Master of Architecture Program
To be eligible for admission to the program, candidates should hold an undergraduate degree in Architecture (BArch) from METU or an equivalent institution, and comply with the admission requirements and criteria given below. The program lasts a minimum of four semesters. Prior to the submission of the Masters Thesis, candidates must have selected a thesis supervisor who aligns with their research interests and complete a coursework of a total minimum of 24 credits (6 elective courses approved by the Department/Program of Architecture).
The graduate program is involved with processes concerning the creation, representation, application and dissemination of knowledge and offers various graduate theory and research courses, as well as graduate design research studios. Elective courses cover a wide range of research interests and orientations supported by the diversity and the versatility of the staff profile, with extensive teaching experience both in studio and theory courses.
The
MArch program endows the graduate student with the knowledge of the social, political, economic, geographic and professional contexts of architecture and an awareness of the social and environmental consequences of design decisions.Graduate candidates are expected to acquire an adequate knowledge of the history and theories of architecture and related arts, technologies and human sciences, a critical awareness of current paradigms, issues and themes of present day architectural debates and the ability to use them in individual research.
The program’s resources have recently been mobilized and restructured under different research tracks in order to foster the existing strengths of the program and to nurture and encourage the development of emerging research agendas and structures brought forth by new priorities and challenges in architectural research. Built upon a clear diagnosis and awareness of global educational and research priorities and emergent fields, these non-compulsory research tracks offer graduate students the possibility to pursue their individual research agendas along different research orientations offered by the Department. The program is structured around an integrated curriculum which links and networks both the different tracks of the MArch program and the four graduate programs of the Department to encourage the involvement of the graduate student with heterogenous research, learning and design communities. Such contexts provide for the search and production of knowledges and the application of design skills in new and unfamiliar environments, which in turn promote the sharing of methodologies or the creation of new approaches, methods and techniques, the development of new know-hows and fields of expertise, therefore new academic and professional connections outside the candidate’s main networks. Flexibility within and across the programs is hence encouraged to contribute to the improvement of quality and effectiveness in education, leading to adaptive curricula, which prove especially significant within the context of the currently operating reform in architectural education to align with the goals of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area.
Existing and Evolving Research Tracks:
ARCHITECTURE, THEORY AND DESIGN
- ARCHITECTURE, SOCIETY AND CULTURE
- ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND RESEARCH BY DESIGN, ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STRATEGIES
URBAN ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE: GREEN DESIGN, COMMUNITY DESIGN AND UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURE
- LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
- LANDSCAPE RESEARCH
COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN
International Joint programs:
The cultural diversification of the learning community is encouraged through the international student body joining the program, and also by the institution of mobility and exchange programs and partnerships with other academic communities.The METU-TU Delft Dual Degree Masters Program in Computational Design and Urban Architecture has been instituted for the international networking of the graduate program with leading universities in the field.
Qualifications and competences of the graduates
Graduate candidates are expected to develop skills in the design and planning of creative research projects and in the application of their problem-solving skills in new and unfamiliar environments and in multi-disciplinary contexts related with the built environment.Candidates should display outstanding communication skills in both written, oral and graphic forms and the ability to work with autonomy, while also to collaborate, network and build relationships both at individual and institutional levels, with colleagues, peers and various scholar communities from different professional backgrounds. A good level of English language, as well as time management and organizational skills are considered essential to the successful completion of the program.
Dr. Zeynep Mennan
Associate Professor of Architecture
Program Director
