Architecture

Architecture professor and student

Program Overview

Founded in 1997, and initially accredited 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.

Our 136-hour Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) will provide you with a Christ-centered, comprehensive, professional architecture education delivered by committed faculty. The study of Architecture at Judson University is unlike any other school or university. The program is structured around expanding the students’ creative abilities first by hand then later progresses into the digital world and professional practice. The first two years of the program focus on the understanding of design concepts and works with the abstract and the pure ideas of space. The final two years turn more toward the applicable uses of these design concepts and put your knowledge of the formation of space to test with real projects.

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.

Close up shot of a side wall of HAWAC

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.

Student walking inside of HAWAC

Follow the Architecture & Interior Design Department

Office of Admissions

Contact

Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design

Edgardo-Headshot-Architecture
Dr. Edgardo Perez-Maldonado

Student Work

image of an architectural building model
image of an architectural building model
OAM – The David Model
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A student fabrication of a building exterior using white material
A student fabrication of a building exterior using white material
OAM – The David Presentation
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OAM Presentation Board by Architecture student Elizabeth Arcos
OAM Presentation Board by Architecture student Elizabeth Arcos
OAM – The David Presentation
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A female student poses by a yellow backdrop holding a model of a path and standing in front of a poster with a larger rendering of the path
A female student poses by a yellow backdrop holding a model of a path and standing in front of a poster with a larger rendering of the path
OAM – The David Presentation
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A male Judson student poses in front of a poster with a building design while a 3-D model of the building rests on a table in front of him
A male Judson student poses in front of a poster with a building design while a 3-D model of the building rests on a table in front of him
The Farnsworth Addition model project
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Farnsworth House Model by Architecture student Dezaray Miller
Farnsworth House Model by Architecture student Dezaray Miller
The Farnsworth Addition model project
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3D Rendering by Architecture student Rachel Norgren
3D Rendering by Architecture student Rachel Norgren
3D Rendering by Architecture student Rachel Norgren
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Street View by Architecture student Aiden Stevens
Street View by Architecture student Aiden Stevens
Street View by Architecture student Aiden Stevens
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Architecture-Professor-Students

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.

Architecture-Professor-Student

A Christian Context

Our Christian university context is unique among professional architecture programs and other Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) schools.

Architecture-Students-Trip

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.

Architecture-Student-Presenting

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.

Architecture-Campers

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)

Find Success at Judson

I have found that Judson’s architecture program has several qualities that made my architectural schooling experience one-of-a-kind. The faculty-to-student ratio allowed for ample one-on-one time, and the professors are approachable and want each student to succeed. The architectural studio culture was valuable to my growth and learning as well. Alumni connections have helped several Judson students, including myself, find work post-graduation. I am now blessed to work alongside follow Judson alumni at a firm that offers Kingdom building services.”
Alumni Headshot
Kathryn HusarB.A.Arch. 2013, M.Arch. 2015, Architectural Associate, Building God’s Way | Ogden, UT