All applications must be submitted through the Graduate School Application system. Applications are accepted August 1- January 15th. Faculty review all applications in February and you will be contacted the first week of March with either admission or denial to the program. Your acceptance of admission is required by April 15th.
Admission to the MS/PhD program is competitive with typically 2 – 3 campus-based students and 4 – 5 online students admitted each year.
More information on applying to Graduate School here:
We are not able to waive application fees.
We are unable to review emailed attachments. All documentation must be submitted through the Graduate Application Portal for review.
Time to completion varies on the degree that is being pursued and whether students are committing to full-time or part-time studies. Degree requirements can be found in the Registrar’s Catalog and the Architectural Studies Graduate Handbook.
Tuition, fees and health costs are detailed at the Cashiers site.
A Master’s degree at Mizzou is a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. A PhD requires a minimum of 72 hours, 30 of which may be applied from a Master’s degree subject to recommendation from the doctoral committee. For more details please refer to the following Graduate School webpages:
The Master of Science (MS) is a research-based program that teaches how to read and engage with research about the human-environment relationship. Often students pursue this degree to better engage with research-based design practices or as a step on the path to a PhD.
The M.Arch program is designed to prepare future architects to work in the field as licensed architects. Our program is not currently National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited and may not be accepted as meeting licensure requirements in many U.S. states. We are actively pursuing candidacy status with the NAAB for the Master of Architecture degree.
In the United States, most 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 professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
For the 4+1 Master of Architecture program students will do an undergraduate B.S in Architectural Studies in either Architectural Studies or Interior Design Emphasis. After the 3rd year, students will apply for the graduate program, and continue on a accelerated path toward the M.Arch.
Currently, the M.Arch is designed as a 4+1 professional degree in architecture that relies on a pre-professional degree or significant pre-professional course credits.
Teaching and research appointments for graduate students are based on qualifications of graduate student and department/faculty need. Students on assistantship also qualify for a tuition waiver. See MU Graduate Student Tuition Support Program for information on eligibility, tuition support, and time limits. Please note that resident graduate students will have more opportunities for assistantships than students enrolled in our online graduate program. More about assistantships and language requirements for international students can be found on the Graduate School website.
PhD students can concentrate in Environment and Behavior or in Digital Media. For more information, please see the Graduate Handbook on our graduate webpage.
Our faculty do not accept students individually prior to reviewing the full applicant pool. However, you can and should express interest in who you might like to work with as part of your application materials. While there are many potential directions for graduate-level work in interior design and architecture, our faculty are best suited to guide research projects that align with our expertise. Please see the Faculty Profiles to learn more about Architectural Studies faculty who are on the graduate and/or doctoral faculty and able to serve on graduate student committees. We suggest that you locate faculty publications and websites (as available) to help you determine fit between your research interests and current faculty. Successful applicants will have research interests with clear overlaps with current faculty expertise.
No, the M.Arch is only available as an in-person program.
Applicants with a previous degree and/or background in the design fields will be given priority in the application process. However, we consider applicants with a variety of backgrounds who have a clear rationale for choosing Architectural Studies. Please note that the graduate-level research degrees in our department would not qualify an individual for professional licensing in architecture or interior design.