USC School of Architecture

USC School of Architecture students Aleksandr Drabovskiy, Jayson Champlain, Belinda Pak and Jeremy Carman, center, work on a design for short-term housing solutions in the MADWORKSHOP Homeless Studio. Photo by USC Photo/Gus Ruelas.

The USC School of Architecture offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral education in architecture and architectural studies, landscape architecture, heritage conservation and building science. Its faculty is active in professional practice, in design research, in the supervision of programs at the Gamble House and Freeman House and in extended professional education.

Work in the school is conducted in an intellectual climate, which promotes inquiry, introduces principles and values and teaches the disciplines necessary to work in collaboration with other professionals to develop design and research excellence.

The school is located in the center of Los Angeles, the second largest urban region in the country, which offers a unique understanding of 21st century growth and change. In such an environment the possibilities for teaching and learning are extraordinary.

The school is highly selective in its admissions and enjoys the strong support of alumni and the professions it serves. The opportunity exists for students to have close contact with faculty, other students and practicing architects.

An architecture curriculum was initiated at USC in 1914. In 1919, a Department of Architecture was created and a separate School of Architecture was organized in 1925. The school shares Watt and Harris Halls with the USC Roski School of Art and Design and the Fisher Museum of Art.

USC School of Architecture
Watt Hall 204
(213) 740-2723
FAX: (213) 740-8884
arch.usc.edu

Administration

Milton S. F. Curry, MArch, Dean

Douglas E. Noble, PhD, Chair, PhD Program, Discipline Head, Chase L. Leavitt Graduate Program of Building Science

Trudi Sandmeier, MA, Discipline Head of Heritage Conservation Programs

Kelly Shannon, PhD, Discipline Head of Landscape Architecture Programs

Wesley Jones, MArch, Director, Graduate Architecture Programs, Discipline Head of Architecture Programs

Hadrian Predock, MArch, Director, Undergraduate Architecture Programs

Edward R. Bosley, MBA, James N. Gamble Director of the Gamble House

Faculty

Della and Harry MacDonald Dean’s Chair in Architecture: Milton S. F. Curry, MArch

MacDonald and Diane Rusling Becket Professor of Community Design: Charles A. Lagreco, MFA (Arch)

Judge Widney Professor of Architecture: Frank O. Gehry, FAIA, MArch

Professors: Kim Coleman, MArch; Diane Ghirardo, PhD; Qingyun Ma, MArch; John V. Mutlow, MArch (UD); Victor Regnier, MArch.*; Goetz Schierle, PhD; Marc Schiler, MS, ArchSci; Kelly Shannon, PhD; James Steele, PhD; John Wilson, PhD

Associate Professors: Kenneth Breisch, PhD; Vittoria De Palma, PhD; Alvin Huang, MArch; Charles Lagreco, MFA (Arch); Graeme M. Morland, DiplArch; Amy Murphy, MFA; Douglas E. Noble, PhD; Doris Sung, MArch

Assistant Professors: Joon-Ho Choi, PhD; Alison Hirsch, PhD; Kyle Konis, PhD; Travis Longcore, PhD; Alex Robinson, MLArch; José Sanchez, MArch

Visiting Faculty: Steven Ehrlich, MArch; Mia Lehrer, MLA; David C. Martin, MArch; Yaohua Wang, MArch

Professor of the Practice of Architecture: Wesley Jones, MArch

Associate Professors of the Practice of Architecture: Sarah Cowles, MLA; Yo-ichiro Hakomori, PhD; Karen M. Kensek, MArch; Esther Margulies, MLArch; Lauren Matchison, MArch; Lee Olvera, MArch; Gary Paige, BArch; Hadrian Predock, MArch; Trudi Sandmeier, MA; Selwyn Ting, MArch; Olivier Touraine, Dipl Ing (Arch)

Assistant Professors of the Practice of Architecture: Valery Augustin, MArch; Scott Mitchell, MArch; Geoffrey von Oeyen, MArch

Adjunct Professors: Peyton Hall, MED; Alice Kimm, MArch; Lorcan O’Herlihy, MArch; Robert Perry, MLA; Lawrence Scarpa, MArch; Patrick Tighe, MArch

Adjunct Associate Professors: Tigran Ayrapetyan, MS; John Dutton, MArch; T. Jeff Guh, PhD; Eric Haas, MArch; Michael Hricak, MArch; Rob Ley, MArch; Andrew Liang, MArch; Jennifer Siegal, MArch; Warren Techentin, MArch; Roland Wahlroos-Ritter, DiplIng

Adjunct Assistant Professors: Laurel Broughton, MArch; Mario Cipresso, MArch; Victoria Coaloa, MArch; Janek Dombrowa, BS (Arch); Aaron Neubert, MArch; Scott Uriu, BArch

Senior Lecturers: Michael Arden, MA; Miller Fong, BAArch; Sophia Gruzdys, MArch; Susanna Seierup, MArch

Lecturers: Iman Ansari, MArch; Victoria Turkel Behner, PhD; Rob Berry, MArch; Vinayak Bharne, MArch; Emily Bills, PhD; Biayna Bogosian, MS (Arch); Sofia Borges, MArch; Justin Brechtel, MS (Arch); Aja Bulla-Richards, MLArch; Mary Casper, MArch; Nefeli Chatzimina, MS (Arch); Rebecca Choi, MA; Mina Mei-Szu Chow, MArch; Tony Cocea, MS; Lauren Dandridge Gaines, BS; Stephen Deters, MArch; Ian Dickenson, BS (Arch); James Diewald, MArch; Michael Ellars, BArch; Maria Esnaola, MArch; John Frane, MArch; Richard Gooding, MArch; Christina Gray, MArch; Jia Gu, MArch; Katherine Harvey, MLArch; Jerry Hastings, BS; Rebecca Hill, MLArch; Kathryn Horak, MHP; Ying-Yu Hung, MLArch; Christof Janzten, MArch; Erin Kasimow, MArch; Jason Kerwin, MArch; Hunter Knight, MArch; Alfie Koetter, MArch; Zeina Koreitem, MArch; Andy Ku, MArch; Manyan Lam, MArch; Christine Lampert, ExMArch; Anthony Laney, BArch; John Lesak, MArch; Lisa Little, MArch; Lauren Lynn, MArch; Jeff Mikolajewski, Clifford Pearson, MA; Zachary Porter, PhD; Jay Platt, MS; Mary Ringhoff, MHP; Michele Saee, MA (Arch); Marcos Sánchez, MArch; Kris Sandheinrich, MFA; Lee Schneider; Brendan Shea, MArch; Luke Smith, MArch; Takako Tajima, MLArch; Madhu Thangavelu, MBS; Brian Tichenor, MLArch; David Ulin, MFA; John Uniack, BArch; Elizabeth Valmont, PhD; Jeffrey Vaglio, PhD; Takashi Yanai, MArch; Sandra Yum, MArch; Peter Zellner, MArch

Emeritus Professors: James Ambrose, MS; Frank Dimster, MArch; Robert S. Harris, MFA (Arch); Ralph Knowles, MArch*; Roger Sherwood, MSArch, MCRP

*Recipient of university-wide or school teaching award.

Degree Programs

The School of Architecture offers curricula leading to the following degrees.

Bachelor of Architecture: a five-year undergraduate accredited professional degree program.

Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies: a four-year undergraduate non-professional architectural studies degree program providing specialization in related fields and an alternative path to graduate studies in architecture and other design fields.

Minor in Architecture: provides the flexibility of complementing a student’s major with an area of specialization. Not available for architecture majors.

Minor in Landscape Architecture: provides students with the ability to integrate the natural and cultural profession of landscape architecture into their course of study. Not available for architecture majors.

Master of Advanced Architectural Studies: a 48-unit, three-semester program for students who hold a first professional degree from an accredited school of architecture.

Master of Architecture: a 102-unit, three-year accredited degree for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree with a major other than one of the design professions; a 64-unit, two-year accredited degree for students holding a pre-professional degree with a major in architecture.

Master of Heritage Conservation: a 48-unit program designed to prepare individuals for work in heritage conservation and its allied disciplines, including architecture, urban planning, cultural resource management, real estate development, construction and materials conservation.

Master of Landscape Architecture: a 96-unit, six-semester curriculum for students with no prior degree in architecture, landscape architecture or environmental design; a 64-unit, four-semester curriculum for students who hold a first non-accredited degree in architecture, landscape architecture or environmental design.

Master of Building Science: a 48-unit, two-year program for applicants who hold an architecture, engineering or science-related degree (e.g., Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Architectural Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Environmental Studies, Physics or Mathematics). Students with five-year professional degrees in architecture and a minimum of five years of experience may be given advanced standing.

Dual Degree in Architecture and Planning: a 72-unit program leading to the post-professional Master of Architecture and the Master of Planning degrees. Admission to both degree programs is required.

Dual Degree in Heritage Conservation and Planning: a 60-unit program leading to the Master of Heritage Conservation and Master of Planning degrees. Admission to both degree programs is required.

Dual Degree in Landscape Architecture and Planning: a 82- or 108-unit program leading to the Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Planning degrees. Admission to both degree programs is required.

Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture: This program is designed to prepare individuals for university level teaching and professional research and for leadership positions in industry and professional architectural practice.

Certificate in Architecture: The focus of this program is on understanding the broad and complex role of architecture within the urban and cultural context. Studies focus on cities and architecture throughout the world where conditions of increasing density, environmental challenges and cultural complexity require design initiatives that support amenity, sustainability and cultural meaning. The certificate is open to graduate students not pursuing a Master of Architecture degree.

Certificate in Building Science: This program is intended as a supplementary credential for students enrolled in graduate course work in architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation, urban planning or related disciplines, and also for practicing design and planning professionals with undergraduate or graduate degrees and related experience.

Certificate in Heritage Conservation: This program is for those who wish to augment their current work in heritage conservation, and for graduate students who wish to obtain a complementary specialization in conjunction with their degree.

Certificate in Landscape Architecture: This program provides an opportunity for professionals and graduate students to develop understandings and skills related to the basic subjects inherent in the field of landscape architecture.

Certificate in Sustainable Design: This certificate provides students with the tools necessary to understand and quantify sources of energy use in buildings and landscapes and to use design of natural and man-made systems to reduce their energy use. Environmental, economic and socially responsible solutions will be explored through the course work.

National Architecture Accrediting Board Statement

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, three-year or two-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 require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The University of Southern California School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

Bachelor of Architecture (160 undergraduate credits)

Master of Architecture (pre-professional degree + 64 graduate credits)

Master of Architecture (non-professional degree + 102 graduate credits)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2022

National Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board Statement

The USC Master of Landscape Architecture first professional curricula (three-year and two-year curricula) are accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). The LAAB conditions of accreditation (including the student performance criteria) are posted on the ASLA Website, asla.org/AccreditationLAAB.aspx.

Other Programs

Exploration of Architecture Summer Program for High School Students

The School of Architecture offers two- and four-week programs for high school students (must have completed ninth grade by the start of the program) who have no previous experience but are interested in architecture. The program, which began in 1983, is particularly rewarding for students who are contemplating a career in architecture. However, all students find the exposure to the unique problem-solving methodologies of architecture a benefit regardless of their final career choice. Living on campus in a USC residence hall, high school students experience what it is like to be a university student. They participate in studio classes with professional critics and present their ideas in reviews attended by parents and friends.

The program also exposes them, through case studies, sketching exercises and field trips, to some of the most dramatic and impressive historical and modern architecture of Los Angeles. International students have especially appreciated the opportunity to pursue this summer program of study that is not highly dependent on English language skills.

Obtain program details by visiting the School of Architecture Website or by calling (800) 281-8616.

The Building Science Program in Civil Engineering

The Sonny Astani Department of Civil Engineering offers an undergraduate program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with an emphasis in building science. The curriculum includes most of the work which is required for the major in structures, plus 30 units in architectural studies offered by the School of Architecture. See the USC Viterbi School of Engineering , Civil Engineering section of this catalogue for further information.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

Minor

Master’s Degree

Graduate Certificate

Dual Degree

Doctoral Degree

Architecture (PhD)