Architecture BSArch

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Program Director: Phil Gallegos
Office: CU Denver Building, 320AA
Telephone: 303-315-2083
E-mail: phil.gallegos@ucdenver.edu

The College of Architecture and Planning offers a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree exclusively on the downtown Denver campus. The city of Denver provides a rich environment to explore a diverse historic and cultural world that includes multiple approaches to solving urban and building problems. The degree is a “pre-professional” degree, which will provide fast track entry into the accredited Master of Architecture degree that is required for licensure in the profession. This degree provides a scientific and liberal education in design theory of the built world and its practice. Our graduates will have significant grounding in the science of building and the practice of architecture in a rapidly evolving profession. Our educational goal is to engender active and creative making of architecture along with critical thinking skills. Our graduates will have employment options in entry level architectural practices or related fields of urban design, historic preservation, design-build, construction, and even urban planning; or the opportunity to enter any accredited graduate program in the country.

Program Requirements

Satisfaction of all the following:

CU Denver undergraduate core:        37 semester hours
Architecture core:                            71 semester hours
General studies electives :                12 semester hours
Total:                                             120 semester hours

CU Denver Undergraduate Core Curriculum

The faculty of the College of Architecture and Planning, the Business School, the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have established a core curriculum for undergraduate students. All undergraduate students are required to complete the undergraduate core curriculum independent of their college or major.

The undergraduate core curriculum for CU Denver is outlined in the CU Undergraduate Core and gtPATHWAYS Curriculum segment of the catalog. The core requirements for BS in Architecture students are specified in the section labeled “Specific Program Requirements-College of Architecture and Planning.”

The undergraduate core curriculum seeks to provide all baccalaureate students with basic intellectual competencies in English, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, behavioral sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts. Furthermore, the core curriculum promotes an awareness of cultural diversity and international perspective. The majority of the core curriculum is designed to be completed during a student’s freshman and sophomore years in order to provide the foundation for specific training in a student’s major discipline.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

Intellectual Competencies

• English, 6 semester hours
• Mathematics, 4 semester hours

Knowledge Areas, 21 semester hours total

• Biological and Physical Sciences, 9 semester hours
• Humanities, 3 semester hours
• Arts, 3 semester hours
• Behavioral Sciences, 3 semester hours
• Social Sciences, 3 semester hours

Cultural Diversity, 3 semester hours total

International Perspectives, 3 semester hours total

Total: 37 Hours

Foreign Language Proficiency

BS Architecture students are required to demonstrate a minimum level of proficiency in one foreign language. This requirement is met through completion of one of the following:

• A second year (level II) high school course with minimum grade of C- or 1.7
• A second semester level college course (1020) with a minimum grade of C- or 1.7
• Satisfactory proficiency testing. Contact the CU Denver Department of Modern Languages at 303-556-4893 for details

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Architecture Core Curriculum

Design Studies

Total: 27 Hours

Cultural Studies

Total: 9 Hours

Technical Studies

Revised as of 8/5/2013

Total: 18 Hours

Architecture Electives

Total 17 Hours

Architecture Core Total: 71 Hours

Maximum Units per Term

The normal scholastic load of an undergraduate architecture student is 15 semester hours, with a maximum of 18 hours allowed during the fall/spring semesters and 12 hours allowed during the summer session. Hours carried concurrently in the Division of Continuing Education, University of Colorado Boulder, or the CU Denver Extended Studies Programs, whether in classes or through correspondence, are included in the student’s term load.

Repeating Courses

A failed course (grade of F) may be repeated; however, the F will be included in the GPA and will appear on the transcript. Students must earn at least a C- grade in required architecture core courses. Architecture courses must be repeated if the student earns less than a C- grade.

Courses from Other Institutions

BS Architecture students must have the written approval of the BS Architecture director or undergraduate academic advisor to register for courses (excluding MSUD pooled courses) offered by other institutions, including other University of Colorado locations. Credit will not be given for courses taken without approval. Grades of C or better must be earned to receive the undergraduate bachelor degree credit. Generally, only non-architecture electives or lower-division, non-architecture requirements are acceptable for transfer from other institutions once a student has been admitted to the BS Architecture Program. Students who, after admission to the college, take more than 12 semester hours from another institution, must reapply for admission to the college as transfer students and must meet the current admission requirements.

Graduate-Level Courses

With prior written approval of the BS Architecture Director, students may take a maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate-level non-architecture elective credits. Students must earn grades of B or better in graduate courses to apply the credits toward BS Architecture degree requirements.

Pass/Fail

Only internships, independent studies and non-architecture elective courses may be taken pass/fail. Required architecture courses (including the campus core) may not be taken pass/fail. A maximum of 6 hours pass/fail credit may be applied toward the BS Architecture degree. Courses taken in excess of the maximum will not be applied toward degree credit. Pass/fail determination must be made within the posted deadlines (at census dates) and may not be rescinded (unless approved by the undergraduate committee).

Independent Study

Junior or senior architecture students desiring to work beyond regular course coverage may take variable credit courses (1–3 semester hours) as non-architecture electives under the direction of an instructor who approves the project, but the student must have the appropriate approval before registering. A maximum of 3 semester hours of independent study course work may be taken in any one semester; a maximum of 6 semester hours may be applied toward degree requirements. An independent study request form must be signed by the student, the instructor, the program director and the director of advising and admissions.

**Graduation Requirements (revised as of 11/14/2013)

Total Credits. The Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree requires a total of 120 semester hours.

**Undergraduate Residency Requirement. Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours from CU Denver.

Undergraduate Honors. Upon recommendation of the faculty, students who demonstrate superior scholarship are given special recognition at graduation. Students must achieve an overall University of Colorado GPA of 3.3 and a GPA of 3.5 in all architecture courses taken at the University of Colorado to be considered for cum laude. Those who achieve an overall University of Colorado GPA of 3.5 and a GPA of 3.7 in all architecture courses taken at the University of Colorado will be considered for magna cum laude. Those who achieve a 3.7 overall GPA and a 3.85 GPA in all architecture courses will be considered for summa cum laude.

Filing for Graduation. A senior audit is completed on all students who have completed 90 or more semester hours. Students must file an undergraduate candidacy form and diploma card and request a graduation evaluation prior to registering for their final semester. Failure to do so will delay graduation.

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