Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Architecture embodies collective values and impacts quality of life, from the context of the individual to the expanse of cities, often over long periods of time. Through the design of buildings and sites, the architect is positioned to improve the relationship between human and natural systems, informed by understanding and sensitivity toward social and cultural issues as well as ecology and earth’s finite material and energy resources.
Housed in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, the five-year accredited Bachelor of Architecture degree program is committed to developing future leaders and innovators within the discipline and practice of architecture. The Architecture curriculum affords educational experiences focused on the integration of design, technology, and environmental knowledge, enriched with studies in critical thinking, theory, history, representation, collaboration, and advocacy. Throughout the curriculum, students gain experiences that enable them to enhance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of people and environments in which they work. Cal Poly Architecture offers a wide variety of opportunities to engage in research, study off-campus, abroad or domestically, and to gain professional experience.
The architecture curriculum includes general education courses in history, theory, and environmental design, as well as an Architecture Minor open to all University students. In the Architecture Minor, students may choose courses in the areas of history and theory, architectural technology, architecture and society, or create a path according to personal interests. The Architecture Department also offers a non-accredited Master of Science in Architecture degree, and an opportunity for students in the Bachelor of Architecture program to earn both degrees in six years through a blended degree program.
Program Learning Objectives
- Apply critical and creative thinking to architectural problems.
- Critically examine and integrate diverse knowledge from architecture, other disciplines, and a variety of personal lived experiences into the formation of architectural ideas.
- Research and evaluate architectural precedents and discourses that are informed by the study of people, places, and sites, their histories and theories, cultures, and environments.
- Develop inclusive practices for working collaboratively with diverse groups, communities, clients, users, and design professionals.
- Communicate effectively through speaking, writing, and architectural representation.
- Think critically about architectural representation as a means of design, analysis, and visual communication.
- Explore design ideas and opportunities through hands-on engagement with materials and craft.
- Engage with ecological systems in a manner that promotes the health and vitality of the environment and human wellbeing now and in the future.
- Investigate and implement sustainable design strategies for buildings and sites.
- Understand professional ethics, modes of practice and project delivery, regulatory requirements, and responsibilities of licensure.
- Design healthy, safe, equitable, and high-performing built environments informed by traditional, contemporary, and emergent technologies, and professional knowledge.
- Synthesize architectural form and experience with whole-building systems including material, structural, cultural, environmental, energy, and site systems in an integrated design solution.
- Advocate for architecture to address contemporary issues and be an instrument for positive change.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| ARCH 1101 | Architectural Design I | 4 |
| ARCH 1102 | Architectural Design II | 4 |
| ARCH 1121 | Equity, Social Justice, and Architecture (4B) 1 | 3 |
| ARCH 1131 | Architectural Representation I | 2 |
| ARCH 1132 | Architectural Representation II | 2 |
| ARCH 2201 | Architectural Design III | 5 |
| ARCH 2202 | Architectural Design IV | 5 |
| ARCH 2221 | History of World Architecture I: Prehistory to 17th Century (3A) 1 | 3 |
| ARCH 2222 | History of World Architecture II: 17th Century to the Present | 3 |
| ARCH 2231 | Architectural Representation III | 1 |
| ARCH 2232 | Architectural Representation IV | 1 |
| ARCH 2241 | Architectural Technology Fundamentals I | 4 |
| ARCH 2242 | Architectural Technology Fundamentals II | 4 |
| ARCH 3301 | Integrated Architectural Design | 5 |
| ARCH 3331 | Building Information Modeling | 2 |
| ARCH 3341 | Architectural Systems Integration I | 4 |
| ARCH 3342 | Architectural Systems Integration II | 5 |
| ARCH 4401 | Advanced Architectural Design | 15 |
| ARCH 4425 | Seminar in Architectural History, Theory and Criticism | 3 |
| ARCH 4441 | Issues in Contemporary Professional Practice | 4 |
| ARCH 4460 | Senior Architectural Thesis Theory and Research Seminar | 3 |
| ARCH 4461 | Senior Project: Architectural Thesis I | 5 |
| ARCH 4462 | Senior Project: Architectural Thesis II | 5 |
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| ARCE 1121 | Structural Principles I | 3 |
| ARCE 3301 | Introduction to Structural Systems | 4 |
| EDES 1123 | Place, People, and the Built Environment | 3 |
| Select from the following: (2) 1 | 3-4 | |
| Precalculus | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Select from the following: (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 | |
| College Physics I | ||
| General Physics I | ||
| Professional Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 10-11 | |
| Select any ARCH, ARCE, ART, CM, CRP, EDES, or LA courses | ||
| Select any courses included in any College of Architecture and Environmental Design minor or any ART minor | ||
| GENERAL EDUCATION | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 30 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives | 0 | |
| Total Units | 150 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 13 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 30 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences | 3 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences | 3 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 30 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.