Students currently enrolled in the M.Arch. program.
M.Arch. in Architecture
Explore, build, and lead the profession of architecture.
The professional M.Arch. degree prepares students to become leaders in the profession of architecture. Students enroll in a two-year core curriculum focused on techniques, principles, histories, theories, and technologies related to the discipline of architecture. In the final year of the program, the students develop a thesis project.
Program Application Deadline
The deadline for applications for AY 2023–24 is January 15, 2023.
To be assured full consideration, please apply by this deadline. Review individual program descriptions for details on program and admission requirements.
The professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) degree is designed for students with undergraduate baccalaureate degrees in fields other than architecture and for those holding a non-professional baccalaureate degree in architecture. The three-year (seven-semester) program helps prepare students to become leaders in the profession of architecture. Students enroll in a two-year core curriculum that helps prepare them with techniques, principles, histories, theories, and technologies related to the discipline of architecture. In the final year of the program the students develop a thesis project.
The M.Arch. program is a companion to our more than century-old accredited Bachelor of Architecture program and enjoys the curricular explorations and experiences that have gone into designing and maintaining a cutting-edge professional architectural education. The program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Effective January 2020, the M.Arch. is designated as a STEM program with the CIP code 04.0902.
In its 2019 accreditation visit, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) praised Penn State’s M.Arch. program by pointing out that four accreditation conditions are met “with distinction”: (A2) Design Thinking Skills, (A7) History and Global Culture, (C1) Research, and (C3) Integrative Design.
Many U.S. states and territories require professional licensure/certification to be employed. If you plan to pursue employment in a licensed profession after completing this program, please visit the Professional Licensure/Certification Disclosures by State interactive map.
M.Arch. Students
Current Cohort
Elliot Brau
Dillon Brown
Kimberly Cunningham
Allison Faux
Anjali Gopalakrishnan
Aysan Jafarzadeh
Ciera Jones
Tariq Kenanah
Lara Makhlouf
Subham Malpani
Personal website | szm6474@psu.edu
Elizabeth McIntosh
Hiranshi Patel
Asfhan Pathan
Donald Reisch
Nathalie Vargas
Abby Wallar
Erica Wunschel
Mengyao Zhang
Guides + Resources
M.Arch. Student Awards
- Darshika Agrawal: 2021 Jawaid Haider Award for Design Excellence in Graduate Studies
- Madhubala Ayyamperumal: 2018 SOM Women’s Initiative Shadowing Opportunity Award
- Shannon Capone: 2018 Kossman Award Winner
- Quinn Pullen: 2017 ASLA Honor Award, Communications Category
- Christopher Hazel: 2017 Penn State Professional Master’s Excellence Award
- Ambikesh Mishra: 2017 Lyceum Fellowship Competition – 2nd Prize
- Guangmao (Forrest) Xu: 2017 Tritschler Prize – Merit Award
- Shokofeh Darbari: 2016 AIA Pennsylvania’s Student Award for Exceptional Scholastic Achievement

Alumni Spotlight
My Penn State education has influenced my career by developing me into a global citizen, through exposure to different people, resources, industries, cultures, and places.

Alumni Spotlight
Samantha Josaphat
B.Arch. in Architecture 2012Samantha Josaphat is an architect and the founder of STUDIO 397 Architecture. Part of the mere 0.3 percent of black female architects registered in the United States, she is the 397th living black female architect to be licensed. Samantha entered the Penn State Architecture program in 2007, and by 2012, she had traveled to ten countries, become a member of the Arts and Architecture Student Council, and founded the Penn State student chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS). While at Penn State she built herself a valuable network of resources that continues to shape her path to success. Samantha is the 2019 president of the New York chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects. Learn more about how Samantha’s firm is impacting the narrative of black female architects in this video.













Faculty Spotlight
Pep Avilés
Stuckeman Career Development Professor in Design
Pep Avilés is a historian, architect, and professor specializing in postwar and contemporary architecture. His academic research explores the impact media had on the materiality of architecture and the redefinition of modernism after World War II.
Avilés’ work has been sponsored by the Canadian Center for Architecture, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and the Getty Research Center, and has been exhibited at the Centre de Cultura Contemporànea de Barcelona (2017) and the Oslo Architecture Triennale (2019), among others. He is the founding editor of the journal Faktur: Documents and Architecture.

News from A&A
Stuckeman student named Western Reserve Herb Society Scholarship recipient
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Olivia Krum, an incoming fourth-year landscape architecture student in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School at Penn State, has been named the recipient of
Architecture doctoral candidate earns scientific excellence award for research
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nastaran Tebyanian, an architecture doctoral candidate in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School, recently won a Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture Scientific
Read MorePenn State wins third place at Solar Decathlon Design Challenge
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team comprised of engineering and architecture students from Penn State brought home third place in the Retrofit Housing Division of the U.S. Department of Energy
Read More