The professional Architecture program offers a three year curriculum, based on a two year MArch program, plus a Foundation Year when appropriate, leading to the professional Master of Architecture degree accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), that prepares students for practice as a registered architect in North America. After its last review in 2005, the Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà Master of Architecture professional program in architecture was accredited for six years by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB). This is the maximum period for which programs can be accredited between reviews. Under the North American Free Trade Act, this means that accredited Canadian degrees are fully recognized in the United States and vice versa. In Canada, all provincial associations recommend a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit Canadian professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of accredited degrees, the Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture. A program may be granted a six-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the degree of conformance with established educational standards. Master's degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, comprise an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The MArch degree provides a foundation for a range of career opportunities in design, construction and management of the built environment as well as a basis for subsequent advanced design and scholarly research. The MArch curriculum offers an integrated foundation for developing skills and knowledge in design, communication, technology, history, and theory, cultivated within the program's teaching and research expertise in sustainable design, digital design and fabrication, architecture and the contemporary city, critical practice, and architectural history and theory. In the interdisciplinary design milieu of the Faculty of Environmental Design, architecture students explore innovation and creativity side-by-side with students interested in a wide variety of environmental design disciplines focused on a comprehensive understanding of the built and natural environments.
Architectural design studios provide structured opportunities for advanced design studies and projects in both an individual and collaborative context. Enrichment opportunities include a distinguished lecture series, distinguished international guests delivering seminar and design charrette experiences, publications, and the award-winning Barcelona Studies Abroad (where students are immersed in Catalan design culture for one term).
Faculty of Environmental Design