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School of Architecture
Marywood’s architecture programs—undergraduate and graduate—recognize that architecture, both as a discipline and as a profession, engages the realms of art and science. Buildings and other physical spaces created by architects combine design innovation and aesthetic with the laws of gravity and the requirements of constructability. Architects create unique and highly inventive realities that emphasize organization, proportion, and beauty, as well as material properties, budgets and structural systems. Marywood's new Construction Management Program, beginning in Fall 2023, will offer students the opportunity to learn about buildings and construction alongside Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Business students. These partner programs closely mirror the collaboration found in the profession and will enable students to collaborate with others who steward the built environment from idea to execution.
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Accreditations
Marywood University proudly offers the only accredited architecture and interior architecture programs in northeast Pennsylvania.
Marywood University School of Architecture's Bachelor of Architecture Program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
107 S. West St., Suite 707, Alexandria, VA 22314 | t: 202.783.2007 | e: info@naab.org
The Interior Architecture Program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA 20190-5248 | (703) 437-0700 Phone | (703) 437-6312 Fax |
info@arts-accredit.org
Our graduates are eligible to take the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam. While Pennsylvania does not license interior designers and therefore does not require the NCIDQ certification to practice interior designer, most other states do. View more information about interior design licensure in the US.
About The School of Architecture Department
OUR MISSION: PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN A LIBERAL ARTS SETTING
At the Marywood University School of Architecture, our mission is to educate a new generation of architects and interior architects who engage the world passionately and intelligently. As a professional school in a liberal arts university, our programs set a rigorous studio-based curriculum within an educational environment that encourages critical thinking, collaboration, and speculation.
OUR VALUES: ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCIPLINED PRACTICE
From interior objects to urban environments, we value architecture as a disciplined practice -- the means by which we engage the world at a range of scales with conceptual and formal clarity, disciplinary consciousness, social agency, and material speculation. We believe that architectural education offers a way of making and thinking that enables our students and graduates to do good in the world. Our shared values allow differences between and among our programs to become opportunities for productive exchange, collaboration, and growth.
School of Architecture Faculty
Our programs are housed in an innovative LEED-certified facility that was once the University’s gymnasium and natatorium. In-house, we have a digital fabrication lab, wood, and metal fabrication shops, and advanced computer and plotting labs.
Marywood University School of Architecture trains students to think critically and creatively. This training gives students a number of opportunities within the field of architecture and in the broader design world.
Architecture
The websites below offer an array of information to assist in career development:
- NCARB.org
- AIA.org
- AIA.org
- ACSA-ARCH.org
- The Emerging Professional’s Companion
- ARCHCareers.org
- The NCARB Handbook for Interns and Architects
- Toward an Evolution of Studio Culture
Licensure
For the student interested in becoming a licensed architect, we offer access to information and guidance on the next step in the process of licensure, working as an intern architect as required by National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Before taking the Architectural Registration Exams (ARE) graduates of National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) accredited programs are expected to work with a licensed architects or firms to gain experience in pre-design, design, project management, and practice management. This internship period typically lasts three years. While the School of Architecture does not place students in internship positions, which are paid positions, we do teach students about requirements and help them navigate the process of finding their own internship opportunity.
For more information on the process of licensure please visit: http://www.ncarb.org
Current students can contact IDP campus coordinator, Assistant Professor Margaret McManus, mcmanus@marywood.edu.
The Architect Registration Examination Pass Rates
The Architect Registration Examination (ARE) assesses a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities and is used by all U.S. registration boards and the Canadian provincial architectural associations as the examination for those seeking architectural licensing.
In addition to the familiar role of architects as designers of buildings and city-scapes, architecture and interior architecture graduates (including those with the B.E.D.A.) are re-shaping the profession by expanding traditional employment opportunities in these areas:
- Digital Visualization
- Product Design
- Construction Management
- Real Estate Development
- Interior Graphics
- Historic Preservation
- Architectural Photography
- Urban Design/Planning
Interior Architecture
Registration Exam
Students pursuing a career as a certified Interior Designer must go through a similar internship and examination process as a registered architect. The process of being certified is regulated by National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). Students are required to gain work experience as uncertified interior designers for approximately two years. Students are then expected to pass tests covering building systems, construction standards, codes, professional practice, space planning, lighting, egress, life safety, systems integration, millwork, and design. While the School of Architecture does not place students in internship positions, which are paid positions, we do teach students about requirements and help them navigate the process of finding their own internship opportunity.
For more information on the process of certification please visit: http://www.ncidq.org/
Current students can contact NCIDQ campus coordinator, Dean James Sullivan, jimsullivan@marywood.edu.
We encourage our students to engage fully in the life of the university. Our students participate in collegiate athletics, academic honors programs, and student government while pursuing their degrees.
American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
Women in Architecture
Travel Opportunities
Field trips and study abroad opportunities.
Architecture Kit
Required equipment and materials required for all first year students in the School of Architecture.
Computer Laptop
Laptop computers are required for all architecture and interior architecture students at the start of the spring semester, first year.
The School of Architecture requires first-year architecture and interior architecture students to have a laptop computer, as specified below, for program coursework in their spring semester of first year. Our laptop requirement ensures that students are suitably equipped with a flexible, portable means of computing in the classroom, dormitory and/or apartment, and in the studio to work on digital-based coursework.
We have selected PC laptop computers rather than Macs because they best suit the University's PC-oriented computing platforms across the campus and because the majority of architectural offices are currently PC-based. The School's required Digital Media courses have all PC-based instruction.
Students are required to have the minimum specification noted below. Computers without these specifications will not be able to effectively run the software taught in courses or perform task required for design studio and other classes.
Minimum specifications:
- 2.7 Ghz multi–Core CPU
- 16+ GB RAM (Memory)
- 512+ GB SSD
- 4 GB Video RAM
The University Bookstore offers laptop computers that meet the School of Architecture specifications.
Student Organization
The School of Architecture has a student organization for school governance and professional development.
