Online Graduate Application
Go to the Graduate Application website.
https://app.applyyourself.com/AYApplicantLogin/fl_ApplicantLogin.asp?id=umdgrad
Read the latest instructions. When prompted, put in the four letter code that identifies the program for which you are applying.
The online code for the MS Arch degree is ARCH
Fee
A non-refundable $75 fee is required for each program to which you apply. Payment of your application fee must be made on-line in order for your application to be submitted. Your application will not be processed until you pay your application fee and it is authorized.
Transcripts
Applicants must request transcripts be forwarded to the Graduate Admissions Office from each institution where undergraduate or prior graduate work was undertaken. Sealed envelopes of transcripts that meet the requirements below must be submitted; copies will not suffice. Transcripts of course work and degrees from University of Maryland need not be submitted.
Transcripts must bear the signature of the registrar and seal of the granting institution and should include the years of attendance, courses taken, grades received, class standing and any degree, certificate or diploma received. If you anticipate a serious delay in official transcripts arriving, you may submit unofficial copies to the School (see submission addresses below) for review purposes only. Official admission (and registration for classes) cannot occur until all official transcripts have been received by the Graduate Admissions Office.
Letters of Recommendation
Three recommendations are required from professors or others who can assess the quality of the applicant’s potential to succeed in the graduate program they have selected. The online application provides an electronic recommendation form, which facilitates submission and receipt in most cases.
Statement of Goals, Experiences and Research Interests
(1000-2000 words)
All programs require applicants to prepare a statement of their goals and objectives in pursuing graduate study. This should be submitted using the online application.
Resume
All programs require applicants to provide an up-to-date resume via the online application.
Graduate Record Examination
A GRE score is required to be sent directly to the University by the testing Authority. The Code for the GRE is 5814.
For more information visit:
http://www.ets.org/gre
Portfolio
All applicants for the Master of Architecture degree (as well as any dual degree including the M ARCH) are required to submit a digital portfolio of design work. Applicants should think critically about the work they present and about how that work is presented in the portfolio. The portfolio serves as an illustration of the applicant’s interest in design. As such, the document should be graphically well composed and provide sufficient text* to clarify subject matter.
In general, portfolios should contain examples of creative work including drawings, paintings, photographs, sculpture, sketches, and/or architectural designs. Applicants to the Master of Architecture Path A (Advanced Standing) program should consider illustrating both design process as well as the products of their design studio work. Applicants the Path A program may also identify how their designs respond to any NAAB SPC required for advanced standing status (see: Advanced Standing). Applicants to the Master of Architecture Path B (3.5-year) program should give primary attention to drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Digital portfolios permit hyperlinks to animations and other dynamic media. These links should not substitute for static images presented in the portfolio; rather they should serve to complement the understanding of such content. Hyperlinks (if used) should be integrated into the design of the portfolio. No more than three links to external material are to be provided and no video shall be longer than 1.5 minutes in length.
Portfolios will be reviewed on-screen and will not be printed. We recommend that the portfolio be formatted so that it can be viewed in a mode compatible with the landscape (horizontal) orientation of a computer screen.
Portfolio Specifications:
Format: PDF (Portable Document Format)
Maximum Size: 15 MB (portfolios that exceed this size will not be uploaded)
Preferred Page Orientation: Landscape (horizontal)
Hyperlinks: 2-3 each no longer than 1.5 minutes in length
Upload to: Multimedia Uploads page of the online application
Descriptive text should not exceed 150 words in length. Provide information about the title of the work, the context in which it was produced (University, Course Number, project duration, faculty member, and media), and a brief narrative describing the solution (where applicable). Path A applicants are to list any NAAB SPC satisfied in the project.
Sketchbook Study of Villa Savoye
University of YYY France Program 2012
ARCH 455P / 1 day exercise
Professor X
Graphite on paper
Affordable Housing
Baltimore, Maryland 2011
ARCH 942 / 6 weeks
Professor Y
Digital and hand-crafted media
* Sample Text Describing a Project in the Portfolio: This six-week project explored the Mt. Vernon context of Baltimore, MD, examined contemporary housing prototypes, and focused technical issues of sustainable dwellings in an urban context. This proposal provides 125 market-rate apartment units based in part on Le Corbusier’s Unite de Habitation, in Marseilles. The design responds to the largely commercial nature of Charles Street, by providing retail at the base of the building. Common spaces on the ground floor and mezzanine of the building are designed to offset compact unit sizes. Individual units are equipped with sustainable features such as sun-shading, through ventilation, and balconies that incorporate vertical plantings serving each unit as herb gardens. The building is a concrete frame structure sheathed in a double-skin system. The green rooftops feature an array of solar collectors, green roofs, and cisterns that collect rainwater to be used in the building’s grey water system. NAAB SPC: A.1, A.3, A.6, A.7, B.3, B.5, B.8, B.9
