MS / MAE / MENG Architectural Engineering

1 Years On Campus Masters Program

Pennsylvania State University University Park

Program Overview

Penn State’s Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Architectural Engineering is a one-year, 30-credit, non-thesis professional master’s designed for students seeking advanced expertise for professional practice in the building industry and construction sectors. Students develop skills across the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the built environment, with the flexibility to specialize in Construction, Lighting/Electrical, Mechanical, or Structural areas and select coursework aligned with their career goals.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: The intensive one-year curriculum combines advanced architectural engineering coursework with professional application, allowing students to build expertise in their chosen option area. Depending on their specialization and career goals, students can study subjects such as AE 573: Construction Automation and Robotics, AE 540: Computational Design & Optimization for Buildings, and AE 579: Sustainable Building Project Leadership, while completing a professional capstone project through AE 596: Individual Studies.

Focus areas: Construction, Lighting/Electrical, Mechanical, Structural.

Learning outcomes: Graduates develop the ability to understand architectural engineering principles and systems, apply them to building design and construction, communicate technical solutions effectively, analyze building systems for sustainable and resilient outcomes, and demonstrate ethical professional practice.

Professional alignment: The M.Eng. is a non-thesis professional master’s degree designed for professional practice in architectural engineering, with a capstone requiring students to integrate and apply concepts learned throughout the program. Penn State’s Department of Architectural Engineering is described by the university as the oldest continuously accredited architectural engineering program in the United States.

Reputation: Penn State states that its Architectural Engineering department is widely acknowledged as one of the top Architectural Engineering programs in the world and emphasizes academic excellence, innovative education, and research in building design, engineering, and construction.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The Architectural Engineering graduate programs at Penn State University Park give students hands-on exposure to advanced building-system design, analysis, construction, and operation. Students can work with professional engineering software through dedicated computer labs and virtual desktop infrastructure, while the department’s newly opened Engineering Collaborative Research and Education (ECoRE) Building provides advanced teaching spaces and research laboratories for areas such as human performance, indoor environmental quality, lighting, acoustics, and building systems.

Students can build practical and research-oriented skills through these program-specific resources:

Specializations: Graduate study can focus on Construction, Lighting/Electrical, Mechanical, or Structural architectural engineering, allowing students to develop expertise aligned with specific building-industry applications.
Professional technical work: M.Eng. students complete a professional-quality technical report, generally developed from work undertaken in one of their courses, providing an opportunity to apply advanced coursework to a substantial technical problem.
Research thesis: M.S. students combine coursework with a six-credit research thesis, giving them direct experience in architectural-engineering research and analysis.
Engineering software: Students have access to applications including Autodesk products, Bentley/Synchro, ETABS, SAP, MATLAB, Python, Rhino, SketchUp, Enscape, OpenStudio, EnergyPlus-related LBNL tools, IES, AGI/Elum Tools, TRACE 3D, Star-CCM+, Unity, and Microsoft Project.
Virtual computing: Architectural Engineering computer labs use Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), allowing students to access department software both from physical laboratories and remotely.
ECoRE facilities: The Engineering Collaborative Research and Education (ECoRE) Building houses the department’s new teaching facilities and research laboratories following its 2024 move, giving graduate students access to a modern environment for architectural-engineering research.
Human Performance Laboratory: This research laboratory enables investigation of building-occupant interaction, comfort, health and wellness, indoor environmental quality, temperature, humidity, airflow, air quality, lighting, daylighting, and acoustics, including controlled A/B testing using two side-by-side testing rooms.
Computer modelling: Courses such as AE 530: Computer Modeling of Building Structures provide practical experience creating computer models of two- and three-dimensional structures and interpreting results using commercial structural-analysis software.
Digital building modelling: Penn State architectural-engineering students have developed Building Information Models and 4D CAD models using Graphisoft Archicad, integrating architectural, structural, site and construction-schedule information.
Collaborative technology: Penn State provides Microsoft Teams, Office 365, OneDrive/SharePoint and VDI to support digital collaboration, file sharing and remote access to computing resources.
Student organisations: Graduate students can engage with professional organizations and communities including ASHRAE, Design-Build Institute of America, Illuminating Engineering Society, Structural Engineers Association of Pennsylvania, USGBC, and the Student Society of Architectural Engineers, providing opportunities to connect their studies with the wider architectural-engineering profession.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The MS / MAE / MEng Architectural Engineering programs at Pennsylvania State University prepare graduates for advanced professional practice in building design, construction, operation, and high-performance building systems. The M.S. combines coursework with research and can lead to building-industry positions or doctoral study, while the M.Eng. emphasizes professional coursework across construction, lighting/electrical, mechanical, and structural areas.

Typical job roles: Architectural Engineer, Building Systems Engineer, Structural Engineer, Construction/Project Engineer: graduates can pursue opportunities across architectural engineering firms, consulting engineering companies, contractors, building technology firms, facilities management, and related industries.

Career services: Penn State Engineering provides graduate students with Nittany Lion Careers, internships, career fairs, employer networking, résumé/CV and cover-letter support, interview preparation, and job-offer guidance.
Employment statistics: Penn State Architectural Engineering reports virtually 100% placement upon graduation for the last three decades for its AE program; this published figure is not separately identified as a statistic for the one-year graduate programs.
Salary: The Penn State College of Engineering reports a 2024–25 average starting salary of $78,765 for Architectural Engineering, based on 46 respondents; this figure is reported for the AE major and is not separately identified as M.S./M.Eng.-only.
Industry connections: Penn State Engineering has hundreds of technical employers recruiting annually through engineering career events and connecting with faculty and research centers. The Architectural Engineering department also has an Alumni Mentoring Program, supported by the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council, Alumni Society of Architectural Engineers, and Student Society of Architectural Engineers.
Career demand: Penn State describes Architectural Engineering graduates as having opportunities with architectural engineering firms, consulting engineers, real-estate developers, building-equipment manufacturers, facilities-management groups, specialty contractors, building owners, construction managers, and building-technology companies.
Accreditation value: Penn State states that its undergraduate Architectural Engineering program is ABET-accredited; the official graduate sources reviewed do not state that the M.S., M.Eng., or M.A.E. itself carries separate ABET accreditation, so no graduate accreditation claim is made here.
Graduation outcomes: The M.S. prepares graduates for positions in the building industry or continued Ph.D. study, while the M.Eng. is specifically designed for professional practice in the building industry and construction sectors.

Further Academic Progression: Graduates of the M.S. in Architectural Engineering can progress directly to Penn State's Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering, which develops advanced research capabilities and prepares graduates for careers in academia, research laboratories, and building-design and construction industries. Students can also pursue further graduate or professional education in related areas depending on their career objectives.