Boston Architectural College Admissions Viewbook

This mural was designed for the BAC by American muralist Richard Haas in 1976.

The BAC’s campus is located in the historic Back Bay, just four blocks from the Esplanade and Charles River.

Boston is one of the top three most walkable cities in the country.

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ABOUT THE BAC The Boston Architectural College (BAC) is an independent, professional college in Boston’s Back Bay that provides an exceptional design education by combining academic learning with innovative experiential learning and by making its programs accessible to diverse communities. The College offers professional and accredited graduate and undergraduate degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and design studies.

The core of the BAC experience is a unique learning model where design education happens in the classroom and in the professional workplace simultaneously. Students acquire vital professional skills and expertise through hands-on projects and real-world employment while attending their classes and studios onsite or online, earning credit and gaining experience in both settings.

Founded in 1889 as a club for practicing architects, the BAC has remained closely tied to Boston’s professional design community throughout its history. Students are taught, mentored, and advised by over 400 practicing professionals, strengthening the connection between workplace experience and classroom learning. BAC graduates are accomplished designers with impressive resumes, portfolios, and professional networks.

The BAC is located in the heart of Boston’s historic Back Bay, surrounded by inspiring architecture, museums, performance venues, and colleges and universities, making it a strategic place to study design. Alongside its traditional onsite programs, the BAC offers innovative distance graduate degrees in architecture, interior architecture, and design studies, including pioneering programs in sustainable design, historic preservation, and design for human health.

The BAC strives to make the design professions accessible to diverse communities. Its policy of open admission makes a design education possible for many talented students who would not otherwise be afforded such an opportunity. Its student body includes a large population of first-generation college students as well as members of under-represented groups, fostering a rich and inclusive learning environment.

We hope you explore the exciting opportunities the BAC has to offer.

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FOUNDATION The BAC’s Foundation Studies program invites graduate and undergraduate first-year students from architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, and design studies to establish a fundamental and collaborative language of design that transcends the formal disciplinary boundaries and propels flexible and meaningful explorations within the future of the design professions.

Students are exposed to relevant design ideas through an integrated and multidisciplinary framework where progressive design concepts, tools, and skills are studied and tested.

These are then applied toward meaningful spatial solutions with the potential to influence the well-being of diverse communities around the globe. We believe that the Foundation Studies year provides a firm basis for students to develop future projects that exist within real social, cultural, and political contexts.

Foundation Studies includes conceptual design studios as well as courses in theory and inquiry, analog and digital design media, sustainable principles and applications, community engagement, and practice readiness. The Foundation Studies program can be completed in two semesters by a student who is taking a full-time academic course load. Beginning with City Lab, which is a unique introduction to the BAC and to Boston, the student in the first-semester Foundation learns to integrate design and thinking skills in the areas of collaboration and community, critical reading and research, design representation, and application of design methods and creative problem solving.

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City Lab is a two-week intensive when first-year students get to explore the city of Boston.

Foundation is a one-year program that allows students to study across disciplines.

the-bac.edu PROGRAMS ARCHITECTURE 9

ARCHITECTURE Architecture expresses our dreams and values through designing spaces for people to live, work, and reflect. The BAC’s School of Architecture educates students to become citizen architects, learning from faculty, from professionals, and from one another. Our learning community is shaped by the work of our students and faculty, bringing together diverse identities and backgrounds into a meaningful dialogue to critique and transform places.

The BAC’s Bachelor and Master of Architecture programs, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, prepare students to become successful licensed architects through real-world practical experience, professional networks, and creative scholarly opportunities.

The BAC’s Bachelor of Science in Architecture is a pre-professional program that can lead to our 2-Year Master of Architecture program.

Integrated building systems and technology courses investigate how buildings perform. History and theory courses place current work into dialogue with other times and places. Design studios build students’ capacity to integrate ideas and envision new conditions supported by drawing and making courses. Media courses harness the power of digital and physical making, offering a visual language to communicate ideas. Liberal education employs the arts, humanities, and sciences to explore our place in the world. All students receive guidance in pursuit of concurrent practice experience in design firms, community projects, research, and independent projects.

Since 1889, our architecture program has been closely connected to the professional world, with students engaged in real-world design practice as they study. This professional work-from small local nonprofits to major international firms-provides another forum for ideas and transforms the built environment of Boston and beyond.

Students have access to state-of-the-art 3D printers to bring their ideas to life.

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INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

The BAC’s Bachelor and Master of Interior Architecture programs prepare students to become NCIDQ-certified interior designers through creative scholarship and real-world practical experience. The post-professional Master of Science in Interior Architecture helps students develop and apply specialized knowledge, establishing their unique professional identity and capabilities.

BAC students build their design and creative abilities in a core studio learning sequence, supported by drawing and software courses. Students study building systems to understand what is practical and study design history and theory to explore what is possible. Undergraduate students benefit from a full offering of liberal education courses. All students receive guidance in pursuit of concurrent practice experience in design firms, community projects, research, and independent projects.

Graduates with BAC interiors degrees work in major interior and architecture firms and have started firms of their own. They design residential, retail, workplace, educational, hospital, and recreational environments. They work as corporate designers, as advocates in nonprofits, or for municipal governments in accessibility compliance and building code development. Some become color, furniture, and lighting consultants; others work as product designers, dealers, and sales representatives. Regardless of their career specifics, they carry the knowledge and skills of design into every new challenge.

Interior architecture is the design of human experience. It puts the needs of people first and shapes interior space to support our activities, goals, and dreams.

Designers in interior architecture creatively apply a body of knowledge to address new challenges, working sustainably and supporting health and well-being.

The BAC’s hands-on learning environment uniquely prepares students for their careers.

Our materials library houses samples of fabrics, windows, flooring, and sustainable materials.

The BAC boasts an average class size of eight students.

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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Landscape architecture is the design of open space, drawing upon both art and science to create meaningful experiences in the environment. Landscape architects apply sustainable principles at a range of scales to enhance the value of the built world. The BAC’s Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture programs prepare students to become progressive designers and registered landscape architects. Our unique academic and practice-based model embeds conceptual and analytical thinking with practical learning and professional networks.

Through studio work in urban design, planning, and site design, students gain knowledge over natural and constructed systems that shape urban spaces. Design concepts are suppor ted by media and technology courses, providing students with representation skills and construction technology exper tise. While at the BAC, students also par ticipate in experiential learning by working in professional firms, conducting community service, or exploring areas of applied research.

The BAC’s Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture programs prepare students to become progressive designers and registered landscape architects. Our unique academic and practice–based model embeds conceptual and analytical thinking with practical learning and professional networks.

The landscape architecture programs are fully embedded in the life of the city. Our work investigates the BAC’s historic Back Bay neighborhood and the revitalization of the Seapor t district. We consider contemporary urban problems: preparing for sea-level rise, accommodating multi-modal transit networks, responding to urban food deser ts, and developing new housing prototypes for 21st-century city living. These are the same issues that drive professional firms and governmental agencies, and BAC landscape architecture graduates are valued as emerging professionals with talent and experience.

All of the BAC’s instructors have professional experience in their fields.

The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates a 20 percent growth in the Landscape Architecture job market over the next five years.

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DESIGN STUDIES

The Master of Design Studies programs develop leading-edge design professionals. Students acquire technical expertise and leadership skills through online classes with established practitioners combined with 8-day study intensives on campus in Boston. The MDS in Design for Human Health merges biological and social sciences with design skills to complement and enhance physical activity, cognitive performance, and psychological well being. The program in Historic Preservation provides expertise and leadership skills to preserve the buildings and celebrate the cultural landscapes of our heritage.

The program in Sustainable Design is grounded in wholesystems thinking—the philosophy that design of the built environment should be engaged with the larger systems of nature and society.

The Bachelor of Design Studies is a program for students who want to explore design in all its possibilities. It combines core courses in design studios, drawing and visual studies, building technology, and liberal studies with major courses in emerging design fields. Students craft learning experiences to match their educational and career goals through a rigorous curriculum that incorporates real-world design practice. Within the BDS, students can build concentrations in architectural technology; digital design and visualization; design history, theory, and criticism; historic preservation; or sustainable design.

Design Studies graduates are prepared for a broad range of careers. They work as preservation or design specialists in firms, consultants or sole practitioners, advocates for preservation and sustainability, or as design specialists in government, nonprofits, contracting or construction, and development and real estate.

An education in design cultivates skills in analysis, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving that are valuable in many fields. The School of Design Studies offers programs in a wide array of design disciplines to prepare students for careers in the rapidly evolving design professions.

Part of the BAC’s campus is located on 951 Boylston Street, in a 19th century building that historic preservation students are helping to renovate.

In the Design Studies program, students cultivate creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills applicable to many careers.

“ I was intrigued by the BAC based on the practice-driven program that enabled me to experience a more dynamic approach to interior design.

Through various gateway community projects, I had the opportunity to design facilities that fully engage my community while learning and improving upon my skills.”

Wonnie Ru, BID ’14

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PRACTICE The BAC’s 125-year Practice-based tradition synchronizes classroom and applied learning, holistically educating students to coalesce knowledge and skills, positioning them to be exceptionally competitive in the marketplace. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that between 85 and 90 percent of the students in each graduating class are employed in design on the day they graduate.

The BAC distinguishes itself as the only college or university among the several hundred nationally accredited degree-granting programs in design that requires its students to complete academic coursework while simultaneously acquiring vital professional skills and expertise through non-classroom instruction and discipline-specific employment. This hands-on, concurrent approach enables our students to jumpstart their careers while still attending classes.

The BAC’s Foundation curriculum provides students – particularly those with little or no prior design experience – with a deliberate sequence of core classroom instruction, combined with Practice-based initiatives that emphasize collaboration, critical thinking, and community engagement. Confident and equipped with portfolio evidence of technical and presentation skills, guided by BAC faculty and academic advisers, BAC students are now prepared to secure paid positions in a range of conventional and specialized professional settings. While the BAC does not identify or assign specific employment, the college’s remarkable connections and network of hundreds of design or construction-related companies throughout metropolitan Boston and New England make it possible for students to customize and manage their own employment campaigns.

Throughout students’ education they meet with the BAC’s Practice Department to gauge their professional progress and steady improvement. By the time they graduate, BAC students have developed the requisite knowledge, skills, and work ethic to contribute as emerging design professionals and talented citizen stakeholders, interested in contributing to the betterment of their communities.

Students complete over 3,500 hours of design practice a year.

Students work on projects ranging from local community engagement to projects of global significance.

The BAC is partnered with more than 370 firms in Boston and beyond.

“ At the BAC, we are immersed in design, making us the most connected design students in Boston.�

Robert Henry, Student, Bachelor of Architecture

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS The practice of design is increasingly global.

From multinational firms to cultural collaboration, design thinking is universal. Graduates of the BAC are seasoned design practitioners capable of engaging on a truly worldwide scale. US students have opportunities to travel and study abroad, and international students are welcomed to both onsite and low-residency programs in Boston.

Boston is home to the largest proportion of young adults of any major US city.

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BAC faculty and staff work collaboratively with multinational

International students applying for all graduate degree

institutions on a daily basis, and the college’s international

programs must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited

community boasts students from over 35 countries on five

US university or its equivalent. Students with a prior degree

continents. The BAC is also partnered with top tier schools

in architecture or interior design, and students requesting

in Pakistan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Malta.

transfer credit from institutions outside the United States,

International students are welcome in both undergraduate

must include a design portfolio and credential evaluation

and graduate programs in Architecture, Interior Architecture,

with application materials.

Landscape Architecture, and Design Studies. Design Studies

For more information on the BAC’s global commitment,

graduate programs include low-residency degrees in Sustainable

as well as relevant admissions requirements, see the BAC

Design, Historic Preservation, and Design for Human Health.

website at: the-bac.edu.

The BAC partners with global institutions, including programs in Pakistan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Malta.

The McCormick Gallery, located in the lobby of the BAC’s 320 Newbury Street building, hosts six to eight exhibitions every year.

“ The architecture and building industries are busy again, and firms are hiring, looking for new hires who are not afraid to push the envelope and who take an entrepreneurial approach to their work… BAC students have the capacity to do that.”

Carole Wedge, BArch ’90, President of Shepley Bulfinch

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APPLY TODAY! The BAC accepts applicants on a rolling basis. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their application by the priority deadline each semester to ensure consideration for the maximum amount of financial aid. To apply, please contact Admissions at 617.585.0123 or at admissions@the-bac.edu.

Attend an Open House The best way to learn more about each program at the BAC is by attending an open house and participating in a studio class. We invite all prospective students and their families to join one of our open houses, held on selected evenings throughout the Spring and Fall. Check out our events calendar for a list of open house dates at the-bac.edu, or contact Admissions at 617.585.0123 or at admissions@the-bac.edu.

Request More Information Not ready to make a decision but interested in learning more about the BAC? Our admissions counselors are always available to help. Contact us at 617.585.0123 or at admissions@the-bac.edu to learn more about a specific program, important deadlines, and special opportunities such as scholarships, events, and more.

Financial Aid & Scholarships Scholarships and financial aid are available for qualified applicants. The first step is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available at fafsa.ed.gov. Please feel free to contact the office directly at 617.585.0125 or at finaid@the-bac.edu.

Accreditation

The BAC is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

ARCHITECTURE The Master of Architecture and the Bachelor of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

DESIGN STUDIES The Design Studies Historic Preservation programs meet the standards for degree-granting programs established by the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE).

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE The Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture programs are accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB).

INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE The Bachelor of Interior Architecture and Master of Interior Architecture programs have been accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA, formerly FIDER) since 2002.

BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE 320 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02115 the-bac.edu

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