ARCX:MARCH - Accelerated Master of Architecture

Admissions Requirements

Application Deadline: January 15

The department admits students once a year to begin their coursework in the fall semester; therefore, it is recommended that interested applicants meet with a member of the college’s Student Services and Advising Center during the Fall semester prior to the application deadline. Admission to the department is competitive and is not guaranteed. Admission will be offered based on space availability to those applicants judged by the Department Faculty Committee to have the greatest potential for successful completion of the program.

The department offers professional degrees in Architecture. The curriculum is composed of two years of foundational, undergraduate coursework followed by three (or four) years of focused graduate course work leading to the professional accredited Master of Architecture (M. Arch). The department does not award the pre-professional bachelor’s degree.

Undergraduate students may apply for admission into the first year or the third year of the program. Students of the program are considered undergraduate students until they have accumulated 120 credit hours; therefore, freshman and transfer applicants must apply to both FIU’s Undergraduate Admissions Office and to the department. Students accepted for admission in the first year or the third year of the department’s program, and who are in good academic standing with a cumulative 3.0 GPA at completion of 120 credit hours, are automatically converted to graduate student status.

First-Year Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the University’s admission requirements and submit a design portfolio – please refer to the Design Portfolio Requirements section.

Third-Year Transfer Student Admission Requirements

Applicants for third year admission must meet the University’s admission requirements and submit a design portfolio – please refer to the Design Portfolio Requirements section. Students who have completed an AA in architectural studies must meet the following requirements: minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0; completed design studio courses 1 through 4 with a grade of ‘C’ or better; and be judged by the Faculty Admissions Committee to have passed a competitive portfolio review. Only grades of ‘C’ or higher (2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale) are accepted for transfer of applicable prerequisite and core courses from other institutions.

Transfer Students: University policy allows the transfer of 60 lower-division credits. Additional upper-division transfer credits may be accepted. For most transfer students it will be necessary to take a certain number of undergraduate credits at FIU in order to achieve the minimum required to satisfy the degree requirements.

Third-Year Native Student Admission Requirements

FIU undergraduate students who wish to change their major to architecture should check program requirements and be advised by the college’s undergraduate advisors well in advance of application for admission.

Design Portfolio Requirements

As part of each department’s admission review process, all students are required to submit a design portfolio demonstrating the candidate’s creative abilities as well as their level of design. The design portfolio is evaluated based on a candidate’s demonstrated sense of composition, attention to detail, graphic communication skills, expressive quality, and sense of space, accuracy, and observation. The design portfolio should be formatted on 8.5’’ x 11” sheets, bound or carefully packaged, with a maximum thickness of 3”. Applicants may also include 11’ x 17” sheets provided they are folded to 8.5” x 11”. Design portfolios may include two-dimensional storyboards (a sequence of still images that show a story), computer printouts, and photographs of small three-dimensional models/projects. The design portfolio cannot contain slides, videos, computer discs, or other formats that require electric power to view.

First-Year Design Portfolio Requirements

All candidates’ design portfolios must include a one-page (maximum) statement outlining your intentions, aspirations, and purpose in pursuing a professional degree. In addition, all candidates’ design portfolios require three freehand drawings based on accurate observations: (1) a drawing of a stair or stairs, (2) a drawing of a bicycle or bicycles or a part of a bicycle or bicycles, and (3) a drawing of your own choice. These drawings may be in ink, pencil or charcoal. In addition to the three required freehand drawings, the first year design portfolio may contain reproductions of a two-or-three dimensional work.

Third-Year Transfer Portfolio Requirements

All candidates’ design portfolios must include a one-page (maximum) statement outlining your intentions, aspirations, and purpose in pursuing a professional degree. The design portfolio should include no more than 10 examples of your design work executed within the past two years. Examples include, but are not limited to, studies of buildings that demonstrate your analytical ability. Recent art and/or design projects that an applicant completed in collaboration with others are acceptable as long as the example contains an explanation of the applicant’s role in the process. Portfolios should not contain samples of architectural or interior design construction documents either by hand or by computer.

Additional Information for Applicants

Applicants to the Department should plan for the financial aspects of a design education. This includes the costs associated with required access to a laptop computer, as well as the cost of software, travel and field trips, tools and equipment, and modeling supplies. Students in the program must have access to a laptop computer through purchase, lease or other arrangements. Students in the Department of Architecture are encouraged to participate in the Department's study abroad semester during the fourth year. For further information, contact the Department.

Student Work

Student work submitted to the Department in satisfaction of course or degree requirements becomes the physical property of the Department. However, students retain all rights to the intellectual property of such work. This work may include papers, drawings, models, and other materials. The Department assumes no responsibility for safeguarding such materials. At its discretion, the Department may retain, return, or discard such materials. The Department will not normally discard the materials of current students without giving them a chance to reclaim them.

Students must petition the Department in writing for any deviation from the established policies.

Academic Standards and Policies

(1) Progression Requirements: At the conclusion of 72 credit hours of pre-graduate architecture program coursework, students with of an overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above move directly to graduate coursework.

(2) All students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 in all undergraduate ARC courses. Students who fail to meet this minimum GPA requirement are subject to an internal academic review and may be delayed in their progression to graduate coursework.

(3) No grade below a 'C' will be accepted for graduation in required courses or professional electives.

(4) Students must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 or higher GPA in graduate level coursework (5000 level or higher).

(5) After three semesters or 30 credits of graduate coursework, students who fail to maintain a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA are subject to an internal academic review, which may result in dismissal from the program.

Undergraduate to Graduate Standing

Students will be evaluated for matriculation to graduate status based upon their graduate GPA at the end of the spring semester of their 4th year (provided they have earned a minimum of 120 total credits). The criteria listed below must be satisfied:

(1) 5 Year Path and Transfer students must have completed course.

(2) 6 Year Path students must have completed course.

(3) A minimum of 120 earned credits (counting no more than 60 lower-division transfer credits),

(4) 3.0 or higher GPA in graduate level coursework (5000 level or higher), and

(5) Completion of undergraduate coursework.

If student does not meet the criteria above to transition to graduate status, the student will be subject to Departmental review for continuation in the program. 

Master’s Project/Thesis Requirement

Graduate students in all master’s degree programs are required to undertake a master’s project or a master's thesis as part of their course of study in the Department of Architecture.

Academic Travel

The Architecture Department values academic travel both nationally and abroad. Immersion in other cities and cultures provides our students with critical experiences that enhance learning. The firsthand interaction with exemplary completed buildings and sites, as well as those under construction, enrich learning throughout the curriculum. It is a requirement of the academic program in Architecture that each student participate in at least one of the department's travel options before graduation. The department offers three options for travel: 1-Residence abroad for a full semester through our Genoa, Italy, program; 2- International travel through one of the many study abroad programs offered each summer; and 3- Domestic travel outside Miami as part of a design studio. Students must hold a 3.0 or higher cumulative graduate GPA to participate in Study abroad programs.

NAAB Statement

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 U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture.  A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education.  However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

Florida International University, College of Architecture and The Arts, Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs paths:

--Master of Architecture (72 undergraduate credits + 105 graduate credits); see program requirements below.

--Master of Architecture (pre-professional degree + 60 graduate credits); see program requirements for Two-Year Path: program.

--Master of Architecture (non-pre-professional degree + 105 graduate credits); see program requirements for Three-Year Path: program.

Next accreditation visit for the MArch: 2026

There are no tracks, specializations, concentrations, areas of emphasis, or other curricular offerings associated with this program.

There are no majors associated with this program.