Graduate Studios: Tracks I and II

The Studio Progression Graduate Students

Introductory Studios (ARCH 600 level courses) Architecture and Interior Architecture Students

After being admitted into Architecture or Interior Architecture program, students begin introductory studios.

Track I Year 1 – Summer Start

All first year Track I Architecture and Interior Architecture students are placed in ARCH 680 during Summer Term prior to their first year in the program.
Upon successful completion of the first studio, all students are then placed in ARCH 681, then ARCH 682 (Fall and Winter term of year 1).
After finishing ARCH 682, begin intermediate studios (Spring term of year 1) then join M.ARCH Track II students for one term the following fall, taking an Arch 584 studio that runs parallel and in coordination with ARCH 683, then continuing with the intermediate studio sequence for three more terms.

Track II Year 1 – Fall Start

In the Fall, Architecture students are placed in ARCH 683 (Fall term year 1).
Interior Architecture Track II students go directly into Intermediate Studios.
In the Winter and Spring terms, Architecture and Interior Architecture register for Intermediate studios (Winter and Spring term of year 1).

Studios graded as “No Pass” must be repeated before advancing to intermediate studios. Since they are term-specific, this will result in a delay in studio progression.

Introductory Studio Registration:

Notification of the studio placement will be emailed to students prior to registration.
Registration will depend on pre-authorization.

Intermediate Studios (ARCH 584 Courses) Architecture Students (IARC 584, IARC 586 Courses) Interior Architecture Students

After satisfying all introductory studio requirements (occurs earlier for IARC Track II), students will be part of the preferencing process. “Preferencing” was created to provide a way to self-select between studio options as well as distribute participants evenly. Often referred to as “vertical” studios, intermediate studios combine a broad spectrum of students from different places in their program (i.e. graduate vs. undergraduate, year and experience).

Architecture students are guaranteed placement in intermediate/vertical studios each academic year.
Additional Eugene-based ARCH summer studios are available and preferencing is not required.
Many students explore summer studio options both in and outside of the School of Architecture and Environment. International options can be found through Global Education Oregon.

Intermediate Studio Registration Pre-Preferencing:

Architecture students will register for the ARCH 584, the Architecture “phantom” studio course during their registration window.
Interior Architecture students will register for IARCH 584, the Interior Architecture phantom studio.
The phantom course can be identified by the large number of maximum seats in the course schedule (other ARCH 584 studios will noticeably be limited to 17 students).
Registration in the phantom studio is required to participate in preferencing.

Studio Preferencing:

Architecture and Interior Architecture students receive an email with studio options along with a link to a survey where they will order their preferences.
Architecture and Interior Architecture students have two weeks to find out more about the studios, visit with instructors, and to complete the survey.
Studio preferencing options will include a combination of Architecture and Interior Architecture studios.
Interior Architecture students are preferencing IARC studios, and Architecture students ARCH.
Students will likely prioritize ARCH choices in the top 3 (if Architecture) or IARC choices in the top 3 (if Interior Architecture).
If selecting studio choices within their major, students prioritize ARCH choices in the top 5 (if Architecture) or IARC choices in the top 3 (if Interior Architecture).
Both Architecture and Interior Architecture students can elect to take one studio outside of their major (including one in Landscape Architecture). All are dependent upon department approval.
If opting to take a studio outside of their major, students place that studio as their top choice, followed by studios within their major.
The department will accommodate placing students in studio if preferencing step is missed as long as space is available. You may be limited in your options based on availability.

Intermediate Studio Placement Post-Preferencing

Architecture and Interior Architecture students are placed in a studio based on the results of the survey after committee review. The department encourages diversity of instructors and topics.
After being given their placement, Architecture and Interior Architecture students will be instructed to drop the “phantom” course, and add the correct CRN (sent in an email) for the assigned studio.

Requirements for intermediate studios are:

Architecture – Successful completion of ARCH 600, ARCH 681, and ARCH 682 (Track I), ARCH 683 (Track II).
Interior Architecture – Successful complete of ARCH 600 and ARCH 681 (Track I), Interior Architecture (Track II) – Go directly into Intermediate Studios with no Introductory Studios required.
A grade of “No Pass” will required repeating the introductory studio, which will delay studio progression.
A grade of “Marginal Pass” will result in a Gate Review (see below) before advancing to intermediate studios.

Studio options are also posted on the board outside of Lawrence Hall 210 and on the introductory “Studio” page of this website as soon as they are available.

Intermediate IARC Studio Working Drawings (IARC 587) Interior Architecture Students

IARC 587 “Working Drawings” studio is an “intermediate studio” exception, as it is not part of the preferencing process. Please refer to curriculum guide (Track I or Track II)o see the suggested time to take this course. As with other intermediate studios, you take this after satisfying all introductory studio requirements.

Advanced Studios (ARCH 585 & ARCH 586) Architecture Students

After successfully satisfying all intermediate studio requirements, students will take a two terms of studios (often called terminal studios). They will be part of a separate preferencing process and students will be assigned to a studio based on survey results.

Advanced Studios (IARC 588 & IARC 589) Interior Architecture Students

After satisfying all intermediate studio requirements, students will take IARC 545 Comprehensive Preparation in the Fall term of their final year. During the Winter and Spring terms, IARC students then register for IARC 588 and IARC 589 Interior Design Comprehensive Project as the culmination of their studio progression. This does not require the preferencing process.

Studio Course Grades

Pass

Met learning objectives in the studio description or syllabus and on the department’s studio performance evaluation form
Demonstrated consistent design inquiry and engagement in projects and assignments
Participated thoroughly in design reviews, in-class discussions and peer-to-peer learning opportunities
Showed significant growth as a designer and thinker

Pass – Marginal

Marginal performance in introductory studios implies that the student has worked diligently to meet the minimum
requirements of the course, but there remains a significant question as to the student’s aptitude for design and the
appropriateness of the major as a career direction. The designation of “marginal” in the intermediate studios refers to the
student’s rate of progress toward the level of competency required to enter the advanced studio sequence. The level of
achievement in an individual studio may be regarded as passing, while overall progress is considered marginal.

No Pass

Did not meet one or more learning objectives
Did not demonstrate adequate design inquiry or engagement in projects and assignments
Did not participate adequately in design reviews, in-class discussions and peer-to-peer learning opportunities
Did not show significant growth as a designer and thinker

Written Evaluations
In addition to the recorded grades of “pass” or “no pass,” studio faculty complete a written evaluation of each student at the end of the quarter using the department’s studio performance evaluation form. This provides all students with personalized feedback on their effort, achievement and growth. The form for intermediate and advanced studios includes 22 specific criteria and an overall summary, each scored on a five point scale ranging from strong to weak. Completed forms are placed in students’ academic files and students receive a copy.

Gates for Intermediate Studios

Students required to participate in the Intermediate Studio Entrance Evaluation GATE are not eligible to enter ARCH 4/584 studios before the evaluation has been completed and continuation has been recommended.

The Intermediate Entrance Evaluation is required in the following circumstances:

A. Track I M. Arch. Students

If the student receives a grade of NP (which is recorded on the student’s transcript) or MP (Marginal Pass, which is not recorded on the student’s transcript) in either ARCH 681or 682;

The student must present their design work from all completed studios to a group of faculty consisting of:

Faculty who gave the grade of NP or MP in ARCH 681 or ARCH 682;
Two faculty members of the Design Committee.

B. Track II M. Arch. Students

If the student receives a grade of NP (which is recorded on the student’s transcript) or MP (Marginal Pass, which is not recorded on the student’s transcript) in ARCH 683;

The student must present their design work from all completed studios to a group of faculty consisting of:

Faculty who gave the grade of NP or MP in ARCH 683;
Two faculty members of the Design Committee.

After discussion, the faculty present will decide whether the student shall be admitted to ARCH 4/584. The criteria for evaluating satisfactory performance are developed by faculty teaching in the introductory and intermediate architectural design studios and, in general, stress comprehensive and integrative accomplishment and understanding of the design issues explored by the studios, accompanied by adequate media capabilities.

Note: Design studio faculty must notify Design Committee and Department Staff by week eight of the quarter if they think a student in their studio might be required to have a GATE evaluation in order to proceed to the next quarter.

Gates for Terminal Studios

Students required to participate in the Terminal Studio Entrance Evaluation GATE are not eligible to enter ARCH 4/585 studios before the evaluation has been completed and continuation has been recommended.

The Terminal Studio Entrance Evaluation is required if:

If the student receives a grade of NP (which is recorded on the student’s transcript) or MP (Marginal Pass, which is not recorded on the student’s transcript) in either of the last two of their ARCH 4/584 studios

The student must present their design work from all completed intermediate (ARCH 4/584) studios to a group of faculty consisting of:

Faculty who gave the grade of NP or MP in either of the student’s last two ARCH 4/584 studios;
Two faculty members of the Design Committee.

After discussion, the faculty present will decide whether the student shall be admitted to ARCH 4/585. The criteria for evaluating satisfactory performance are developed by faculty teaching in the introductory and intermediate architectural design studios and, in general, stress comprehensive and integrative accomplishment and understanding of the design issues explored by the studios, accompanied by adequate media capabilities.

Incompletes in Design

A student will be permitted to enroll in design studio after receiving an incomplete at such time as the work is completed and a passing grade change has been officially entered on the student’s permanent record by the Registrar’s Office.

If the work is not successfully completed and a passing grade hasn’t been assigned within the agreed upon time period for removal of the incomplete, a Special Advising Meeting is required before the student is permitted to continue. If the “I” is not removed, it is counted as a non-passing grade and may cause the student to be disqualified from design. A student is not allowed to be working on requirements for two studios simultaneously.

Design Studio Disqualification

A student who withdraws with a “W” and/or earns a non-passing mark (N, I, Y) in two design studio courses will be disqualified.

Disqualification means the student is prohibited from taking additional design courses offered by the department.

A “W” in design may not place a student in jeopardy of disqualification if the withdrawal is necessitated by a medical or personal emergency, as verified by the Design Committee.

Students who are not making satisfactory progress towards a degree in architecture or interior architecture according to the standards determined by the University’s Academic Standing Policy will be disqualified from design studio.

A student who has been disqualified from design studio may apply for reinstatement after one year by supplying evidence of experience during the ‘year away’ that would better prepare the student to profit from additional design coursework. Petitions for reinstatement must be made to the department’s Design Committee. After three years, the student forfeits their major status and must apply for re-admission to the program.

Questions about studio registration? Contact: archadvisor@uoregon.edu