Dual Degree Opportunities : Architecture

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning offer a dual degree program enabling a small number of qualified persons to pursue concurrent work in business administration and architecture leading to the MBA and M.Arch. degrees.

The program combines the two-year/60 credit hour or three-year/105 credit hour M.Arch. degree with the two-year/57 credit hour Full-Time MBA degree resulting in a three-year/90 credit hour or four-year/135 credit hour program. The 2-year M.Arch/MBA program is arranged so that all requirements are completed in three years of enrollment. The 3-year M.Arch./MBA program will take 4 years to complete. 27 credit hours can be double counted. The degrees are awarded simultaneously.

To be eligible for the dual 2-year M.Arch./MBA option, a student must hold a B.S. degree from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning or an equivalent degree earned at another institution. Graduate students enrolled in the 3-year option must complete all required 300 and 400 level coursework before applying to the dual M.Arch./MBA program. Two complete and separate applications are necessary, one to Taubman College for the Master of Architecture and one to the Ross School of Business for the Master of Business Administration degree. An application fee is required for both programs.

Each program will make an admission decision independently of the other. Only if both programs approve admission is the applicant considered a dual degree student. This combined degree program is not open to students who have earned either the MBA or M. Arch. degrees. Students registered in the first year of either the MBA or the 2-year M.Arch program may apply; both programs admit for fall term only.

Students admitted to this dual degree program must satisfy the following requirements:

1) The MBA 57 credit hour degree program including:

  • 45 Ross MBA credit hours; made up of:

    • Roughly 30 MBA core credit hours (note: successfully-waived core courses do not earn degree credits, and must be replaced with additional Ross electives). Core credit hours include:

      • MBA1 cohort core sequence

      • Competing in the Global Business Environment: STRATEGY 503

      • Law/Ethics Requirement

      • Communication Requirement

    • Roughly 15 credits of Ross electives

  • Up to 12 hours of transferable credits from Graduate Architecture

2) The M. Arch. 60 or 105 credit hour degree program including:

  • Four courses (24 credits) of architectural design (Arch 552, Arch 562, Arch 662, and Arch 672); spring half-term travel courses cannot be counted as one of the required design courses

  • Seven courses (21 credits) of specific required architecture courses (Arch 515, Arch 516, Arch 527, Arch 537, Arch 572, Arch 583 and Arch 660)

  • 15 hours of transferable credit hours from the School of Business Administration

The total credit hours for the 2-year M.Arch/MBA dual degree must be at least 90, and for the 3-year M.Arch/MBA dual degree must be at least 135.

For the first year, the student has a choice between enrolling in the Ross School of Business or the Taubman College. Registration in the second year then takes place in the other unit. During the third year, registration is split between the two units, with one semester completed in Taubman College and one in the Business School. (All 3-year M.Arch students must complete Year 1 at Taubman College before electing a dual course path, and will then complete a path.) Studies may begin in either school. Each school will apply its own deferred admission standards to students who elect to take the first year in the other school. Students who wish to begin with Architecture should see a counselor in the Business School to arrange an appropriate plan of study. No course work completed prior to admission in either of the two halves of the program may be counted toward the MBA requirements of the dual program.

Candidates interested in the dual program must file separate applications to and be admitted by both schools. Applicants must indicate on both applications that they are applying for this specific dual degree program.

This schedule of architecture courses is highly recommended and directed toward students who desire Profession Practice as a focus to their program. Other areas of emphasis, however, may be pursued. Please note the 90 hours cannot include transfer credit from units outside of Business or Architecture and/or work experience.