About this Program
- College: Design, Construction and Planning
- Degree: Bachelor of Design | BDes, a preprofessional degree
- Credits for Degree: 120
To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college, and major requirements.
School Information
The School of Architecture recognizes design as a synthesis of thinking, analyzing and making — an iterative process that engages, issues of space, historical precedent, sustainability, ecology, urbanity, landscape, built-form, and construction toward innovation. The School of Architecture is uniquely positioned to respond to these issues by deploying studio based design methodologies in collaboration with a new generation of experts in engineering, ecology, business, anthropology, energy, fine arts, medicine, and construction.
More Info
CONTACT
Email | 352.294.1477
P.O. BOX 115702
331 ARCHITECTURE BUILDING
1480 Inner Road
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-5702
Map
Curriculum
Many students supplement their education with study-abroad and off-site learning opportunities in Vicenza, Asia, Mexico, Nantucket and more. An extensive library, modern computer labs, woodshop, 3D fabrication lab and beautiful college environment facilitate creativity. Students regularly exhibit their models and drawings in the college's gallery.
The studio sequence progressively and thoroughly explores various formal, conceptual and technical considerations and how they interrelate in the creation of space. The ideas and experience that students gain in design studio are reinforced and amplified by support courses in history, theory, structural tectonics, building technology and construction materials and methods.
Field trips to broaden and expand students' educational experience are required and will be paid for by students. Students may also be required to attend state and national professional meetings.
The School of Architecture's preprofessional Bachelor of Design program prepares students for graduate school studies toward the accredited two-year Master of Architecture degree or for jobs in private practice.
National Architectural Accrediting Board
Most states require architects to hold accredited degrees. Two types of degrees accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) are the Bachelor of Architecture (5 years) and the Master of Architecture (1, 2 or 3 years depending on institution). Both degrees are structured for registration and licensure. UF's four-year preprofessional degree is not accredited by the NAAB; the two-year Master of Architecture degree is an accredited degree.
Critical Tracking records each student’s progress in courses that are required for progress toward each major. Please note the critical-tracking requirements below on a per-semester basis.
Equivalent critical-tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.
Semester 1
Semester 2
- Complete DCP 1003, if not completed in Semester 1 1
- Complete ARC 1302 and ARC 1702
- 2.75 UF GPA required
Semester 3
Semester 4
- Complete ARC 2304 and ARC 2491C
- Compete MAC 1147 and PHY 2053
- Complete pin-up requirement
- 2.75 UF GPA required
Semester 5
Semester 6
Semester 7
Semester 8
- Complete ARC 4323
1 Summer transfer students should complete DCP 1003 by Semester 4.
Students are required to complete a Quest 1 course in semester 1 or 2, and a Quest 2 course in semester 3 or 4.
To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold. These courses must be completed by the terms as listed above in the Critical Tracking criteria.
This semester plan represents an example progression through the major. Actual courses and course order may be different depending on the student's academic record and scheduling availability of courses. Prerequisites still apply.
| Semester One | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ARC 1301 | Architectural Design 1 (Critical Tracking) | 4 |
| ARC 1701 | Architectural History 1 (Critical Tracking; Gen Ed Humanities and International) | 3 |
| DCP 1003 | Creating our Built Environment (Critical Tracking) | 1 |
| State Core Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| Gen Ed Mathematics | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Semester Two | ||
| Quest 1 (Gen Ed Humanities) | 3 | |
| ARC 1302 | Architectural Design 2 (Critical Tracking) | 4 |
| ARC 1702 | Architectural History 2 (Critical Tracking; Gen Ed Humanities and International) | 3 |
| Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences | 3 | |
| Gen Ed Composition; Writing Requirement | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Semester Three | ||
| ARC 2490C | Introduction to Building Technologies (Critical Tracking) | 3 |
| ARC 2201 | Theory of Architecture 1 (Critical Tracking; Gen Ed Humanities) | 3 |
| ARC 2303 | Architectural Design 3 (Critical Tracking) | 5 |
| MAC 1147 | Precalculus Algebra and Trigonometry (Critical Tracking; State Core Gen Ed Mathematics) 1 | 4 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Semester Four | ||
| Quest 2 (Gen Ed Physical, Biological, or Social and Behavioral Sciences) | 3 | |
| ARC 2304 | Architectural Design 4 (Critical Tracking) | 5 |
| ARC 2491C | Integrated Building Technology 1 (Critical Tracking) | 3 |
| PHY 2053 | Physics 1 (Critical Tracking; State Core Gen Ed Physical Sciences) 1 | 4 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Semester Five | ||
| ARC 3320 | Architectural Design 5 (Critical Tracking) | 6 |
| ARC 3492C | Integrated Building Technology 2 (Critical Tracking) | 6 |
| ARC 3743 | Architectural History 3 (Critical Tracking) | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Semester Six | ||
| ARC 3493C | Integrated Building Technology 3 (Critical Tracking) | 6 |
| ARC 3321 | Architectural Design 6 (Critical Tracking) | 6 |
| State Core Gen Ed Humanities | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Semester Seven | ||
| ARC 4220 | Architectural Theory 2 (Critical Tracking) | 3 |
| ARC 4322 | Architectural Design 7 | 6 |
| ARC 4494C | Integrated Building Technology 4 | 3 |
| Elective 3 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Semester Eight | ||
| Select one: | 3 | |
| Building Information Modeling 2 | ||
Elective 3 |
||
| ARC 4323 | Architectural Design 8 | 6 |
| State Core Gen Ed; Writing Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective 3 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
- 1
The School of Architecture requires students to complete MAC 1147 and PHY 2053 before Semester 5. Due to the rigorous nature of design studio, students should complete these courses during the Summer semesters. MAC 2233 is recommended before graduating because of the admissions requirements of some graduate programs.
- 2
The School of Architecture strongly recommends taking ARC 4310C as part of Semester 8, as BIM systems have become commonplace within the architecture profession.
- 3
Any 3000-level or higher academic course, any 1000-level or higher foreign language where the student is not a native speaker and where the course is taken at an SUS institution, or any course sequence toward a minor.
This program is limited access. At the end of semester 4, students will be selected according to a competitive ranking of all applicants by overall GPA, architectural GPA and faculty evaluation of design quality in the annual pin-up exhibits.
The Bachelor of Design requires students to demonstrate and to understand the creative design process and associated skills as they relate to problem solving and spatial organization. Students will develop skills in spatial design, graphic communication, materials, technology and environmental issues. Programs analyze existing and projected examples of build form, define fundamental principles and knowledge of the discipline, develop students' skills in the formation and projection of spatial experience and relate creativity to cultural and physical environment.
Before Graduating Students Must
- Follow and achieve national accreditation (NAAB) guidelines for terminal project and portfolio assessments.
- Receive acceptable review and assessment of studio work from faculty, industry professionals and peers.
- Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.
Students in the Major Will Learn to
Student Learning Outcomes | SLOs
Content
- Implement a creative and synthetic design process to produce unique and appropriate architectural proposals.
- Create presentations utilizing appropriate disciplinary vocabulary and graphic skills that support design methodologies.
- Acquire, interpret and analyze information as the basis for design proposals.
Critical Thinking
- Communicate about the discipline to a variety of audiences using a variety of formats and approaches.
- Acquire skills in drawing, electronic imaging, materials and environmental issues.
Communication
- Create conceptually clear and expressive design proposals based on appropriate prioritization of issues, thoughtful analysis of project parameters and critical reflection of schematic ideas.
- Produce designs built upon the relationship between human behavior and perception in relation to the built environment.
Curriculum Map
I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed
| Courses | SLO 1 | SLO 2 | SLO 3 | SLO 4 | SLO 5 | SLO 6 | SLO 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC 3181 | I | R | R | ||||
| ARC 3320 | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A |
| ARC 3321 | R, A | I, R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A |
| ARC 3463 | R | R | R | ||||
| ARC 3503 | R | R | R | ||||
| ARC 3610 | I | I | I | ||||
| ARC 3743 | R | R | |||||
| ARC 4220 | R | R | R | R | |||
| ARC 4322 | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A |
| ARC 4323 | I, R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A | R, A |
| ARC 4620 | R | R | R | R |
Assessment Types
- Projects
- Design studio juries
- Semester studio curriculum reviews