I. Brief Introduction

The discipline of Architecture focuses not only on the research of building and its environment, but also on the combination of architectural design aesthetics and technology. It is a discipline to summarize the experience of human architectural activities, to research on the methodology and to create suitable space for living with aesthetic physical form. It is a comprehensive discipline that integrates sociology, technology and art. The discipline of Architecture has a close connection with the natural science like Mechanics, Optics, and Acoustics, the building technology like Hydraulic, Thermal and Electrical, the humanities like Aesthetics, Sociology, Psychology, History, Economics and Law. Architecture, together with Urban Planning and Landscape, constitute the integrated living environmental science.

The Architecture discipline in College of Architecture & Urban Planning (CAUP) Tongji University was authorized to grant master degree in 1981. It is a national key discipline and within the National 211 and 985 Key Project Programs. The Architecture Discipline has built its outstanding academic standing and extensive influence worldwide with its great achievements in research, education, practice, and international cooperation. The research, education and practice achievements have been widely awarded and published. In recent years, it has been consistently expanding and intensifying international collaboration in education and research; and building the leading double-degree program in China, with the collaboration with various world-renowned universities, including German universities like TU Berlin, Bauhaus University, Ruhr-University Bochum; Italian universities like Politenico de Miliano and Pavia University; TU Wien of Austria; ETH Zurich of Switzerland; Chalmers University of Technology of Sweden; and Georgia Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Princeton University, Harvard and MIT of USA. 

Associated labs and practical institutes include: Advanced Research Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning; Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-saving Study of Dense Habitat (includes Digital Design Research Center, Smart City Research Center, Historical Building Protection Research Center and Green Building Research Center), Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongji University (Group) Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute. The discipline also has several national level education centers, such as one Experimental Teaching Center of Architecture, Urban & Rural Planning, and Landscape Architecure, one Virtual Experimental Teaching Center of Architecture, Urban & Rural Planning, and Landscape Architecure, and two National Engineer Education Centers.

The discipline began recruiting graduate students in the 1956, and has cultivated a large number of master graduates since the resume of its master program in 1978, including students from Hong Kong China, Taiwan District, Japan, Australia, Yemen, Sudan, France, Russia, German and other countries. 

II. Objectives

Candidates shall have the right values and social responsibility, Law-abiding, honest and justice, physically and mentally healthy, has a good work, have a spirit of cooperation and dedication. Candidates are expected to gain in-depth and extensive knowledge in their field of study, develop a strong ability to deal with practical matters, be able to take on technical design or relevant management work, can doing the research work independently, proficiency in computer and a foreign language, become highly competent professionals with global views. Candidates need to have the six characteristics listed below:

1. With good academic literacy and ethics: law-abiding, establish a good work ethic and professionalism, have scientific rigor and pragmatic attitude of learning and work.

2. Having the ability to obtaining knowledge: strong knowledge of basic architectural theory, systematically mastering and understanding the status quo and development trends of international and national architectural design field, has a certain cross-disciplinary knowledge.

3. Having scientific research ability: not only have the ability of learning, analyzing and criticizing the research of predecessors, but also have a strong modern architectural theory and methodology background, and with field research and comprehensive analysis ability.

4. Having practical ability: have strong abilities in engineering practices, obtain good academic and innovative capabilities, be able to undertake work in architectural design, construction, management and research, and be able to solve problems in an integrated manner.

5. Having academic communication ability: be good at presenting the academic thoughts, explaining research and technological methodology, showing his/her academic achievement, proficiency in a foreign language, with a global view and having the ability to using the foreign language to develop the research and academic communication.

6. Having the ability to apply theory into practice: be good at using his/her knowledge and technique to solve the practical social economic and technique problem that related to Architecture.

III.Research Orientations

1. Architectural Design & Theory

2. Architectural History & Theory

3. Science of Architectural Technology

4. Urban Design & Theory

5. Interior Design & Theory

6. Historical Building Protection & Theory

IV.Program Duration

1. Admission Requirements: Applicants must be graduates of architecture-related specialties (Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape and etc.) and holders of bachelor’s degrees (or equivalent degrees) from accredited institutions in the national higher education system. The admission tests consist of initial tests, which a unified national tests, and finial tests, which are conducted by respective graduate schools.

2. Years of Study: 2.5 years for full-time master’s degree candidates, among which 1 year is for curriculum learning, 6 months for internship, and no less than a year for degree thesis. The practice of completing the study in 2 years is encouraged, and the maximum duration is 4 years. The dual-degree program study last 3 years, 1 year study in our own university, 1 year study in overseas university, 3 months professional internship period, and no less than a year for degree thesis.

3. Method of Schooling: Full-time schooling, which is made up of 3 parts: course learning, field work and degree thesis. Joint tutorial system is encouraged, in which the first advisor shall be a qualified faculty member, and the second advisor shall be a specialist with senior qualifications in an enterprise or any other technical expert rich in related engineering experience.

V.Credit

1. Curriculum: Full-time master’s degree program is consisted of 4 parts: degree courses, non-degree courses, required part and supplementary courses. 

2. Credit Requirement: Full-time master students must complete at least 32 credits, among them 5 credits for Common courses, 11 credits for professional degree courses, 8 credits for non-degree courses, no less than 8 credits for required courses.

3. All the forefront courses in the directions of discipline are professional required degree courses. For the forefront courses in other related directions are non-degree optional courses, need to select at least one forefront course in other related directions.

4. Non-degree courses include Common non-degree course and professional non-degree course. Common non-degree courses include cross-discipline course (at least 2 credits), mathematical course, computational application course, second foreign language and physical fitness course.

5. Supplementary course is the basic professional course for the students who do not have the professional background, no credits.

VI.Thesis-writing

1. Master students must complete degree thesis independently under the guidance of advisors. Degree thesis shall reflect that the students have met the requirements specified in “Objectives of the Program”. Thesis shall start from subjects with practical value and academic connotation, and fulfill a design project with considerable difficulty and workload on the basis of sufficient investigation,. The proposal of the thesis subjects shall clarify the research question and the key technical methods. The thesis shall be a comprehensive package including investigation report, design argument, and final design works. A paper no less than 10,000 words, 8 A0-sized presentation boards, of which 5 boards need to focus on the specific engineering design problems, are required.

2. In principle, the thesis shall be written in Chinese. International students may write in English or specific language previously approved by the degree committee and the graduate school, but must add detailed abstracts in Chinese in their thesis.  

3. To insure the quality of the thesis, certain period of time is required for thesis writing. In principle, no less than 10 months are required from the approval of the thesis proposal to the completion of thesis.

4. Each degree thesis shall be reviewed by at least 2 specialists. The defense committee shall be composed of at least 3 specialists except for the advisor. Reviewers and the members of the defense committee shall be the holders of senior academic or technical titles. 

5. In accordance with Tong Yan [2006] No.109 “Provisions of Tongji University on the Publishing of Academic Papers by Master’s and Doctoral Degree Candidates” and “Requirements and Standard by the Graduate School of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University on the Application of Master’s Degrees”, we encourage students to publish their academic papers and masterpieces.

6. The secrecy of degree thesis and application management work is under the direction of “The Management Regulation of Master Degree Thesis and Application for Tongji University”.

VII.Remark

Graduates of this program can obtain the Master’s Degree of Architecture, as well as the graduate school diploma. Students without bachelor’s degree of Architecture can apply for master degree only after the completion of minimum 3 architecture undergraduate courses, including one of the core design courses (020296, 020297, 020298 or 020252); one of the building technology courses (021144 or 023050); and one of the history and theory courses (021002, 022094 or 021094).