Undergraduate Programs

FPOP is offered in August as a way for incoming first-year students to get a sneak preview of the school. The program provides a brief overview of the School and a four-day whirlwind tour of Boston. Students actively engage with the places visited by asking questions about how the buildings and neighborhoods change over time, how they are used by residents and visitors, and how they interact with their context. Students work on a hands-on project with assistance from current majors. FPOP program information can be found on the Office of the First-Year website.

4.A01 Art and Architecture of the MIT Campus

3 Units, Fall, Instructors: John Ochsendorf & Paul Pettigrew

The MIT campus in Cambridge has been a home to innovative works of art and architecture for more than 100 years. This seminar will introduce students to the art and architecture of MIT and we will learn from each other as we explore the history and design of our campus. Students will also have the opportunity to explore intersections of art, design and technology more broadly and to learn about opportunities to be creative at MIT and beyond. The seminar will meet weekly and we will have student presentations and special guests throughout the semester.

4.A22, Physics of Energy

6 units, Fall, Instructor Les Norford

Ever wonder what makes a motor turn? How a windmill can make electricity? How a flashlight you shake can make light? How the range of an electric go-cart you’ll drive compares to a gasoline-powered cart? In this seminar, we’ll explore all sorts of systems that make, use, and convert electric power. We’ll look at heat engines, electrical generators and motors, and circuits to control these devices. We will work in teams to develop energy experiments. Come if you’re excited to build and want to learn about energy!

Registration for Advising Seminars is through First-Year website.

4.02A Design Studio: How to Design Intensive

9 units, IAP, HASS-A

This class is for students who are intending to major or minor in architecture or design. It is the first in a series of required design studios that Introduces fundamental design principles and combines hands-on practice with design theory. The class meets daily for three weeks during IAP and students receive HASS-A credit. It is the equivalent of 4.021 offered during Fall and Spring terms.

4.021 Design Studio: How to Design

12 units, Fall and Spring, HASS-A, Skylar Tibbits & Paul Pettigrew

This class is for students who are intending to major or minor in architecture or design. It is the first in a series of required design studios that Introduces fundamental design principles and combines hands-on practice with design theory. Develops students’ ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline. Students receive HASS-A credit.

4.110J Design Across Scales and Disciplines

12 units, Spring, HASS-A, Lee Moreau

This subject explores the reciprocal relationship between design, science, and technology. It covers a wide range of topics, such as industrial design, architecture, visualization/perception, design computation, material ecology, environmental design and environmental sustainability. Students examine how transformations in science and technology have influenced design thinking and vice versa, and develop methodologies for design research by collaboration on design solutions to interdisciplinary problems. It satisfies the HASS-A requirement.

4.605 A Global History of Architecture

12 units, Spring, HASS-A, Mark Jarzombek

This popular introductory class is a survey on the history of architecture and urbanism from Ancient Egypt to the present. The course satisfies one of the required classes for the major in Course 4, the HASS-A requirement, and provides a solid background for other classes in architecture history.

4.657 Design: The History of Making Things

12 Units, Spring, HASS-A, CI-H, Timothy Hyde & Kristel Smentek

The class examines themes in the history of design, with emphasis on Euro-American theory and practice in their global contexts. It addresses the historical design of communications, objects, and environments as meaningful processes of decision-making, adaptation, and innovation. It critically assesses the dynamic interaction of design with politics, economics, technology, and culture in the past and at present. Questions the class will pose include: How have processes and products of design been shaped by new technological possibilities? How have constraints, whether material, legislative, or aesthetic, impacted design? What role has design played in globalizing capitalist consumer desire, and how, in turn, has it been mobilized in the service of alternative economic and political systems? What are the ethics of design in the age of inequality and environmental crisis? Finally, how have the meanings we assign to design been mediated by magazines, exhibitions, corporate communication, glossy design monographs, and advertising?

The Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BSA) degree is granted once all 17 General Institute Requirements (GIRs) as well as the department requirements of 192 units have been completed. All architecture majors will take the following core subjects during the sophomore or junior year.

• 4.021 Design Studio: How to Design (FA/SP, HASS-A, 12 units) or
• 4.02A Design Studio: How to Design Intensive (IAP, HASS-A, 9 units)
• 4.022 Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies (FA/SP, 12 units, preq., 4.021 or 4.02A)
• 4.302 Foundations in Art, Design & Spatial Practices (SP, CI-M, 12 units)
• 4.401 Environmental Technologies in Buildings (FA, 12 units)
• 4.440J Intro. to Structural Design (SP, REST, 12 units; preq: 18.02)
• 4.500 Design Computing: Art, Objects and Space (FA, 12 units)
• 4.603 Understanding Modern Architecture, (FA, HASS-A, 12 units)

In their junior and senior years, students take the following more advanced subjects:

• 4.023 Architecture Design Studio 1 (FA, CI-M, 24 units, preq., 4.022)
• 4.024 Architecture Design Studio 2 (SP, 24 units, preq., 4.023, 4.401, 4.500)
• 4.025 Architecture Design Studio 3 (FA, 24 units. preq., 4.023, 4.440) or
• Two subjects from the list of Restricted Electives
• 4.501 Advanced Design Projects in Digital Fabrication (SP, 12 units) or
• 4.502 Advanced Visualization: Architecture in Motion Graphics (FA, 12 units)
• 4.605 The Global History of Architecture, (SP, HASS-A, 12 units) or
• 4.614 Building Islam, (FA, HASS-A, 12 units) or
• 4.635 Early Modern Architecture and Art, (FA, HASS-A, 12 units)

Two of the restricted electives listed below can be used to substitute for the final studio, 4.025 Architecture Design Studio 3.

Art, Culture and Technology (ACT)

• 4.307 Art, Architecture and Urbanism in Dialogue (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.322 Introduction to Three-Dimensional Art Work (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.341 Introduction to Photography & Related Media
• (FA & SP, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.354 Introduction to Video and Related Media (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.368 Studio Seminar in Public Art/Public Space (SP, 12 units, HASS-A)

Building Technology (BT)

• 4.411 D-LAB Schools: Building Technology Laboratory (FA, Lab, 12 units)
• 4.432 Modeling Urban Energy Flows for Sustainable Cities and Neighborhoods (SP, 12 units)
• 4.451 Computational Structural Design and Optimization (FA, 12 units)

Computation

• 4.501 Tiny Fab: Advanced Applications in Digital Fabrication (SP, 12 units)
• 4.502 Advanced Visualization: Architecture in Motion Graphics (FA, 12 units)
• 4.520 Visual Computing 1 (FA, 12 units)

History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture, Art, and Design (HTC)

• 4.601 Introduction to Art History (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.602 Modern Art and Mass Culture (SP, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.605 A Global History of Architecture (SP, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.609 Seminar in the History of Art and Architecture (SP, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.614 Building Islam (FA, 12 units,  HASS-A)
• 4.635 Early Modern Architecture and Art (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.636 Topics in European Medieval Architecture and Art (FA, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.651 Art Since 1940 (SP, 12 units, HASS-A)
• 4.657 The History of Making Things (SP, 12 units, CI-H, HASS-A)

Design studios are at the heart of architecture education, and MIT offers a broad range of studios devoted to design projects of increasing complexity.

Architecture Design majors take five studios sequentially. The maximum size of the 4.023, 4.024, and 4.025 studio sections is 12 students. The final studio (4.025) is optional and can be substituted with two subjects chosen from the list of restricted elective classes.

4.021 or 4.02A Design Studio: How to Design

12 units, fall and Spring; 9 units, IAP, Hass-A

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the design process. Through lectures and weekly exercises, students will develop their skills and enable creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration and design development. An introductory class intended for students without a design background geared towards enabling more effective collaboration with designers and the ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline. Limited to 25; preference to Course 4 and 4B majors and Design and Architecture minors, and first- and second-year students.

4.022 Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies

12 units, Fall and spring, prereq: 4.021 or 4.021A

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. The class will explore concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary design techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry. Limited to 25; preference to Course 4 and 4B majors and Design and Architecture minors.

4.023 Architecture Design Studio 1

24 units, fall, CI-M, prereq: 4.022

The first advanced design studio provides instruction in architectural design and project development within design constraints including architectural program and site. Students engage the design process through various two-dimensional and three-dimensional media. Working directly with representational and model making techniques, students gain experience in the conceptual, formal, spatial and material aspects of architecture. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided. Preference is given to Course 4 Majors and Minors.

4.024 Architecture Design Studio 2

24 units, Spring, preq: 4.023, 4.401, 4.500,

The second advanced studio provides instruction in architectural design and project development with an emphasis on social, cultural, or civic programs. The studio builds upon the foundational design skills with more complex constraints and context and integrates aspects of architectural theory, building technology, and computation into the design process. Preference is given to Course 4 Majors and Minors.

4.025 Architecture Design Studio 3 (Optional)

24 units, Fall, preq: 4.024, 4.440

The final, optional design studio provides instruction in more advanced architectural design projects. Students develop integrated design skills as they negotiate the complex issues of program, site, and form in a specific cultural context. The studio focuses on how architectural concepts and ideas translate into built environments that transform the public sphere. It is designed to prepare students for graduate studies in the field. Preference is given to Course 4 Majors.

Eligibility Requirements for Studio & Minimum Grade Requirements

Course 4 Majors take studios 4.021 - 4.025 sequentially. Students’ names must appear on the studio eligibility lists to ensure participation. This list is posted on-line prior to Registration Day. Students should notify the department degree administrators if they believe there is an error in their status.

Promotion from one studio to the next is not automatic. Grades lower than “C” will jeopardize advancement in the architecture design studio sequence. Advancement eligibility rules ensure that students who enter advanced studios are well prepared.

Transferring into Architecture

No Course 4 undergraduate who enters the Department as a sophomore or first term Junior and is performing well should have to spend an extra semester at MIT to complete the program. Students who transfer into the Department may complete the degree on time by substituting the final studio, 4.025, with two restricted electives.