Call for applications: MArch, MLA, MUD + joint and dual-degree programs

Applications are now open for Washington University in St. Louis’s Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Full-tuition scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships are also available, and will be one of the topics covered at two upcoming virtual open houses. 

As part of a tier-one research institution, the Sam Fox School’s Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design provides a rigorous academic environment where students develop a love of craft and the ability to move fluidly between digital and analog platforms. Design studios in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design are organized around cumulative, collective experiences.  

The programs focus on design, environmental ethics, historical and global perspectives, innovation, and technological fluency, preparing students to be leaders in their fields. Through critical thinking, research, and cutting-edge programs, WashU graduates have the means to improve our world. 

Curriculum 
WashU’s STEM-designated MArch, MLA, and MUD programs center around four areas of expertise: discipline-based design practice, technology and the arts, social engagement, and resilient cities.  

Graduate students can earn a dual degree between programs or a joint degree in business administration, computer science, public health, social work, or construction management. The MArch program offers both a 3-year curriculum and a 2-year curriculum for advanced students. Students may also pursue an MS in Advanced Architectural Design or an MS in Architectural Studies. 

See student work from WashU graduate architecture programs here.  

Scholarships and fellowships
In the 2021–22 academic year, 94% of graduate architecture students received financial support. Full-tuition and partial-tuition scholarships, fellowships, and financial support are available, including 10 full-tuition Sam Fox Ambassador fellowships awarded annually. Students may also be awarded specialized opportunities for travel and research.   

Faculty and visiting lecturers
WashU’s core faculty, led by chairs Mónica Rivera (architecture) and Derek Hoeferlin (landscape architecture + urban design), have pioneered research in building technology, cultural arts, housing, history, and urban sustainability. Each semester, the Sam Fox School engages with architects, designers, and researchers from around the world through lectures, workshops, and studio instruction.  

Fall 2022 visiting lecturers include Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Todd Gannon, Annette Helle, David Jacobs & Brittany Utting, Maria Lisogorskaya, Peter Osler, Thomas Phifer, and Hilary Sample. Internationally acclaimed Thai-based landscape architect Kotchakorn “Kotch” Voraakhom is designer-in-residence at the Sam Fox School for the 2022-23 academic year through a partnership with the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.  

Facilities
LEED Platinum Weil Hall is the hub for WashU graduate architecture programs. With loft-style studios, it provides ready access to numerous resources and spaces for making, including a digital fabrication studio, textile design studio, digital media labs, a lighting studio, wood and metal shops, and more. Through Fox Fridays, a weekly workshop series, students can explore new processes, tools, and materials to develop hybridized practices of creative output that transcend discipline, medium, and experience. Graduate studios are adjacent to the School’s Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, which has a world-class permanent collection and hosts major exhibitions by today’s leading artists and designers. 

Virtual open houses
Interested students are encouraged to attend one of the virtual open houses on November 4 and November 16 to learn more about graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design at WashU’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.  

Attendees will hear from WashU faculty; take a virtual tour of the studios and facilities; and learn more about the curriculum, research, and global opportunities, as well as scholarship and fellowship programs, available to graduate students.   

Registration for the open houses is required. To register, click here. 

Application deadline 
Applications to the WashU’s graduate architecture programs are due January 15. To learn more about the programs and to apply, visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu.