projects.
• Digital Architecture: ARC 2180 Introduction to Digital Architecture introduces students to digital approaches within architectural design. B.Des. students must also have continual access to a computer meeting the program's hardware and software specifications.
• Materials & Construction: ARC 2461 Materials and Methods of Construction gives students practical exposure to construction materials, methods, and their application within architectural design.
• Portfolio Review: Before entering upper-division UCF architecture courses, students participate in a competitive portfolio review and exhibition ("pin-up"), presenting their strongest studio work for evaluation.
• Digital Fabrication: UCF's Downtown Maker Space provides hands-on workshops using 3D printers, laser cutters, and other digital-fabrication equipment, allowing students to turn digital designs into physical artifacts.
• Interdisciplinary Research: The SENSEable Design Lab works with computational methods, digital documentation, simulation, lighting, material appearance, and built-environment analysis, providing an interdisciplinary setting relevant to architectural research.
• Real-World Projects: UCF architecture students have participated in community-focused projects involving actual building types and professional stakeholders; documented projects have included collaboration with the City of Orlando Fire Department and tours of operating fire stations to inform design proposals.
• Field-Based Learning: Architecture coursework has included hands-on investigations and field visits; for example, a UCF architecture health-and-wellness course incorporated field trips to hospitals under construction, alongside drawing, digital work, and model-building.
• Industry & Community Connections: UCF states that the B.Des. benefits from connections with industry partners, design firms, and community organizations, creating opportunities for internships, networking, and experiential learning.
• Digital Research & Creation: UCF Libraries' Digital Exploration Center provides a 7,000-square-foot experiential space with high-performance computers, an immersive projection studio, podcast studio, and collaborative spaces, supporting digital research and creative production. 

Graduates of UCF’s Bachelor of Design in Architecture (BDes) can move into architectural design, drafting, planning, construction, visualization, and other built-environment roles, while the program also provides a pathway toward professional graduate architecture study. UCF specifically identifies careers such as architect, architectural drafter, building inspector, and contractor, alongside opportunities in urban design, interior architecture, sustainable design, construction, and digital fabrication.

Career Services & Employment Support: UCF’s Dixon Career Development Center provides architecture students with career appointments, employer profiles, job and internship searches through Handshake, career fairs, and career-development events; its Architecture & Construction pathway also provides Labor Market Insights covering employment trends, employers, education levels, technical skills, job titles, and annual earnings.

• Internships: UCF’s career platform currently lists architecture opportunities with employers including CHA Consulting, CEBRA, BRPH, and AtkinsRéalis, giving architecture students access to roles involving design development, drawings, documentation, visualization, site visits, multidisciplinary collaboration, and professional mentoring.
• Employment statistics: UCF reports that 69.8% of bachelor’s graduates in 2023–24 were enrolled or employed at $40,000+, while the university-wide median wage for bachelor’s graduates employed full-time was $52,100. These are UCF-wide bachelor’s figures and are not specific to the BDes Architecture program.
• Salary information: UCF’s Architecture BDes career page directs students to its career-data tools for current salary ranges, employment trends, and job information for occupations such as architect, urban planner, architectural/civil drafter, construction manager, interior designer, and set/exhibit designer; UCF does not publish a BDes-specific salary figure on the program page.
• University–industry connections: UCF states that Architecture has ties to industry partners, design firms, and community organizations in Central Florida, supporting internships, networking, and experiential learning. The program has also presented architecture programming in partnership with Valencia College, the University of Florida, and the Orlando Foundation for Architecture.
• Professional pathway: The BDes is part of UCF’s 2+2+2 partnership with Valencia College and the University of Florida, allowing students to complete an associate degree, the UCF BDes, and then continue to a master’s degree at UF. UCF states that this pathway enables students to complete an NAAB-accredited architectural program in Central Florida.
• Long-term accreditation value: The BDes itself is presented as part of the pathway to an NAAB-accredited professional architecture degree rather than as an independently NAAB-accredited professional degree. Completing the BDes can therefore form the bachelor’s stage of the UCF–Valencia–UF pathway toward the professional graduate qualification.
• Graduation outcomes: UCF’s First Destination Survey collects graduates’ employment status, employer and job title, while university-level data reports 67% of 2023–24 graduating undergraduates had an immediate primary plan of employment. Program-specific BDes first-destination results are not published on the public UCF pages reviewed.

Further Academic Progression: After the BDes, students can continue into graduate architecture, design, urbanism, or related programs nationwide. UCF specifically offers the 2+2+2 pathway in which students progress from Valencia College to UCF’s BDes and then to the University of Florida’s graduate architecture program through CityLab Orlando; students may also apply to other graduate programs after completing the bachelor’s degree.