The Department is committed to a study of architecture that focuses on the reflection encouraged by scholarly pursuit; a genuine concern for people, culture and environment; and developing the skill of the artisan. As a polytechnic institution, we stress the linkages between learning and the application of knowledge in creative problem solving.
The Department of Architecture is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Courses are taught by a faculty of professionals engaged in practice, education, and research. Both the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) and the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) as first professional degrees are accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board. In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit US professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. A Program may be granted a six-year, a three-year or a two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.

The learning experience leading to a NAAB accredited undergraduate five-year Bachelor of Architecture or three and a quarter year Master of Architecture degree is an interweaving of lecture, seminar and studio. It is a learning process that is incremental and iterative. Content in History, Structures, Environmental Controls, Computers and Practice is first introduced in studio support lectures, explored in depth in core classes, applied in more advanced studios and explored further in advanced elective offerings.

The design studio is the central element of this integrative learning process. In the last two years of undergraduate studios, our students are offered a variety of topic studio options: Architectural Design and Theory, Urban Design, Building Science, and Interior Architecture. In the last year of the graduate studio our students are offered options in Community Design and Architecture. All students develop culminating Senior or Graduate Projects which display a broad range in their subject matter, require supportive research and represent the diversity our program generates.

Our program is strongly committed to preparing our students to enter into Professional Practice. As part of our curriculum, we require 500 hours of internship experience outside of the College. Of this time, 250 hours must be spent in a professional architect's office with exposure to, and participation in, practice modeled after the IDP program. This provides early insight into the relationship of our curriculum to the challenges of future practice.

We value diversity in our programs and in our student and faculty community. Our program embraces no single design philosophy, rather it encourages the exploration of a wide range of ideas. We engage in an educational process that provides our students with diverse principles, knowledge and skills.

We teach our students to think critically about personal and professional ethics, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, historic precedents, and cultural context.

Our students' education is enriched by being in a college with the other design professions of Art, Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Regional Planning. Formal and informal opportunities for interdisciplinary learning are an important part of our program.

A major enhancement to our program is the opportunity for study abroad. Over 35% of the graduation students have studied abroad from three to nine months in one of several programs offered by the College.

Our programs are viewed within the University as rigorous, stimulating and challenging, and are recognized for enriching the Cal Poly environment.

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