Southern California Institute of Architecture

SCI-Arc offers exchange programs with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and the Bartlett School of Architecture. Additionally, SCI-Arc's Tokyo Study Abroad Program includes specialized travel seminars across Asia and workshops taught by designers from the University of Tokyo, Kyoto Seika University, Keio University, and Hosei University.

Locally, SCI-Arc's annual career networking event, Open Season, connects students with professional opportunities. Departing from a traditional career fair model, Open Season is an exhibition in which students pin up their best work and present their most engaging designs on a larger, more visually captivating scale.

Degrees Offered

At the graduate level, SCI-Arc offers a professional Master of Architecture degree and five specialized Master of Science degrees.

SCI-Arc's Master of Architecture degree (M.Arch) is awarded to students completing the 3-year M.Arch 1 program or 2-year M.Arch 2 program. Both M.Arch programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, allowing graduates to pursue architectural licensure in the United States.

M.Arch 1 is open to applicants who hold a bachelor's degree in any field. Central to the program's philosophy is a firm commitment to design excellence and building an intellectual understanding of the history, theory, technology, and professional practice of architecture.

M.Arch 2 builds upon knowledge gained from undergraduate degrees in architecture, exposing students to the latest architectural theories and design methodologies for developing alternative contemporary design languages.

MS in Architectural Technologies students develop entrepreneurial projects that connect advanced topics in computational research with innovations in machine vision, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and platform design.

The MS in Design of Cities expands architectural design into urban and infrastructural problems through a collective studio research model.

MS in Fiction and Entertainment students work with professionals in film, animation, and game design to shape their individual creative practices.

The MS in Synthetic Landscapes examines how to integrate artificial and natural systems into innovative models of landscape practice that actively engage climate change.

MS in Design Theory and Pedagogy students produce new forms of architectural scholarship and gain hands-on teaching experience that expand the scope of architectural pedagogy.

SCI-Arc's tuition and fees are $23,246 per semester. Living expenses vary depending on arrangements, as SCI-Arc does not provide on-campus housing.

Financial Aid

Admissions Scholarships are awarded to both domestic and international applicants based on the applicant's potential to succeed at SCI-Arc and the overall merit of their application.

With approximately 500 students and over 100 faculty, SCI-Arc is an anchor for the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, a former industrial area transformed into a cultural hub rich with museums, art galleries, and restaurants.

SCI-Arc's urban context plays a critical role in shaping students' design approaches. A dynamic, global city, with a rich tradition of architectural experimentation, Los Angeles is a compelling place in which to study and produce architecture.

Facilities

SCI-Arc's quarter-mile long facility features open design studios that link fluidly, fostering community and spontaneous interactions around the clock. Students skateboard from one end of the building to the other or work late into the night with their dogs napping nearby.

SCI-Arc houses some of the largest and most advanced fabrication facilities at an architecture school. Its Fabrication Shop is equipped with metal and woodworking tools enabling projects from scale models to full-size furniture construction and architectural elements. The Magic Box houses 3D scanners and 3D printers that print in ABS, resin, powder, and paper and features six laser-cutters and two CNC machines.

The Robot House is a research space for hands-on experimentation and advanced multi-robotic fabrication that focuses on human-robot collaboration for investigating opportunities outside of traditional digital production.

SCI-Arc's Kappe Library is the only academic library in Southern California focused exclusively on architecture. Its Library Gallery hosts exhibitions of built projects, design proposals, and student work, periodically converting the traditional study environment into a space for auxiliary discourse and research.

The SCI-Arc Gallery exhibits work that provokes critical discussions of current building practices and serves as a space where professionals, faculty, students, and the public can learn about and experience provocative architecture, art, and design. Exhibitions are executed as workshops where students assist invited architects with fabrication.

Faculty

SCI-Arc upholds that working professionals can best communicate to students the complexities of making architecture. Faculty is primarily comprised of practicing architects, giving students pragmatic insight into the profession and connecting them with internships and employment outside the school.

Representing some of the most cutting-edge thinkers in architecture, design, engineering, and technology, SCI-Arc faculty are actively shaping the global discourse and consistently receive recognition for their contributions to education and architecture.

Professionally, SCI-Arc faculty have led the design and construction of iconic buildings including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Caltrans building, and BMW Welt during tenures at global architectural firms such as Gehry Partners, Morphosis, and Coop Himmelblau.

Students

Students come from all over the globe with diverse academic and professional backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: a passion for architecture.