Courses - Fall 2026
ARCH170
Design Thinking and Architecture
Examines conceptual, perceptual, behavioral, and technical aspects of the built environment, and methods of analysis, problem-solving, and design implementation.
ARCH171
Design Thinking and Making in Architecture
Restriction: Must be a major in ARCH-Architecture Program; and must be a freshman; or have permission of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Examines iterative design processes and critical thinking skills through active learning and design thinking methodologies to solve problems and apply design as a lens of inquiry and exploration. Students will understand Design Thinking through interactive and experiential learning.
ARCH201
Elements and Principles of Architecture
Credits:
1
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Must be in a major in ARCH-Architecture Program.
Survey of fundamental elements and principals of architecture and architectural education. Frames study of architecture as a profession, discipline and critical practice.
ARCH226
History of World Architecture II
Post-1500 - History of Architecture survey course - History of Architecture structured to develop critical thinking and visually literacy with regard to the worldwide legacy of design thinking and building innovation in architecture
ARCH230
How do AI tools reshape how we represent, interpret, and create the built environment? This GenEd course engages enduring questions about human-AI collaboration, cultural values, and the ethics of representation. Students analyze texts, images, archives, and media about architecture, landscapes, and cities, while practicing humanities methods (close reading, visual analysis, historiography) and applied practice (design critique, collaborative projects, real-time feedback). It culminates in a thesis-driven essay, public presentation, and collaborative applied project.
ARCH271
People, Planet, and Profit: Building Sustainable Places
Cross-listed with: RDEV250.
Credit only granted for: ARCH271 or RDEV250.
An introduction to the four disciplines represented in the School: architecture and urban design, community planning, historic preservation, and real estate development, that work to create a more sustainable environment for the future to create a more sustainable environment for the future using our interpretation of the quadruple bottom line: socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and design sustainability. Students will be provided with an understanding of the fundamental scholarship and processes of each of these disciplines and examine the intersections between them. Additionally, they will learn by applying the approaches of the four disciplines through a series of field studies.
ARCH300
Design Media and Representation II
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH200; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Restriction: Must be in a major in ARCH-Architecture Program.
Study of architectural representation in physical and digital design media. Examine visual communications and speculative visual studies through applied drawing, modeling and making to explore expanded roles of representation in design and design thinking.
ARCH350
Intro to Creative Placemaking: Practices & Principles
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Must be in the Creative Placemaking Minor; or by permission of instructor or program director.
Credit only granted for: ARCH458 or ARCH350.
Formerly: ARCH458.
Additional information: Priority will be given to students in the Creative Placemaking Minor or interested in the minor. Course may include off-campus field trips.
This case-study based seminar introduces students to Creative Placemaking as a practice that leverages the power of the arts, culture, and design to support equitable, vibrant, and sustainable communities. Students analyze Creative Placemaking initiatives that elevate our shared humanity and address critical challenges, such as conversations about racial injustice, inequitable development, climate change or celebrations of the diverse communities and cultures around us. Such projects enable us to consider and imagine ethical development practices, especially in underserved and historically marginalized neighborhoods. Based on participation in creative placemaking and presentations from practitioners, they will capture the ways that artists and designers in partnership with local culture bearers and knowledge keepers can play a vital role in shaping, keeping, and making meaningful places.
ARCH401
Architecture Design Studio II
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in ARCH400.
Restriction: Must be in Architecture (B.S.) program.
Continuation of ARCH 400 with introduction to building typology, urban and contextual issues, design of the vertical surface, and architectural interiors.
ARCH403
Architecture Design Studio IV
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in ARCH402.
Restriction: Must be in Architecture (B.S.) program.
Investigations into the relationship between the man-made and the natural world including introductory issues of assembly and material value. Design of the site and the building are combined into an integral process delimiting and probing the boundaries of each and exploring their reciprocal relationship. The architect's obligations to the natural and urban contexts are explored in many dimensions including historical, typological, environmental, and physical.
ARCH404
Graduate Architecture Design Studio I
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Recommended: For 3 1/2 year graduate students only.
Restriction: Must be in Architecture (Master's) program.
Introduction to architectural design with particular emphasis on conventions and principles of architecture , visual and verbal communication skills, formal analysis, design process, spatial composition, architectural promenade, basic program distribution, and elementary constructional and environmental responses. Offered fall only.
ARCH406
Graduate Architecture Design Studio III
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of B- in ARCH405.
Restriction: Must be in Architecture (Master's) program.
Investigations into the relationship between the man-made and the natural world including introductory issues of assembly and material value. Design of the site and the building are combined into an integral process delimiting and probing the boundaries of each and exploring their reciprocal relationship. The architect's obligations to the natural and urban contexts are explored in many dimensions including historical, typological, environmental, and physical.
ARCH418F
Selected Topics in Architectural Technology; Alternative Building Technologies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH 400. Permission of ARCH Program
ARCH418J
Selected Topics in Architectural Technology; Artificial Intelligence and Architecture: Background, Applications, and the Design Process
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH 400. Permission of ARCH Program
ARCH426
History of Architecture II
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Credit only granted for: ARCH226 or ARCH426.
Additional information: Graduate architecture history course requires additional recitation section and additional coursework tied to survey lectures.
Post-1500 - History of Architecture survey course - History of Architecture structured to develop critical thinking and visually literacy with regard to the worldwide legacy of design thinking and building innovation in architecture. Structured to nurture critical thinking and visually literacy with regard to the worldwide legacy of architecture. The work in the course will involve the evaluation of sources and arguments in reading architectural history. Architecture will be framed relative to ways of thinking, religious beliefs, cultural heritage, and cultural values.
Offered fall only.
ARCH428W
Selected Topics in Architectural History; Writing in Architecture and Architectural History
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH 400. Restrictions: Permission of ARCH program
ARCH430
Measuring Sustainability in Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Studies metrics of sustainability as included in rating standards, including LEED. All students will take the LEED GA test.
ARCH443
Visual Communication For Architects
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg
Restriction: Must be in Architecture (Master's) program; and must be in the 3.5 year M. ARCH program.
Investigation of the relationship between drawing from life and architectural drawing, the conventions of architectural drawing and the role of architectural drawing as a means to develop, communicate, and generate architectural ideas.
ARCH448O
Selected Topics in Visual Studies in Architecture; Applied Digital Fabrication
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400 Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program; and must be in a major in ARCH-Architecture Program
ARCH460
Site Analysis and Design
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Must be in the Master of Architecture program; or permission of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Principles and methods of site analysis; the influence of natural and man-made site factors on site design and architectural form.
ARCH462
Methods & Materials of Building Construction
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: PHYS121 or equivalent; and MATH120 or MATH140 or equivalent; or permission of the ARCH-Architecture Program.
Restriction: Must be in a major in undergraduate or graduate ARCH program or Construction Project Management Minor.
Credit only granted for: ARCH410 or ARCH462.
Building Construction methods and materials are examined through case studies to explore the means and techniques applied to the material execution of buildings and BIM. Focus on an understanding of the organization of the design and construction process and awareness of building and zoning codes, material systems and types.
ARCH464
Architectural Structures I
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH462, ARCH463, and PHYS121; and MATH120 or MATH140, or equivalent; or permission of the ARCH-Architecture Program.
Corequisite: ARCH401 or ARCH406.
Restriction: Must be in either BS in Architecture or M.Architecture Program.
Credit only granted for: ARCH411 or ARCH464.
This course covers the basic principles of architectural structures, including the influence of geometric, sectional, and material properties related to flexure and shear in beam and framed systems; vector mechanics with application to analysis of trusses, catenaries, and arches; diagrammatic analysis of beams for bending moment, shear, and deflection as well as the study of structural framing systems for vertical and lateral loads.
ARCH466
Environmental Systems in Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH462 and ARCH463.
Corequisite: ARCH403 or ARCH406.
Restriction: Must be in either BS in Architecture or M. Architecture Program.
Credit only granted for: ARCH413 or ARCH466.
Environmental systems in architecture presents the theory, quantification, and architectural design implications for heating ventilating and air conditioning, water and waste, fire protection, electricity, illumination, acoustics, and vertical transportation.
ARCH470
Computer Applications in Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Introduction to computer utilization, with emphasis on architectural applications.
ARCH472
Building Information Modeling Communication and Collaboration
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Restriction: Must be in a major in ARCH-Architecture Program; or must be in the Construction Project Management Minor.
Building Information Modeling is explored as pertains to collaboration and communication in the design and construction of buildings and building systems. Practical and empirical learning using BIM software and case studies of real world projects and construction scenarios.
ARCH478C
Selected Topics in Architecture; Architecture and Cinema: Place and Film
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program Restriction- Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program
This seminar and discussion based course explores the relationship between architecture and cinema, or more broadly, place and film. Students will explore the portrayal and use of architecture and place within the development of both early and contemporary film, across genres, and cultures.
This seminar and discussion based course explores the relationship between architecture and cinema, or more broadly, place and film. Students will explore the portrayal and use of architecture and place within the development of both early and contemporary film, across genres, and cultures.
ARCH478J
Selected Topics in Architecture; Adaptation
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program Restriction- Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program
This seminar investigates adaptation as both philosophy and practice. It explores adaptive processes at various scales (materials, buildings, cities, landscapes) and of various types (reuse, reframing, addition/subtraction, infill, preservation, recovery, erasure). Topics include memory and the artifact; building as palimpsest; obsolescence and renewal; adaptation and sustainability; new architecture in historic contexts; urban/suburban retrofits; and recovered landscapes. Students delve into case studies and theoretical writings, as well as the practical aspects of engaging in adaptive reuse and renovation. Involving close reading and discussion of complex texts, lectures, workshops, and individual and group research, this course requires sustained attendance and engagement.
This seminar investigates adaptation as both philosophy and practice. It explores adaptive processes at various scales (materials, buildings, cities, landscapes) and of various types (reuse, reframing, addition/subtraction, infill, preservation, recovery, erasure). Topics include memory and the artifact; building as palimpsest; obsolescence and renewal; adaptation and sustainability; new architecture in historic contexts; urban/suburban retrofits; and recovered landscapes. Students delve into case studies and theoretical writings, as well as the practical aspects of engaging in adaptive reuse and renovation. Involving close reading and discussion of complex texts, lectures, workshops, and individual and group research, this course requires sustained attendance and engagement.
ARCH478Z
Selected Topics in Architecture; Environmental Psychology
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program Restriction- Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Focuses on the role of design in human behavior, exploring people-place relationships centered on human physical, physiological, psychological, sociological, and intellectual responses to elements of the built environment.
Focuses on the role of design in human behavior, exploring people-place relationships centered on human physical, physiological, psychological, sociological, and intellectual responses to elements of the built environment.
ARCH600
Integrated Design Studio V
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Corequisite: ARCH611.
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Integrated and comprehensive building and site design. Course content bridges the gap between design and technology, between practice and education, in a studio setting. Explorations include the integration of conceptual and technical aspects of architectural form and assembly, highlighting the ways in which multiple layers of a building design are developed, coordinated and resolved.
ARCH611
Advanced Architecture Technology Seminar
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Corequisite: ARCH600.
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Technology in design of buildings. Application of technological issues in building design; integration of technology in architecture; technology as a form determinant in architecture; other conceptual and philosophical issues related to the application of technology in the design, construction, and use of buildings.
Offered fall only.
ARCH618F
Selected Topics in Architectural Technology; Alternative Building Technologies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Permission of ARCH Program
ARCH628W
Selected Topics in Architectural History; Writing in Architecture and Architectural History
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prereqs: ARCH225 and ARCH226; or ARCH425 and ARCH426; or permission of the ARCH-Architecture Program Restrictions: Permission of ARCH program
ARCH655
Urban Design Seminar
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: ARCH654; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Advanced investigation into problems of analysis and evaluation of the design of urban areas, spaces, and complexes with emphasis on physical and social considerations; effects of public policies through case studies. Field observations.
ARCH670
Advanced Computer Applications in Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Credit only granted for: ARCH678C or ARCH670.
Formerly: ARCH678C.
Advanced use of computer technology in design. Use of digital design processes and conceptual methodologies to study design alternatives and realization. Methods and techniques of digital design representation, simulation, or fabrication to explore and test concepts and integration of digital technologies into the architectural design process.
ARCH678C
Advanced Selected Topics in Architecture; Architecture and Cinema: Place and Film
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program Restriction- Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program
ARCH678J
Advanced Selected Topics in Architecture; Adaptation
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prereqs - ARCH400; or permission of ARCH-Architecture Program Restriction- Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program
This seminar investigates adaptation as both philosophy and practice. It explores adaptive processes at various scales (materials, buildings, cities, landscapes) and of various types (reuse, reframing, addition/subtraction, infill, preservation, recovery, erasure). Topics include memory and the artifact; building as palimpsest; obsolescence and renewal; adaptation and sustainability; new architecture in historic contexts; urban/suburban retrofits; and recovered landscapes. Students delve into case studies and theoretical writings, as well as the practical aspects of engaging in adaptive reuse and renovation. Involving close reading and discussion of complex texts, lectures, workshops, and individual and group research, this course requires sustained attendance and engagement.
This seminar investigates adaptation as both philosophy and practice. It explores adaptive processes at various scales (materials, buildings, cities, landscapes) and of various types (reuse, reframing, addition/subtraction, infill, preservation, recovery, erasure). Topics include memory and the artifact; building as palimpsest; obsolescence and renewal; adaptation and sustainability; new architecture in historic contexts; urban/suburban retrofits; and recovered landscapes. Students delve into case studies and theoretical writings, as well as the practical aspects of engaging in adaptive reuse and renovation. Involving close reading and discussion of complex texts, lectures, workshops, and individual and group research, this course requires sustained attendance and engagement.
ARCH678Z
Advanced Selected Topics in Architecture; Environmental Psychology
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Focuses on the role of design in human behavior, exploring people-place relationships centered on human physical, physiological, psychological, sociological, and intellectual responses to elements of the built environment.
ARCH700
Urban Design Studio VII
Credits:
6
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of B- in ARCH601 and ARCH654; or permission of Architecture program.
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Studio problems and theories concentrating on urbanism and urban design techniques. Issues and sites range from high density urban in-fill to suburban and greenfield development in American and other contexts. Studio theories explore such topics as Contextualism, Neo-Traditional design, Transit-Oriented Development, density, sustainable development building typology, and street design.
ARCH770
Professional Practice of Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Restriction: Permission of ARCH-Architecture Program.
Project management, organizational, legal, economic and ethical aspects of architecture.
ARCH797
Thesis Proseminar
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, Aud
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of B- in ARCH601.
Restriction: Must have permission of the ARCH program.
Directed research and preparation of thesis program.
ARCH798
Thesis in Architecture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg
ARCH799
Master's Thesis Research
Credits:
1 - 6
Grad Meth:
S-F
Restricted to ARCH majors only.
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University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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