Applicants submit the following:
Items 1-7 should be submitted online. The portfolio (item 8) should be mailed to Graduate Admissions, College of Design, NC State University, Box 7701, Brooks Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695-7701
Apply online. The fee is $65 for U.S. applicants and $75 for international applicants.
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Applicants should upload an unofficial transcript for each institution attended into their online application. Official transcripts are only required if accepted.
Provide recommendations from at least three people who know your academic record and potential for graduate study. Online recommendation forms are contained in the online application. If, however, you elect to submit recommendations forms offline (paper), please mail to Graduate Admissions, NC State University, Campus Box 7701, Brooks Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695-7701.
Graduate Record Examination/GRE scores are required for Track 3 applicants. The institution code for NC State University is 5496.
International students must provide a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score in order to be accepted into the Graduate School. A minimum score of 213 is required for the computer based test and a minimum of 72 (with at least an 18 in each section) is required for the internet based test. International students should also review other information and requirements. The institution code for NC State University is 5496.
Under North Carolina law, legal residence means more than simply living in the state. More specifically, it means maintaining a permanent home of indefinite duration as opposed to a temporary residence incident to enrollment in a university, college or technical institute of the state. If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and you wish to be considered for in-state residency for tuition purposes, you must complete residentiary acts before you can begin the one-year (12-month) waiting period prior to applying for North Carolina residency. For full details, go to http://go.ncsu.edu/NCRes
Fill out the online personal data form and submit a resume or curriculum vita (two pages maximum).
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Portfolios should be mailed to Graduate Admissions, College of Design, NC State University, Box 7701, Brooks Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695-7701.
A portfolio – literally “carry the leaves or sheets” – is defined in the dictionary as a flat, portable case, usually of leather, for carrying loose sheets of paper, manuscripts, drawings, etc. In architecture, as in all the design professions, portfolios are regarded as the most effective way to communicate their work to others. They typically are brochures containing a selection of architectural projects and other pertinent 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional work of artistic or technical interest, presented as reproductions in one of the standard paper formats. Students with an undergraduate degree in architecture applying to a graduate program and graduates looking for a first job or moving from one employer to another are expected to present portfolios to illustrate their abilities, their experiences, and their accomplishments. Specific suggestions: A few specific suggestions for you to keep in mind as you assemble your portfolio.
Portfolios for applicants with previous architectural degrees are considered as demonstrations in ability to design architectural projects. Other pertinent 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional work of artistic, design, or technical interest may be included as supplementary to this desired purpose.
Portfolios for applicants to Track 3 have a somewhat different purpose. Because applicants come from a great variety of backgrounds, some have experience in architecture or a related field, while others have none. Our Admissions Committee will look upon your portfolio not so much as a track record, but primarily as an indicator of your promise in the field of architecture. Your portfolio should present some proof to us that your professed interest in architecture, and in becoming an architect, is based on more than the tentative contemplation of a vague possibility. It should show that you have tested the strength of your interests by acting upon them and that these actions have left some traces in the form of products you can present. We are therefore interested in seeing evidence of your curiosities and interests, your perceptual sensibilities and your skills, your initiative, your creativity, and your judgment as you experience, record, represent, analyze, criticize, and -- most important of all -- transform the environment around you, architecturally or otherwise. Design is making, and it is important for you to demonstrate that you can actively make things, not just passively observe them.
The Graduate Admissions Committee feels it is important to allow a fair degree of latitude regarding the format and content of your portfolio. The included items, as well as the manner in which they are presented, are the first important clues to your sensibilities and overall promise in the field. In other words, the committee tends to look at your portfolio as a first "design assignment."
Track 3 applicants should keep in mind that architecture deals with three-dimensional entities. Whereas two-dimensional work (such as drawing, painting, 2-dimensional design and photography) is useful to illustrate compositional and graphic abilities, the Admissions Committee will look for some evidence to assess your promise in the conception and manipulation of 3-dimensional form, volume and space. Samples of elementary mechanical drawing or architectural drafting are not considered pertinent to show potential for architecture. Nor is it essential to include "architectural work" per-se. Examples of successful portfolios of past applicants to the Track 3 program are kept on file at the desk of the M.Arch. Admissions Secretary. Please feel free to stop by and take a look at them. You may also arrange an appointment through the secretary with a member of the Graduate Admissions Committee to discuss any questions you may have regarding admissions procedures or portfolios.