The Applied Research in Practice track of the Master of Science in Architecture degree (MS-ARP) is an industry-engaged degree that prepares students for leadership in built environments practices (architecture and allied disciplines) through an advanced, applied research experience- and coursework-based curriculum.

The MS-ARP degree has four key components:

• Foundational Academic Coursework

• Research Practices Internship

• Research Practices Final Project

• Professional Credential Support

Learn more about the Research Practices Program Plan HERE:

When realized in the supportive context of the Consortium for Research Practices, the four key degree components described in this section of the handbook help MS-ARP graduates position themselves as applied research leaders in the built environment industry. 

Foundational Academic Coursework 

The cohort-based MS-ARP research curriculum includes emergent, visual, applied, and fundamental design research tools and methods.

MS-ARP students take 10-12 courses (30-36 credits) over 2-3 academic terms (two semesters and a summer session for concurrent degree students). After establishing a foundation for applied research in practice, you’ll take more advanced coursework which culminates in a final project of your choosing.  

ARCH 5609 Development and Implementation of Research (3 cr)

Research methods and practices covered in this course include traditional scholarly documentation, basic statistical and survey methods as well as AEC-specific topics such as post-occupancy evaluation, performance-based metrics, lean-construction metrics and case-study documentation.

ARCH 5313 Visual Communication Techniques in Architecture (3 cr)

In this required course, you will be developing your ability to operate confidently in the presence of disparate assumptions and conflicting information, as well as your ability to visually represent findings as a research practice.  

ARCH 5630 Practicum: Advanced Issues in Practice (3 cr)

This practicum course explores architectural practice topics at an advanced level, anticipating professional qualification/certification requirements, such as licensure or certification.  

Foundational Academic Coursework 

ARCH 5651 Building Stories (3 cr)

The building stories course is taught by adjunct practitioner faculty and expands your knowledge of professional practice and the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry through case study analysis.  

Research Methods selective course (3 cr)

MS-ARP students take at least one graduate-level research methods course, selecting from: ARCH 5689 Advanced Inclusive Professional Practice (3 cr), DES 8102 Quantitative Research Methods and Data Visualization (3.0 cr), DES 8103 Qualitative Research Methods in Design (3.0 cr), or some other graduate-level research methods course approved by the program director.  

Research Interest electives (0-6 cr)

Depending on your degree plan and in consultation with the program director, you may take additional courses to round out your degree and in support of your research interests.

Research Practices Internship  

MS-ARP students work in award-winning consortium firms as a requirement of the degree program. The Research Practices Internship (RPI) is a paid position where you gain experience with research in professional practice and maximize work experience hours. Your work helps bridge the knowledge gap between academia and practice.  Students complete at least one RPI that lasts two semesters or more. 

Most of your internship hours are dedicated to pursuing an applied research project identified broadly within the Consortium for Research Practices and more specifically by the consortium firm in consultation with the program director. Some internship hours may be directed toward your professional development goals, e.g. toward experience hours in a particular work setting. The firm and the program director also help identify a subject-matter expert in the research area to advise the student as the faculty advisor. Students work to meet and finalize one primary faculty advisor in consultation with the Program Director. Consultations with secondary advisors are based on student, consortium member and research topic needs.

Regardless, the RPI is a sustained learning experience where you are mentored by practice leaders and advised by faculty advisors. To the extent possible, students intern with a consortium industry partner over multiple academic terms, e.g. for each semester and the summer between semesters while completing degree requirements.  

ARCH 5688 Built Environments Research Practices Colloquium (1 cr)

Each semester, alongside your internship, you will enroll in the Built Environments Research Practices Colloquium as a co-requisite, support course. The colloquium centers on local or regional practice-related issues that are emerging within the Consortium for Research Practices. The colloquium is an opportunity to strengthen research networks in academia and practice and provides a structure to directly link academic coursework with research practices work in the consortium firm.

Research Practices Internship  

ROLES:

For each Research Practices internship placement students will work with the following people and groups:

ARCH 5688 Instructor: The instructor of the Arch 5688 colloquium structures the semester to support the cohort or MS-ARP students in making progress, provides opportunity and structure for peer-review, organizes mid-semester and end-of-semester review sessions to provide feedback on all Research Practices internship work and Applied Research-in-Practice, work being conducted by the students.

Firm Mentor (required for each student): From the firm where the student is placed in a Research Practices internship. Responsible for student's progress in the practice-applied research to meet Consortimum Member's research goals and for supervising and signing off on AXP or other work experience hours. This role may be fulfilled by more than one person. Firm mentor also help students navigate all required Human Resources employment processes.

Faculty Advisor (required for each student): Subject matter expert in the research topic who acts as the faculty advisor and meets with the student regularly to ensure progress and rigor during the Research Practices Internship. 

Program Director role for RP Internship: Consults with the Consortium Firm to identify research topics, aligns student interest and skills with research topics identified by Consortium, manages the match process between firms and students, acts as resource for firms and students, should any questions arise before or during the internship. 

ISSS Advisor: International Student resource to complete all work authorization procedures and compliance with ICE and USCIS rules prior to commencement of Research Practice Internship.

Learn more about the Research Practices Internship HERE:

• Planning, Calendars and Milestones

• Policies and Expectations // Research Practices Internship

Final Research (Capstone) Project

A significant and exciting component of the MS-ARP degree program is your academic capstone experience, where you will propose and realize an applied research project as a culmination of your MS-ARP degree.  

The capstone project will iteratively develop from individual interests and your “personal passions” around emerging issues in the design and construction of the built environment.  In support of this work, you will enroll in two courses (one each semester of the final project) which will help structure and contextualize your individual project. While your faculty advisor and program director will need to approve your capstone project work plan, there is considerable latitude in the applied research practices topics you might focus on, and how you might frame your research agenda for each semester.  

ARCH 5686 Research Practices Final Project: Research into Practice (4 cr)

The “research into practice” course provides a forum for understanding applied research in the design and building industry — its current state, its trajectories and trends.  As context for their own final project, each student will apply this knowledge to a regionally based commercial or non-profit practice in the building industry, assessing the firm’s research capacity, mapping its potential in context of innovative precedents and suggesting future growth.  The work of individual students adds to a collective knowledge base around research in practice settings.

Research Practices Final Project

ARCH 5687 Research Practices Final Project: Practice into Research

(4 cr)

The “practice into research” course builds on the previous semester’s understanding of the state of research in the building industry. In this course, you will develop a single case study related to your capstone project and in a comparative context of contemporary practice. As with the previous semester, the work of individual students in the cohort contributes to a collective knowledge base of research project best practices and development of industry-wide metrics and standards. 

ROLES:

ARCH 5686 and ARCH 5687 Instructor: The instructor of the Capstone project structures the semester to support the cohort or MS-ARP students in making progress towards their final research project, provides opportunity and structure for peer-review, organizes mid-semester and end-of-semester review sessions with guests to provide feedback to the students.

Faculty Advisor (encouraged): Subject matter expert in the research topic who acts as the faculty advisor and meets with the student regularly to ensure progress and rigor during the Final Research Project. 

Learn more about the Research Practices Capstone Project HERE:

• Planning, Calendars and Milestones

• Policies and Expectations // Capstone Project

Professional Credential Support 

All MS-ARP students make progress toward professional development goals with specific objectives for professional credentials, such as licensure or certification, as part of the degree program.  Students are required to maximize experience hours towards licensure and certification through internship experiences.

Concurrent M.Arch students, for example, might work toward architectural licensure and registration, such as Architectural Experience Program (AXP), while others may pursue qualifications in an allied field, such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certification or work toward National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exams.  The MS-ARP program director can help you shape your professional credential goals.

Regardless of the professional path you pursue, the MS-ARP program and its consortium members help structure and support your credential goals primarily through its internship requirement and related coursework.  Besides sharing advice, professional mentors in your Research Practices Internship can supervise and document work experience hours you may need for licensure.  By working alongside our consortium members (and including some academic work), MS-ARP students pursuing architecture licensure, for example, typically earn more than 900 hours toward required work experiences.  

Professional Credential Support 

ARCH 5630 Practicum: Advanced Issues in Practice

This issues-based course also supports professional development, serving as a forum where students discuss topics that relate to professional registration, licensure and certification, and where MS-ARP students participate in peer study sessions leading up to their selected exams. 

Learn more about professional credentials HERE (Policies and Expectations // Professional Credentials).