Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The tuition fee is 29,505 USD per semester.

The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) at SCI-Arc is a five-year, 165-credit professional degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The curriculum is organized around five areas: Design Studio, Liberal Arts, Architectural History + Theory, Visual Studies, and Applied Studies.

The program addresses both the discipline of architecture (history, theory, technique) and the profession (building technology, construction, and professional practice), centered on studio work where students develop visual literacy, design skills, and receive continuous feedback from faculty and peers.

The program concludes with a Bachelor of Architecture Thesis. NAAB accreditation allows graduates to pursue architectural licensure for professional practice in the United States.

SCI-Arc is one of the few independent architecture schools in the United States and offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs. Its work centers on educating architects who can imagine and shape the future. The school is organized around questioning assumptions, creating and testing ideas, and developing new responses to the needs and aspirations of contemporary life.

The school occupies a quarter-mile-long former freight depot at 960 East 3rd Street in Los Angeles’s Arts District. The building places students in a studio-based setting within an area that is part of Los Angeles’s emerging cultural hub. The city has a tradition of architectural experimentation, giving the school a setting connected to ongoing conversations about design and the built environment. Its location also places study within the cultural and architectural life of Los Angeles.

Approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members work together in a fluid, nonhierarchical environment. Most faculty members are practicing architects, bringing current professional experience into the school community. For international students, SCI-Arc offers a focused architecture and design education in Los Angeles, with study spanning multiple degree levels. The school’s small scale supports close interaction between students and faculty, while its studio culture places making, exploration, and testing at the center of daily academic work. Professional activity and experimentation remain close to the educational experience.