Application Deadline: January 15 for entry autumn quarter
Applications will be accepted from September 1-January 15. The admissions review process will begin after the January 15 deadline.
In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. Our M. Arch program is NAAB-accredited.
The M Arch program offers two entry points:
- The 3-year M Arch for candidates who hold a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than Architecture.
- The 2-year M Arch (Advanced Standing) for candidates who hold a pre-professional BA or BS Arch degree with a major in architecture; or a 5-year B.Arch degree from outside the U.S.
While applicants are asked to indicate the program they are applying to, the admissions committee reserves the right to determine the entry point for each applicant based on a review of their application materials – particularly studio work, completion of prerequisite courses required for advanced standing, and overall academic achievement.
Applicants shall have completed General Education credits with their prior degree(s) either as general studies or elective content outside of architecture. These include coursework in the visual, literary and performing arts, math (algebra), science, the social sciences, and other knowledge areas which establish a broad academic foundation essential to successful study in architecture.
Application Requirements
The first step in the application process is to create your Application for Graduate Study at the University of Washington. Application will open on September 1. Selecting the program you are applying to generates the corresponding application forms for the program. You are able to log out and return to your application until it is complete and ready to submit. When your application is complete, pay the application fee online and submit.
Graduate School Requirements
- A four-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, or its equivalent from a foreign institution.
- A minimum grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for the last 90 graded quarter credits or 60 graded semester credits.
Master of Architecture / Master of Landscape Architecture Concurrent Degree Applicants must apply to and pay a separate application for both the M.Arch Program and the MLA Program. Application reviews are conducted separately by each department. Should a candidate get accepted into one degree program but not the other, the offer of admission still stands for the program one was accepted into.
The following application materials are to be submitted to the online application. Do not mail any application materials to our Department. Material will not be reviewed or returned.
Download the department program application form and save the form on your computer before completing the form. This will ensure the data entered is properly saved on the form before it is uploaded to the online application.
Part I of the form must be completed by all applicants as required by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. Part II of the form must be completed by applicants applying to the 2-year M Arch program (Advanced Standing).
Deficiency in studio coursework disqualifies applicant from advanced standing eligibility. If any general studies or prerequisite course deficiencies are found, the student will be notified in the summer prior to entering the program as to how to complete course deficiencies within the regular time frame of the Master of Architecture curriculum.
Maximum length: 2 pages
- Required file format: PDF
Please prepare a clear and concise statement which addresses these four points:
- The factors which led you to decide that the UW Architecture program would be most helpful in supporting your academic and professional goals.
- The skills, knowledge, perspectives, and experiences you will bring to your graduate studies.
- The special area(s) within the field of architecture you are interested in studying.
- Motivations for choosing to undertake graduate study in Architecture.
Cover must include your name as it appears on your UW application.
Maximum pages: 20 pages of project content (cover and table of contents pages are excluded from max. page count). Max file size: 30MB.
(M Arch Application Portfolio Tips).
- Required file format: PDF. Mailed portfolios will not be accepted.
Letters of Recommendation are an important part of the application. Choose people to write in support of your application who can speak to and address your skills and abilities in different capacities and your ability to successfully complete the M Arch program:
- Professional recommendations may be from employers, etc.
- Service recommendations may be from volunteer coordinators, directors of clubs or organizations, etc.
- Academic recommendations may be from college faculty; instructors of architecture, design, or art courses taken to prepare for your application, etc.
Applicants will designate 3 recommenders on the online application by providing their names and email addresses. When you designate a recommender, the person you have designated is immediately sent an email to submit a recommendation on your behalf. Please do not designate until you are ready to have the recommender contacted. You may submit your application before all letters are received. Applicants can track the status of letters received by logging into their application.
- Minimum 3 recommendations; Maximum 4 recommendations.
If you are applying for the Concurrent MLA/MArch Degree, the same recommenders/letters of recommendation may be used for both programs, but the recommendations must be submitted to both programs. We suggest informing your recommenders that you are applying to both programs so they can address both programs in their letter.
Upload transcript(s) from each prior degree-awarding school attended. Please ensure that student name and school name appear and are legible. If scanning original transcripts, make sure the pages are oriented upright for screen viewing.
Admitted applicants who accept their offer will later receive instructions to submit official (sealed) transcripts as part of the degree verification process for enrollment. See UW Graduate School Official Transcript Requirements for more information.
Include information about full-time and part-time employment and/or volunteer activities, indicating the nature of the work and your responsibilities.
- Required file format: PDF
Effective with the 2023 admissions cycle, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is no longer required or considered for admission to the Master of Architecture program.
Required for applicants whose native language is not English. For more information about English Language Proficiency requirements and ways to demonstrate English proficiency, see UW Graduate School — Understanding the Application Process and UW Graduate School English Proficiency Requirements.
If you will demonstrate proficiency through the TOEFL or IELTS test, below are the minimum required scores for admission. Official scores must be received by the application deadline, therefore is strongly recommended that applicants take the test by December 15.
- TOEFL iBT: 92. Report official scores to the UW Institution Code: 4854, the Department code is not necessary.
- IELTS: 7.0: Follow score reporting instructions provided on UW Graduate School English Proficiency Requirements. Request the test center to send scores electronically using the IELTS system (E-TRF) to the following address: University of Washington All Campuses, Organization ID 365.
- DUOLINGO: 120
Application Fee Waivers
As a public university, the application fee is required to be collected by Washington state. To review eligibility for application fee waivers, please see their site for information. Application fee waivers are administered by the UW Graduate School, not academic units.
Admissions Review
The M Arch Admissions Committee is composed of department of architecture faculty. It is a standing committee of approximately four to five members appointed by the Chair of the Department. Applicants are evaluated based on the motivations and capabilities conveyed in the application and the suitability of our program to support the applicant’s academic interests. Admission is competitive as this program is capacity constrained program due to the space limitations of our studios.
Checking Your Application Status
After submission of the online application, applicants can check the application status page to view when letters of recommendation and test scores have been received. Applicants will be notified of decisions by March 15.
Tuition & Fees:
For a complete breakdown of student tuition, fees, and charges please visit the Office of Planning & Budgeting/Graduation Tuition Dashboard. Tuition is updated by the UW in July for the coming academic year.
For an estimated Graduate Student Budget, which includes tuition/fees, books/supplies, room/board, personal costs, transportation and health insurance on the UW Office of Student Financial Aid website. The graduate tuition displayed on this page is an estimate. Graduation tuition varies by program. Refer to the Graduate Tuition Dashboard for more accurate tuition information by program.
Graduate Student Financial Support
Admissions Scholarships
As a public university, our admissions scholarships are limited. There is not a separate application to complete. All who are offered admission are automatically considered. Some scholarships are awarded to incoming M Arch students by the Department of Architecture based on merit, need, and/or diversity.
Financial aid awards are separate from admissions scholarships awarded by an academic unit. For information about eligibility & the process for applying for financial aid, visit the UW Office of Student Financial Aid website.
If we are not able to offer a recruitment scholarship to you, here are other funding opportunities available to enrolled students:
Need Based Departmental Scholarships
In April of each year, current students are eligible to apply for Departmental Scholarships. There are between 20-25 scholarships each year to award. Eligibility to apply for these in spring of your first year in the program and each year of enrollment after.
Department & UW Employment Opportunities
Most of these are hourly paid positions but there are also a few opportunities for TA/RA ships which would waive tuition and offer student health insurance for the quarter one is hired. Our department typically hires students in their final year of study for these positions – after they have completed the core studios/coursework.
These opportunities are advertised to our students via our student email lists.
Here are the units in our College that regularly hire students:
- Fabrication Labs
- Integrated Design Lab
- ARCHNet Computing Lab
- Department of Architecture: various positions ranging from lecture & events support, exhibits support, reader/grader positions.
Graduate Funding Information Service (GFIS)
External Scholarships are sent to our school are shared via our student communication channels.
On-Campus Employment (requires UW NetID to view)
Off-Campus Employment
Our students have been successful in securing part-time positions at design firms during the academic year and full-time positions during the summer. Here is a list of local firms who engage regularly with our Department: http://archpac.be.uw.edu/