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School of Architecture and Design

Bachelor and Master in Architecture (Combined Program)

Hybrid
193 credits
For students entering the program at the Sophomore level
(holders of a recognized Baccalaureate or Freshman diploma - equivalent to 30 credits)

Courses

General Studies - Graduate
SOC210Introduction to Anthropology
3 credits
SOC201Introduction to Sociology
3 credits
HUM610Professional Ethics and Social Behavior
3 credits
General Studies - Undergraduate
English and French Communication
6 credits
General Education - Civic Engagement
2 credits
General Education - History of Lebanon
3 credits
General Education - Religious Sciences
3 credits
General Education - Science and Health
6 credits
General Education - Sports
1 credits
DAA241General History of Art
3 credits
MAT216General Mathematics
3 credits
PHO224Introduction to Photography
3 credits
ECO222Macroeconomics
3 credits
DAA250Sketching
3 credits
Principles of anatomy and studies in the canons of human anatomy. A study of the relationship between human proportions and the natural and built environments.
Professional Studies - Graduate
ARCH505Architecture Research Methodology
3 credits
The course seeks to give the students the ability to choose, among the different research methods applied to architecture, to deepen a thematic for their architecture diploma. Regular indivual presentations will enhance their verbal communication and their writing skills.
ARCH540Graduation Project Thesis
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH 505
As a prerequisite to the final-year project and the continuation for the research methodology course, the graduation project thesis is a personal work consisting of a master’s thesis written in order to develop the student’s point of view for his architectural project. Students will seek to measure variables in keeping with an experimental process in order to expose a dynamic approach to an architectural project, what is referred to as “architectural conceptualization.” This approach calls for debating an appropriate process, resulting in an architecture project linked to questions at a crossroads between theory and practice. Also, students are offered a leadership seminar which initiates them to the soft skills needed in addi tion to the hard skills acquired in the curriculum to be able to work collaboratively in their design and construction projects.
ARCH570Master Architecture Design Studio I
6 credits
This course as set within an international and intercultural context aims to help architecture students to become involved in an environment culturally different from the one which they normally encounter.
ARCH580Master Architecture Design Studio II
6 credits
Thematic workshops tackle different aspects of architecture projects, qualifying students to professional thinking and working process. Some of the themes students can explore are city, landscape and territory, built heritage, sustainable architecture, people and society, architecture and new technology.
ARCH545Professional Internship
1 credits
The purpose of professional internship is to gain experience and knowledge by being involved with the activities of professionals, in architectural firms as well as on site, within all engineering disciplines. Students are initiated to the rules of registration, legal practice and site management through a seminar offered in the Order of Engineers and Architects of Beirut.
ARCH670Senior Project I
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH580 And ARCH570 And ARCH540
This course synthesizes previous knowledge which has been developed through the students' academic years, sharpening their theoretical and practical knowledge and combining them into a coherent whole.
ARCH680ASenior Project II - A
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH670
This course synthesizes previous knowledge which has been developed through the students' academic years, sharpening their theoretical and practical knowledge and combining them into a coherent whole. Develop the project on all its facets, theoretical, social and technical remains the extreme goal of student’s diploma.
ARCH680BSenior Project II - B
ARCH510Theory and Critic of Contemporary Architecture
3 credits
The course enhance students to conceptual thinking and covers the critical study of the theories of architecture and international styles.
Professional Studies - Undergraduate
ARCH2152-3D Representation Skills
2 credits
Students will learn and apply geometric representation in 2D and 3D, while comprehending theories and laws of construction from a scientific perspective as applied to the practical international standards and norms.
ARCH230Architecture Analysis and Perception
4 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC212 Or ARCH220 Or ARC208 Or DAA208
This course will initiate students to understand the built environment, the culture and the awareness towards the architectural space. Research and experimentation will develop their aptitude , including the use of architectural jargon.
ARCH345Architecture Design Studio I
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: (ARC214 Or ARCH230) And (ARC212 Or ARCH220)
Platform of comprehension and interpretation, the workshop provides the student learning by experimentation of different variables and variants of an architecture project.
ARCH350Architecture Design Studio II
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC201 Or ARCH345
The student is committed towards the architectural production in order to be aware of the design thinking process, from concept to execution.
ARCH380Architecture Schematic I
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: (ARCH230 Or ARC214) And (ARCH345 Or ARC201)
This workshop takes the students through targeted short exercises with the ability to develop conceptual thinking and sketching.
ARCH455Architecture Schematic II
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC203 Or ARCH405
The workshop consists of short exercises at advanced level which enable the students to develop conceptual thinking and sketching.
ARCH205Basic Design I
2 credits
Students will enhance and elaborate their knowledge of applied structure, through this course covering introductory concepts of forms and abstract compositions as applied to organization, proportions, equilibrium, rhythm, and density.
ARCH225Basic Design II
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH205 Or ARC205
Analyze and deduce logically the abstract notion of orders and structures while applying it in 2D and 3D formats with chromatic variations.
ARCH330Building Technologies
2 credits
The course aims at identifying different construction materials and familiarizing students with a variety of building systems and integrating different materials to define an architectural composition and the description of an execution report.
ARCH315CAAD
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH210 Or ARC210
Introduce and familiarize the students with uptodate software for producing architecture drawings and to construct 3D digital models.
ARCH475Construction Document
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH450 Or ARC302 Or (ARC361 And ARC461)
Initiate students to the concept of the execution drawings, list of materials, and reports according to international norms and codes, so they become familiar with real--time work requirements.
ARCH445Design Studio III
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC202 Or ARCH350
Architecture project in a social and cultural context.
ARCH450Design Studio IV
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC301 Or ARCH445
Architectural project with urban and rural residential character.
ARCH485Design Studio V
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC302 Or ARCH450 Or (ARC361 And ARC461)
Architectural project with a symbolic and public character according to private and/or public sector.
ARCH425Electricity and Lighting
2 credits
Initiate the students in power supply systems, low voltage systems and lighting within security and protective norms.
ARCH490Final Design Studio
6 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC401 Or ARCH485
At the end of undergraduate studies in architecture, ARCH 490 is a comprehensive synthesis of a four-year curriculum. This course is of major importance, as it constitutes a test of the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired by the students throughout the four years they have spent studying architecture.
ARCH310History and Culture of Architecture I
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: DAA241 Or ARI241 Or DAA208
This course aims to introduce the critical thinking of theories of architecture from Antiquity to the Renaissance in an historical chronological order. An illustrated analysis, according to a chronological order , presents the design process, the structural system, and aesthetic aspects of each period through its major achievement.
ARCH410History and Culture of Architecture II
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH310 Or ARC240
This course aims to introduce the critical thinking of theories of architecture starting with the Industrial Revolution in an historical chronological order, in addition to providing knowledge of chronological events, architectural movements and linking them within the historical and political contexts.
ARCH340Reinforced Concrete I
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH335 Or ARC221
Introductory concepts of materials and their behavior. Simple twist, shear, centered posts, cement - steel adherence.
ARCH440Reinforced Concrete II
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH340 Or ARC324
Based on the prerequisite Reinforced Concrete I this course will tackle and emphasize torsions, tiles, floors and continuous beams.
ARCH420Sanitary and Mechanical Equipment
2 credits
This course aims to present to architecture students a theoretical and practical overview of the various mechanical systems (sanitary and HVAC) so they can be reflected in their work facilitating any necessary coordination in the design and implementation projects.
ARCH470Standards, Codes and Building Laws
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARC302 Or ARCH450 Or (ARC361 And ARC461)
Introduce students to urban zoning laws, construction laws, building quotas and other practical legal matters pertaining to their profession.
ARCH235Strength of Materials I
3 credits
Study the physics of static forms and the components of solid objects in order to be applied to the strength resistance of materials. This course will familiarize students with problems in equilibrium of forces, and how the cumulative forces are tramsmited to the ground in static constructions. Practical tools and utilities are provided and experimented through real case examples.
ARCH335Strength of Materials II
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH235 Or ARC220
The student will be acquainted with the mechanical characteristics of materials, concepts of constraints and deformations and dimensioning of pieces subject to fundamental changes, such as axial, flexing, shearing or torsion.
ARCH416Structural Design
2 credits
The aims of this course is to study the various design factors involved in the choice of structural systems, the relation between materials and their different structural typologies. Through the analysis of real examples, the students will be able to evaluate and validate the correct choice of a structural system for a given architectural project.
ARCH210Technical Drawing
2 credits
Initiate the students to develop architecture drawings, according to international standards and norms.
ARCH460Urbanism I
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: (ARCH450 Or ARC302 Or ARC361 Or ARC461) And (ARCH410 Or ARC241)
Enhance the students' knowledge of the history of cities, pre-industrial cities, and urban modernity in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to an introduction to critical ideas of the functionality of the city and postindustrial settings.
ARCH465Urbanism II
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH460 Or ARC 441
The course will familiarize students with urban planning of territory and zoning, and applying it to urban spaces. Students will be shown real- life situations and will be placed with local authorities, where they will learn how to best work within the real constraints, as well as being exposed to global views of the issue.
ARCH220Vernacular Architecture
4 credits
Initiate the student to understand the constraints that are the basis of any architecture. This teaching is based on the study of the dwelling since its vernacular origin until nowadays. The Human-Nature-Technology relationships are exposed in order to highlight the logic behind the design of the habitat.
Required Optionals - Professional Practice - Graduate
ARCH550Construction Scheduling and Management
3 credits
The Objective of the course is to initiate the students to the Different approaches of managing a construction project during the execution phase, of which; time, cost, outcomes and risk. In addition, The students will examine the use of software tools.
FIN501Essential of Finance
3 credits
The main focus of this course entitled essentials of Finance is to grant an overview on the basics issues applied in this field. The curriculum includes, time value of money theory, future and present value followed by its applications, sensitivity analysis through interest rate movements, measuring portfolio risk return as well as other fundamental subjects such as balance sheet structure and liquidity measuring, asset liability management, financial statement analysis. In addition, many numerical examples will be implemented followed by class sessions’ exercises.
ARCH535Working Documents for Project Management
3 credits
The course introduces students to all legal and technical documents needed, from blueprints to contracts and legal papers, office management and workshop organization, with a focus on financial issues for design and project management.
Required Optionals - Research Workshop - Graduate
ARCH640Aesthetic Theorizing and Poetics of Architecture
3 credits
Is architecture a kind of philosophy? How would the architect and the philosopher approach the space of architecture? Philosophy falls within the framework of construction and occupies an essential place in architecture, its purpose being to know, it is related to the logos, the word and the speech, while the purpose of architecture, its being to construct, its philosophy is related to the building. The philosophical analysis is therefore understood as an objective genitive: what philosophy and philosophers tell us about architecture.
ARCH635Archeology and Restoration Workshop
3 credits
Lebanon, due to its history and geographical position, has a variety of strata which reveal, above and below the ground, incomparable riches. Students will be able to reflect, analyze and capitalize on this knowledge.
ARCH615Architecture and New Technologies Workshop
3 credits
Architecture and NTIC (New Technologies in Information and Communication) as a combined framework within a workshop that experiments and push visual communication boundaries for students.
AVS625Architecture, Visual Arts and Communication Workshop
3 credits
ARCH630 Built Heritage Workshop
3 credits
This workshop aims to meet a certain need: the adoption of a coherent policy and an effective approach in the field of built heritage. The overall spirit of the workshop is to give a strengthen meaning to identity in the work of students and to reduce any anxiety about cultural uniformity.
ARCH610City, Landscape and Territory Workshop
3 credits
The workshop focuses on the notion of the architect as a partner within the social and urban development, in order to create spaces which are harmonious and bring a better quality of living for the inhabitants.
ARCH620Sustainable Architecture Workshop
3 credits
Humankind, built spaces and environmental issues are some of the concepts and interactions explored within this course that aims to give a balanced view of the students to their surroundings. Experts in the field are regulary invited to participate in the workshop to enhance the students awarness towards Environmental and Sustainability issues.
Student Chosen Optional - Graduate
ARCH530Architecture Detailing
3 credits
This course aims to develop the critical and rational thinking of students within the framework of architecture by applying them to details within the built project, mainly different building enveloppes, intelligent and enviromental skins.
ARCH515Complex Buildings Structural Systems
3 credits
This course improves the knowledge of students in the area of complex frames within the realm of the conception and execution of a building. Advanced Building structure, such as high rise, long spans and exosqueleton and their impact on design process will be deepened in the course.
ARCH520Intelligent Buildings
3 credits
The aim of this course is to intoduce students to automation and implementation of intelligent systems within the domain of architecture building and services.
ARCH645Intercultural Architecture
3 credits
The course aims at widening the students' knowledge and understanding of how to build within parameters specific to the community and culture, including ethical and social values and norms, so that the project will thrive and take shape.
Student Chosen Optional - Undergraduate
ARCH435Acoustics and Insulation
2 credits
Enhance the students' knowledge of fight against undesired elements such as water, heat, noise and cold.
ARCH486Architectural Heritage Buildings
3 credits
The course aims to acquaint students with their national built heritage in the traditional Lebanese habitat.
ARCH480Building Modeling and Information
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH315 or ARC222
Introducing students to computer aided 3D models and BIM software, execution plans, and synchronization, quantitative elements and major factors influencing their design.
ARCH355Geographic Information Systems
2 credits
The course will familiarize students with the basics of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and its application to architecture and urbanism, in addition to understanding and comprehending numerical and alphanumeric data.
AGP410Infographic
2 credits
In this course, the students will learn to manipulate images on software to be applied in architecture and to implement them in the real world of urban and/or rural spaces.
ARCH487Intercultural Contexts Studies
3 credits
This course aims to comprehend from analytic and comparative manner in a different contextual architectural thematic. This includes reading and analysis responding to different issues as per social geographical and cultural issues in rural and urban context.
ARCH484Landscape Architecture
3 credits
Introductory principles of landscape management and Design.
ARCH365Safety and Physical Disability Regulations
2 credits
Students will be introduced to new laws covering fire security and people with physical disability while observing their integrative norms for the architectural composition. The course will familiarize students with the introduction of outside factors and how to be aware of applying architecture within operational laws.
ARCH360Soil Mechanics
2 credits
The course helps to better understand the soil and the awareness of the related dangers and damages. It deals with the physical properties and the structure of the soils, the fine elements and their constraints: settlement, consolidation and shearing. Soil works as retaining walls, shallow and deep foundations.
ARCH430Stereotomy
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH330 Or ARC230 Or ARC231
A comprehensive and progressive approach and analysis of traditional and modern building using natural stone, in addition to initiate the students to details, practical knowledge and expertise, material selection, methods of work, and chosen tools.
ARCH482Surveying
2 credits
Initiate students to the use of practical topographic instruments as applied in situ with real field knowledge.
ARCH325Virtual Reality in Architecture
2 credits    |    Pre-requisite: ARCH315 Or (ARC222 And ARC322)
Principles of virtual reality and architectural simulation will be introduced in the course, while emphasizing its geometrical parameters, materials and virtual lighting. Real -time animation allows the students to implement and impact the project within the built architectural environment. Special attention will be given to the conception forms and transformations and their impact on the conception of formal architecture.
The Master in Architecture is a combined program of undergraduate and graduate studies that requires students to earn 193 credits in order to graduate. However, students are eligible to obtain the Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies while completing the 138 credits.

NAAB International Certification Designation

The Master of Architecture degree was granted the Substantial Equivalency designation International Certification designation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) for a term of six years, effective 1 January 2019. See more

Recognition as being equivalent to the French Diploma in Architecture

The Diploma of Master of Architecture awarded by USEK’s School of Architecture and Design is recognized as being equivalent to the French Diploma in Architecture. See more

Mission

The mission of the Master in Architecture program is to prepare students for a profession as an architect by offering undergraduate and graduate courses that provide them with an educational experience in architectural Design, architectural history and theory, structures and materials, building technology, vernacular and regional studies, with a strong focus on heritage preservation and social and environmental responsibility.

Program Educational Objectives

1. The Master in Architecture program qualifies its graduates to become registered professional architects and allows them to grow into active members of different civil societal bodies through ethical and social engagements that improve the livelihood of their communities.
2. Graduates will be able to have leading professional roles as both entrepreneurs and efficient members of projects that are larger and in more complex architectural settings.
3. In addition to conceptual design, execution, site development and management, graduates will be able to employ their architectural education to adapt and evolve existing requirements by engaging in heritage preservation and restoration, scenography, building technology, urban planning, landscape and sustainable architecture, and development in a professional and ethical manner.
4. Graduates will be able to lead teams as well as be effective team members who can work and communicate effectively with diverse team members to identify and solve problems and make responsible recommendations.

Program Outcomes

a. Students will be able to interact between different components (social, theoretical, cultural, and contextual) in the process of design thinking, and communicate clearly with the appropriate tools and media.
b. Students will be able to comprehend that projects can be built both by respecting the environmental charts and by transmitting technical information.
c. Students will be able to gather and comprehend the essential value of research within the design process, analyzing and evaluating the different options related to the predesign issues, and synthesizing the different scenarios related to different analysis in integrating architectural solutions. Solutions must respond to different environmental issues.
d. Students will be able to understand the typical career path of an architect and the means of progressing. They will recognize and preserve the valuable role of different partners and disciplines by the application of legal codes, professional responsibilities, and ethical values.
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Fax : (+961) 9 600 100
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