University at Buffalo (UB)
Architects do far more than design buildings. As makers of space and place, they shape our lives in countless ways, and their work has far-reaching impacts on everything from climate change and housing affordability to health equity and social justice. As an architecture major, you’ll learn by doing—and making—emerging as a "citizen architect" ready to address complex questions. Can we design buildings to harvest energy instead of waste it? How are race and architecture connected? Can a robot make construction safer? Come find out for yourself.
The architecture program combines hands-on professional preparation with a liberal arts education. You’ll explore the foundations of architecture through courses in design, history and construction, as well as the arts, sciences and humanities. You’ll attend classes in our historic landmark building, learn how to assemble wood and steel in our fabrication workshop, and explore climate action in UB's zero-energy GRoW Home right on campus. But perhaps your most memorable time will be in the studio, where you’ll learn to "think through making" as you design, refine and start building full-scale solutions by the end of your first year.
From urban sketching to design-build projects with local clients, you'll find plenty of opportunities here.
UB architecture graduates are highly sought after for their skills in fabrication and inclinations toward experimental, community-minded design. You can find our alumni advancing practice innovation from Buffalo to Bangalore, in environments as diverse as traditional firms, emergent design practices and community organizations.
This program is designed for the "4+2" track in architectural education, combining a four-year undergraduate degree with a two-year accredited master’s degree, a requirement for professional licensure.
While the majority of our students go on to become licensed architects, a degree in architecture can also lead to careers in fields such as city planning, historic preservation, community development, engineering, and allied areas of design, from multimedia to exhibition design.
UB's architecture faculty members are pioneering scholars and innovative practitioners with experience around the world and across the field. With diverse professional and academic networks, they have connected teaching, scholarship and practice in settings as diverse as New York City, Toronto, Seoul, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Costa Rica. This culture of inquiry seeps into the studio as students advance projects in inclusive design, gender and racial equity, climate action, ecological practices, affordable housing, sustainable manufacturing and smart technologies.
UB's culture of inclusion creates a supportive and highly interactive learning environment. Our students collaborate with peers and faculty in studio, find mentorship through student organizations and alumni events, and work with industry and community partners that sponsor class projects and faculty research.