Program Overview
The Department of Architecture and Interior Design offers a 136-hour Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) and a required NAAB-accredited 52-hour Master of Architecture (M.Arch) degree, which includes the professional Preceptorship that will gain our graduates 1600 hours of the required NCARB AXP hours and will make them qualify for professional licensure. The Preceptorship is a distinctive program of our NAAB-accredited M.Arch, making Judson a unique educational and professional experience.
Founded in 1997, and initially accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board in 2004, our architecture program is widely acknowledged for its innovative approach to architectural education including a one-year preceptorship (internship) and its context of an evangelical Christian institution. Environmental stewardship is also a design philosophy that guides the program and its approach to architecture education. The program will provide you with a Christ-centered, comprehensive, professional architecture education delivered by committed faculty members.
Requirements of First-time college students applying to the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture:
- admission application
- high school academic transcripts
- SAT or ACT scores for both English and Math components.
Description of the Process for Evaluating the Content of a Non-Accredited Degrees:
(NAAB Condition 6.5)
Transfer Students from other colleges or universities:
Students who request to transfer from other programs, including community colleges and universities, are required to submit the following items:
- admission application
- academic transcripts
- portfolio or creative work (10 MB file limit and no more than 20x pages)
Once the Admission Office and the Department have received the application submission, students will be evaluated by a Transfer Assessment Audit. The Department Chair evaluates each course the student has completed for grades and an independent review of the course materials, including syllabi and course descriptions as needed.
Based on this assessment, the student can earn a credit alignment and receive credit for any transferable courses. The Chair will revise all official academic transcripts to verify that each course has been taught and that the current NAAB PCs and SCs associated with these courses have been met.
Explore Judson University’s Christian Architecture Program
Looking for a Christian college with a strong architecture program? Here’s how Judson stands out!
- NAAB Accreditation ✅
- Undergraduate + Master’s ✅
- Design-build studios ✅
- Integration of faith and design ✅
- World Class Facilites ✅
Why Architecture at Judson?
Location
Our scenic riverside campus makes a beautiful home, is located just minutes from Chicago, a center for quintessentially American architecture and urbanism.
INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION
Our architecture program has a great student-to-faculty ratio, 16:1, in a relatively small program of 150 students.
EXPERIENCED PROFESSORS
100% of our faculty hold terminal degrees or advanced doctorates. Judson University Architecture alumni also stay connected to mentor current students.
Our Graduate program
Judson University is the only evangelical Christian university in the U.S. to offer a fully accredited professional architecture degree program, which includes the Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) degree.
Architecture and Interior Design Department
Learn more about the other programs offered in the Architecture and Interior Design Department.
World Class Facilities
All Architecture and Interior Design courses are taught in the 88,000 square foot, LEED Gold Certified Harm A. Weber Academic Center. As one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its kind in North America, students complete their architecture education within one of the most environmentally self-sustaining academic buildings in the country, designed by international architect and Cambridge University professor C. Alan Short.
Follow the Architecture & Interior Design Department
Contact
Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design
Why Study Architecture at a Christian University?
At Judson, we believe architecture is more than buildings—it’s a calling. As a Christian university, we prepare students to design spaces that reflect truth, beauty, and purpose. Our faculty challenge students to consider how faith shapes form, function, and human flourishing.
Our students graduate with a strong foundation in both design thinking and Christian worldview.
We help students explore their gifts and calling through the lens of architecture. Whether it’s through missions, urban design, or environmental innovation, Judson students graduate equipped to design with conviction and compassion.
Judson is one of the few NAAB-accredited Christian colleges offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. That distinction allows our students to get a top-tier education without compromising their values.
Students are mentored by faculty who care about their spiritual, academic, and professional development. Our small studio cohorts create a close-knit, supportive community—one that reflects the values of a Christian college architecture program.
Student Work
A Unique Curricular Structure
Designed to be completed in five years, our architecture programs utilize a creative and compressed scheduling compared to conventional state school’s 4 year BA/BS plus 2 year Master of Architecture format.
Students complete a full year of practice-based work experience between the two degree programs for a completely unique hybridization of architecture education and practice.
A Christian Context
Our Christian university context is unique among professional architecture programs and other Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) schools.
Study Away Experience
Each student studying architecture and interior design embarks on a European trip the summer after their junior year to study the masters and develop the fine arts required within the field.
The Draewell Gallery
Our on campus not-for-profit gallery exhibits local and national artists with the goals of fostering an appreciation for the arts on campus through visual engagement and the creation of public dialogue regarding issues important to Judson’s core mission.
Each spring, seniors in our art, design, and architecture programs present their final projects in a professional gallery setting.
Summer Discover Camp!
The Judson University Architecture and Interior Design Workshop is based on the exploration and discovery of design and architectural foundations, while gaining an understanding of what it means to become and architect.
The week is filled with visits to downtown Chicago, architectural firms, presentations from Judson faculty, and foundational design projects. The students are exposed to formal and spatial exercises and multi-step projects focused on divergent thinking and creative problem solving.
National Architectural Accrediting Board Information
In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards.
Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. Judson University, Department of Architecture and Interior Design offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:
- Master of Architecture (pre-professional degree + 42 graduate credits)
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