Master of Science (MS) in Architectural Studies
Learn how to read and engage with research about the human-environment relationship.
Take your first steps into a career in research and benefit from studying in the interdisciplinary academic research environment of our program at the largest R1 research institution in Missouri.
We are at the forefront of learning sustainability, design thinking, and advanced computing. This started long ago, in the ‘70s, when we became the 1st online PhD program and the 1st to use what is now known as design with digital media. And fast forwards to today, with us being part of the 1st cohort in the World to be awarded Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD) by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Looking to the future, our mission is to make communities better through the thoughtful design of buildings and spaces available to all people.
So if you want to be a part of a storied architecture program at the forefront of sustainability and wellness, with visions of inclusive environments in cities around the world, inspiring sustainable spaces accessible to anyone, and applied research for bettering the places our society occupies – then we’d love to welcome you to our program!
Curriculum
While working individually on your focus area, graduate researchers connect with professors and fellow graduate students within our department and throughout the campus to work together on various projects within the iLab or beyond to help advance each other’s research.
The Master of Science (MS) may be a research-based study OR or a design and research-based professional review design project. The MS culminates in a thesis meeting the University requirements. Often students pursue this degree to better engage with research-based design practices or as a step on the path to a PhD.
Research is conducted in one of two emphasis areas:
- Environment and Behavior Studies
- Design with Digital Media
Within each of these emphasis areas, specific course work is chosen on the basis of subject matter and the type of research method selected: quantitative, qualitative or a combination of both.
Environment and Behavior Studies
Students explore human and environmental dimensions of wellbeing in built environments. Our work engages and advances theory across a range of disciplines to improve the capacity of design practice to address emerging physical and social challenge
Faculty in this area employ diverse social science methods to study the use, and thereby the design effectiveness, of a range of interior and architectural environments. Much of our work focuses on sustainability and the need to respond effectively to shifting environmental and socio-cultural contexts. Current faculty areas of specialization include the study of academic buildings, schools, and offices. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the research interests of program faculty prior to applying.
This area of interest may be pursued as a design project that leads to research projects that lead to MS or PhD degrees.
Design with Digital Media
The Design with Digital Media curriculum is structured to promote thought and work that crosses traditional lines between disciplines and challenges students to consider non-standard approaches to the computer as a creative and expressive medium. Study of technology, art, and design is balanced with inquiry grounded in conceptual, critical, social, cultural, and historical considerations.
Design with Digital Media, as an integral part of the design process, focuses on graphic ideation and the application of computer technology for architecture, interior, and related disciplines. This program of study has an emphasis on design with digital media leading to MS and PhD degrees.
The graduate courses can either be taken as a MS or Doctoral program. The MS option can generally be completed in two years. The duration of the PhD may range from 3.5-6 years.
Current study areas in the digital media program include:
- Design computing and cognition
- Design process using digital media and creativity research
- Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies for design visualization
- Advanced visualization technologies for environment-behavior simulation
- Building Information Modeling (BIM)
- Building Simulation
- Human-computer interaction aspects of digital tools for design
