Master of Architecture

Architecture is a creative and exciting design-based profession concerned with virtually all aspects of the built environment. It combines art, science and technology with business, social and environmental concerns. The Master of Architecture is a professional program which prepares graduates for employment as architects. The ethos of the program emphasises the central role of design in the studio. Students can take a research subject which may enable progression to further studies as a PhD candidate.

With over thirty full-time academics and a broad range of leading architectural practitioners, the program has a depth and breadth of teaching and research performance unmatched within the Southeast-Asian and Australasian regions. Graduates will be equipped with the creative and critical thinking skills to push the envelope of architectural change in terms of the design and production of buildings as well as critique of their technical, aesthetic, social and environmental performance.

Professional/International Recognition

This course has been designed to meet the requirements of the professional associations shown below, and for quality assurance will undergo a regular review.

• Royal Australian Institute of Architects
• Architects Registration Board of Victoria
• Commonwealth Association of Architects

The Master of Architecture aims to:

• Offer advanced education in architectural design in conjunction with critical understanding of aesthetic, socio-political and environmental implications of architectural form, space and expression;
• Enable students to explore an understanding of cross cultural issues in the planning, design and construction of the built environment;
• Offer academic opportunities to address contemporary concerns in local and international communities through architectural design;
• Encourage debate about the theoretical and practical aspects of architectural culture and production; and
• Provide a vehicle to meet the continuing professional development requirements of the architecture profession in Australia and internationally.

All student must complete:

• 237.5 points core
• 37.5 architecture electives (at least 25 points from the same elective group).
• 25 points multidisciplinary electives.

First- year core subjects (100 points)

Second/third-year core subjects (137.5 points)

Architecture electives (37.5 points)

Students must specialise in an architecture elective area and must undertake at least 25 points in that area with the remaining 12.5 points undertaken from the same or another architecture elective area.

Architecture electives: Asia/Pacific Architecture (MC-ARCHELEAPARC)

Students wishing to specialise in Asia/Pacific Architecture must undertake at least 25 points in this area with the remaining 12.5 points of architecture electives undertaken from the Asia/Pacific Architecture elective group or another architecture elective group.

Architecture electives: History and Conservation (MC-ARCHELEH&C)

Students wishing to specialise in History and Conservation must undertake at least 25 points in this area with the remaining 12.5 points of architecture electives undertaken from the History and Conservation elective group or another architecture elective group.

Architecture electives: Production, Practice and Sustainability (MC-ARCHELEPP&S)

Students wishing to specialise in Production, Practice and Sustainabilitymust undertake at least 25 points in this area with the remaining 12.5 points of architecture electives undertaken from the Production, Practice and Sustainability elective group or another architecture elective group.

Architecture electives: Society and Culture (MC-ARCHELES&C)

Students wishing to specialise in Society and Culture must undertake at least 25 points in this area with the remaining 12.5 points of architecture electives undertaken from the Society and Culture elective group or another architecture elective group.

Architecture electives: Digital Architecture (MC-ARCHELEDA)

Students wishing to specialise in Digital Architecture must undertake at least 25 points in this area with the remaining 12.5 points of architecture electives undertaken from the Digital Architecture elective group or another architecture elective group.

Multidisciplinary electives (25 points)

Students may choose any masters-level subjects including:

• Melbourne School of Design graduate subjects without prerequisites. To view a list, click here.
• Melbourne School of Design graduate subjects with prerequisites (provided prerequisites are met). In order to view a full list of MSD graduate subjects use the Advanced Search option of handbook.
• Any University of Melbourne graduate subject provided prerequisites are met and written approval from the home faculty plus the Master of Architecture course coordinator is submitted to the Environments and Design Student Centre.

To view a sample course plan go to:

http://www.msd.unimelb.edu.au/architecture/master-of-architecture.html

1. The Selection Committee will evaluate the applicant’s ability to pursue the course successfully using the following criteria –

• an undergraduate degree in any discipline with at least H3 (65%) in the final two years, or equivalent; and
• completion of one design studio subject and one art/architecture/built environment/design history subject at undergraduate level, or equivalent; and
• a design portfolio in a format as specified by the selection committee*; and
• a personal statement of no more than 1000 words outlining relevant prior study and work experience, and motivation to undertake the course.

2. The Selection Committee may conduct interviews or tests and may call for referee reports and employer references to elucidate any of the matters referred to above.

Note: It is highly recommended that students obtain at least 16 weeks of documented relevant full-time professional work experience, before commencing the final 100 points of the degree.

*The design portfolio should consist of not more than eight A3 pages. The Selection Committee will look for evidence that the applicant has worked successfully in a studio learning environment. Any of the range of pedagogical approaches to the teaching of introductory design is appropriate background, although the Selection Committee will be particularly interested in the exploration of 3D objects and spaces, and evidence of other creative or professional work.

Students with an Australian fee place in this course who complete 100 points of the course with a weighted average of at least 75% and who are eliglble for a Commonwealth Supported Place will be guaranteed a transfer to a Commonwealth Supported Place for the remaining points of the course.

For information about the two year Master of Architecture program, designed for students with an undergraduate degree in a cognate area, click here.

For information about how to apply click here.

The Melbourne School of Design is the graduate school of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. It offers professional entry programs in Architecture, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, Property and Urban Planning. It offers specialist development programs in Property Valuation, Planning and Design and in Urban Design.

The Melbourne School of Design welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is the University and Faculty (Architecture, Building and Planning) policy to take reasonable steps to make reasonable adjustments so as to enable students’ participation in degrees offered by the Melbourne School of Design (MSD).

A candidate for degrees offered in the MSD must have abilities and skills which include the following: observation; communication; motor; conceptual, integrative, and quantitative; and
behavioural and social. Adjustments can be provided to minimise the impact of a disability, however, particularly at Masters level, students need to be able to participate in programs in an independent manner and with regard to their safety and the safety of others.

(i) Observation: Candidates must be able to read text, diagrams, maps, drawings and numerical data. Candidates should be able to observe details at a number of scales and to record useful observations of environmental contexts.

(ii) Communication: Candidates should be able to communicate with fellow students, professional and academic staff, members of relevant professions and the public. Candidates
must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing.

(iii) Motor: Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from environmental contexts. Off campus investigations may include visits to construction sites,
urban, rural and/or remote environments. Candidates should have sufficient motor ability to prepare documentation of analytic texts, drawings and models of findings and for the
preparation of proposals for environmental interventions via digital or other means. Candidates should have the ability to actively participate in appropriate site and/or design
studio-based activities.

(iv) Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, synthesis and, importantly, the ability to
interpret results of such work. Problem resolution, the critical skill demanded of graduates, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, given the disciplines pursued in the
MSD, candidates should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships in environmental structures of a wide range of scales –
from smaller than the individual through individual buildings and urban spaces to large geographic areas. Further, graduate study entails learning to master one’s own abilities and
skills and to deploy them strategically. This requires further developing skills in both reflective and reflexive thinking and being able to practice these skills.

(v) Behavioural and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are
required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating
interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit.

The main focus of the Master of Architecture is architectural design and practice. The degree provides graduates with:

• Design skills that will contribute to the improvement of our built environment;
• A grounding in the rich lessons of architectural history, theory and technology enabling them to develop innovative architecture, relevant to time and place, people and culture;
• The skills to manage an architectural practice and work within teams; and
• The ability to use resources, materials and technologies to produce responsible and sustainable architecture.

Please see course overview above.

The Master of Architecture has been specifically designed around the University of Melbourne postgraduate coursework graduate attributes and the requirements of professional associations. The Master of Architecture will incorporate research-led teaching, problem-based collaborative learning, professional engagement, and a diverse mature cohort. Graduates of the Master of Architecture will have high-level professional and intellectual capabilities enabling them to demonstrate leadership, a commitment to life-long learning, and professional integrity.