Pre-Architecture Track
Program Advisor: Christina Penn-Goetsch
Recent graduates have been successful in some of the most competitive graduate art and architecture programs in the country, including Washington University in St. Louis, The University of Pennsylvania, Iowa State University, and Harvard. Former students have gone on to study with Robert Venturi and Louis Khan. Another works for I.M. Pei. Cornell has an even larger list of accomplishments of students attending MFA programs throughout the United States.
Cornell has a long and established relationship with Washington University. We think highly of their program, and we have established credibility with them as well. Our students have been well prepared, both in studio work, historical foundations, and theoretical knowledge, so that they can succeed. A few years ago, a Cornell alumnus was given the graduate school's highest honors. We also believe that the one-course-at-a-time format has assisted students in learning how to work hard and to focus on a singular goal.
Washington University's Cooperative Program
Our three-four cooperative program with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, offers the degree of Master of Architecture from the University and a baccalaureate degree from Cornell College. It is designed for students who wish to obtain their undergraduate education in a liberal arts college but who also want an early start on their professional degree in architecture. Participants complete three years of work at Cornell and four years studying architecture at the University.
Students spend their freshman, sophomore, and junior years at Cornell, incorporating the suggested courses in preparation. Applications for admission to Washington University's program are due February 1st of the calendar year that a student plans to enter. Undergraduates spend their senior year at the University and transfer those courses back to Cornell. Following graduation from Cornell at the end of a four-year process, the student typically continues in the Washington University graduate program for three more years.
Suggested Courses for Admission:
ART: Drawing, Design, Ceramics, Collage/Assemblage, and Sculpture
HISTORY: Europe: 1300-1700 or Modern Europe and Its Critics
MATH: Calculus I
PHYSICS: General Physics I
Submission of a portfolio demonstrating one's work in studio art plays a critical role in the application process; therefore, energy must be devoted to developing the appropriate studio art skills early in an undergraduate career. Also, one course in art history is highly recommended.
