Discover the Architecture Curriculum
Architecture at USD provides foundational knowledge on the global history of architecture and contemporary theoretical issues while preparing the next generation of architects. All courses, whether they are studios, lectures or seminars, teach our undergraduate students the skills of critical thinking and argumentative reasoning based on evidence, and encourage curiosity and free inquiry.
The program's primary goal is to introduce students to architecture as a cultural practice that structures both the physical and social environment. Our students learn:
- Spatial and formal design
- Graphic and material representation
- History, theory and criticism
- Architecture in context
Major
The architecture major's course of study is the product of two interrelated sequences: design studios, which introduce students to the graphic conventions and analysis of architecture from small-scale installations to large-scale buildings, and history and theory lectures and seminars that provide foundational knowledge for upper-division critical studies seminars. The major culminates in a year-long thesis project that combines design and history/theory.
Minor
The architecture minor provides foundational offerings in the global history of architecture, contemporary theoretical issues and a range of elective courses.
Explore Architecture Courses
Learn more about what current architecture courses are available here on our Courses page! Not all courses highlighted will be available every semester. Make sure to check course offerings on the registration portal for each upcoming semester.
Program Requirements
Each student declares their major(s) and minor(s) under a single catalog of record that is identified on the student's degree audit (available on Degree Works).
The program requirements below are based on the current course catalog and may not be applicable if a student is declared in an earlier catalog.
Find all previous course catalogs under on our Archived Catalogs of Record page.
52-56 units
Major
22 units
Minor
Major unit estimates include preparation for the major requirements as well as major unit requirements.
- Major
- Minor
- Learning Outcomes
The Architecture Major
Preparation for the Major
Lower-Division Courses
ARCH 101 | Introduction to Architecture Studio | 4 |
ARCH 200 | Digital Representation (Enrollment in conjunction with ARCH 201 is recommended) | 1 |
ARCH 201 | Architectural Design Studio I | 4 |
Foundations in the History and Theory of Architecture | ||
ARCH 121 | Introduction to Modern Architecture | 3 |
ARCH 221 | Architecture and Theory since 1945 | 3 |
Lower-division course in Studio Arts | ||
Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
ARTV 101 | Introduction to Drawing | |
ARTV 102 | Introduction to Color | |
ARTV 103 | Introduction to Graphic Design | |
ARTV 104 | Introduction to Animation | |
ARTV 105 | Introduction to Sculpture | |
ARTV 107 | Introduction to Photography | |
ARTV 108 | Introduction to Video Art | |
THEA 220 | Fundamentals of Theatrical Design | |
Total Units | 18-19 | |
Upper-Division Requirements
Architectural Design | ||
ARCH 301 | Architectural Design Studio II | 4 |
ARCH 302 | Architectural Design Vertical Studio | 4 |
History and Theory of Architecture and the City | ||
Select three of the following: | 9 | |
ARCH 136 | The Year 1500: A Global History of Art and Architecture | |
ARCH 320 | Money By Design: Architecture and Political Economy | |
ARCH 321 | City and Utopia: Introduction to History of Urbanism | |
ARCH 323 | Memory, Monument, Museum | |
ARCH 327 | Architecture and Decolonization | |
ARCH 330 | Special Topics in the History of Architecture and Design | |
ARCH 340 | Biographies of World Cities | |
ARCH 350 | Theories of Organicism | |
ARCH 384 | Seminar in Art and Architecture | |
ARTV/ARCH 355 | Architecture, Film & Media: The Space of the Screen | |
Upper-Division Electives | ||
Select any two upper-division courses from ARCH, ARTH, and/or ARTV | 6-8 | |
Select any one upper-division course from ARCH, ARTH, or ARTV or the following: | 3-4 | |
EOSC 300 | Environmental Issues | |
EOSC 313 | Geospatial Information Systems for Organizations | |
EOSC 314 | Introduction to GIS | |
EOSC 415 | Advanced GIS | |
EOSC 485 | Environmental Geology | |
ETHN 361 | Immigration at US-Mexico Border: Ethnicity, Race & Gender | |
HIST 343 | History of Germany Since 1945 | |
HIST 347 | Topics in Modern Europe | |
HIST 390 | Topics in Public History | |
HIST 392 | History in the Community | |
HIST 393 | Museum Studies and Historic Preservation | |
POLS 342 | Public Policy | |
THEA 320 | Scenic Design | |
Architectural Research and Thesis | ||
ARCH 490 | Research Studio | 4 |
ARCH 495 | Senior Thesis in Architecture | 4 |
Total Units | 34-37 | |
Architecture Study Abroad
No more than a total of two study abroad courses can be counted toward Architecture major credit.
Double Majoring in Architecture and Art History or Architecture and Visual Arts
Students are allowed to double count units toward two majors within the Department of Art, Architecture + Art History in a limited manner: they must complete a total of at least 48 upper-division units in the two majors while fulfilling all of the requirements for both majors.