Both the five-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) and the four-year Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies (B.S.A.S.) programs provide a highly integrated, comprehensive education that will help prepare you for the balance of critical thinking and practical skills needed to succeed in the professional setting.
Fully Integrated Program
The areas of architectural design, history and technology intersect throughout the program. For example, while you’re learning about a particular architectural development in history class, you’ll be designing your own examples in studio, all while learning about the new conditions that require architects to consider innovative approaches to their work. Your coursework in environmental science will enhance the way you think about the ecological impact of architecture and increase your capacity to respond to the needs of sustainable design. This multidisciplinary integration helps provide a deeper understanding of the content and promotes higher-level analytical skills.
Design Your Own Path
The B.Arch. program sets aside a generous number of elective credits for you to pursue specialized interests within architecture, related to architecture or completely separate from architecture. This flexibility helps provide you with balance needed to define your own version of success.
- Bell Core Curriculum
The central feature of every undergraduate program at Belmont University is the Bell Core curriculum, which comprises about a third of academic credits that will be earned over the course of the degree programs. This general education curriculum engages you in a range of disciplines, including environmental studies, sociology, history and philosophy.
This core curriculum prepares you to be curious, deliberative, well-informed, open-minded, rational and reflective. Upon completion of the Bell Core requirements, you’ll know how to integrate new information, form sound judgments, communicate effectively in both speech and writing, and be sympathetic to the human condition.
B.Arch. Major Requirements
- ARC 1001 Architectural Drafting
- ARC 1003 Foundations Studio
- ARC 1015 Craft, Profession, Vocation: Architectural Practices Past, Present, and Future
- ARC 1020 Shop Fabrication & Sustainability
- ARC 2021 Architecture Studio I: Architectural Design Methods
- ARC 2022 Architecture Studio 2: Architectural Design Methods
- ARC 2031 History of Architecture before 1400
- ARC 2032 History of Architecture after 1400
- ARC 2051 Digital Representation I
- ART 2850 Portfolio Practices
- ARC 3023 Architecture Studio 3: Integrated Design
- ARC 3024 Architecture Studio 4: Integrated Design
- ARC 3033 History of Architecture in the United States
- ARC 3041 Structures I
- ARC 3042 Structures 2
- ARC 4025 Architecture Studio 5: Integrated Design
- ARC 4026 Architecture Studio 6: Integrated Design
- ARC 4034 Theories of Architecture and the Environment after 1400
- ARC 4043 Environmental Systems 1
- ARC 4044 Environmental Systems 2
- ARC 4507 Professional Practice I
- ARC 4508 Professional Practice 2
- ARC 4518 Comprehensive Design Seminar
- ARC 4527 Architecture Studio 7: Comprehensive Design
- ARC 4528 Architecture Studio 8: Comprehensieve Design
- ART 1030 Drawing I
3 Hours
The development of basic manual drafting skills in a studio setting, introducing the components of plan, elevation, and section drawing and requiring the use of drafting tools and instruments.
3 Hours
A fundamental approach to architectural and interior design through a sequenced investigation of design elements and principles that develop skills which will inform the complete relationships between geometries, composition, and systematic strategies. Analysis of case studies and use of analytical diagramming to further inform design solutions presented with three-dimensional modeling and drawing.
3 Hours
History and current conditions of the profession of architecture. Investigation options for career goals within a study of vocational fulfillment in the Christian tradition of service. Students will establish an eportfolio, attend guest lectures and participate in field trips.
1 Hours
Materials, fabrication methods, assembly and finishing explored through safe use of hand and power tools in a shop setting. Study of sustainability issues related to materials commonly used to fabricate models and projects for art and design disciplines.
3 Hours
Prerequisites/Corequisites: ARC 1003, ARC 1020
Introduction to methods of architectural design communicated through orthographic drawings and principles of composition based in traditional and modernist precedent studies. Emphasizes problem-solving through an iterative process, including planning, properties of materials, and basic structural assemblies as design elements.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2021 Corequisites: ARC 3041
Increasing facility with methods of architectural design communicated through orthographic, axonometric, and perspective drawings and principles of composition based in traditional and modernist precedent studies. Emphasizes problem-solving through an iterative process, including planning, prperties of materials, structural assemblies as design elements, and the importance of physical context. Concludes with mid-semester eportfolio review.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: HIS 1010
Architecture from Prehistory to ca. 1400, emphasizing Western and Christian culture with an introduction to Asian, African, Pre-Columbian American, Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Underscoring the traditional values that shape the arts and architecture and investigating connections between culture, ecology and buildings.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: HIS 1020
The historical development of architecture after ca. 1400 in locations around the world, including Europe, the Americas, Persian Gulf, and East Asia. Emphasizing aesthetic and architectural theory, building technology, and values that shape architecture, investigating connections between culture, ecology, and buildings, especially related to global building traditions introduced in ARC 2031.
3 Hours
Prerequisites/Corequisites: Two and three dimensional computer-aided drafting, utilizing architectural line weights and line types to produce communicative documentation. Introduction to various presentation methods, interface with printing ad page setup, and computer rendering principles.
1 Hours
Prerequisites: ENG 1010 and ART 1000 or ARC 1015, or permission of instructor
Through inquiry, reflection and integration, students will bring coherence to, synthesize, and integrate learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom in the context of a liberal arts university by producing an electronic portfolio for both academic and professional purposes. This course will introduce students to the basis of documenting, curating, reflecting on, and showcasing learned proficiency’s as shown through such artifacts as visual and written work. The course will emphasize both visual and written/reflective components of creating and critique. Students will also be introduced to professional practices in preparation for an internship.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2022
First studio for integrated architectural design (structures). Requires responsiveness to context, to principles of composition, and to a given program for a small civic building. Includes studies of traditional/vernacular and post-industrial structural materials and methods in relationship to building forms and planning.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3023
Second studio for integrated architectural design (history). Requires responsiveness to context, principles of composition, and a given program. Includes studies of historic, regional historic typologies in relationship to building form and planning to solve contemporary residential problems.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2032
History of architectural development in the United States in global context and with the regional emphasis. Includes considerations of aesthetic and architectural theory, building technology, and the cultural values that shape architecture with special focus on vernacular typologies in the Southeastern United States in general and Nashville in particular.
4 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3023
Structural design, performance and properties of vernacular and industrial building materials (including wood, masonry, and steel) through an analysis of assemblies. Includes strength of materials, concepts of statics, tension, compression and bending. Addresses sustainability via embodied energy, life-cycle costs, and the impact of construction on the environment. Includes exercises in convention of graphic representation for construction documentation.
4 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3041
Steel, concrete, and enclosure technology in the context of long-span and high-rise structures. Concepts of tension/compression, bending and sheer stress, combined stresses, load resolution, and member sizing. Addresses sustainability and the impact of construction materials on the environment. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3024
Third studio for integrated architectural design (inclusive design, interior design). Emphasizes principles of composition and responsiveness to a given program. Includes studies of culture, equity, and inclusive design in relationship to building form and planning. Collaborates with an interior design studio.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4025 Corequisites: ARC 4034
Fourth studio for integrated architectural design (environmental systems, theory). Emphasizes principles of composition and responsiveness to a given program for a public building (usually a performing arts space). Includes studies of traditional and advanced passive environmental systems design and ecologically-oriented architectural theory in relationship to building form and planning.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2032
Architectural theory surveyed from the Renaissance through the present day. Connections to industrialization and globalism, and ecological responses to them, are particularly sought.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ENV 1150 and ENV 1155 Corequisites: ARC 4025
Relationships between architecture and the environment with an emphasis on passive systems to control climate (air, temperature, water, light, and sound). Other concepts include architecture as embodied energy and energy consumer; sustainability issues include life-cycle costs and carbon footprint analysis. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4043
Relationships between architecture and the environment with an emphasis on active systems to control climate (air, temperature, water, light, and sound). Other concepts include environmental systems within integrated design strategies and sustainability issues related to energy conservation and life cycle costs. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
3 Hours
The business, law, and ethics of architecture. Conventional and alternative paths to professional practice; emphasizes collaborative leadership, including advocacy for civic life in local communities and for equity among all architectural workers. Addresses the history of the AIA and alternate voices (e.g. Architecture Lobby) and regulatory bodies (including NCARB).
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4507
Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public through responsible and ethical practices. Includes architectural programming, code searches (e.g., occupancy and zoning codes, ADAA and universal design), project scheduling, cost estimating, case study research, and the impact of regulations on design, performance, and sustainability (usually directed toward a project in the concurrent Comprehensive Design Studio).
3 Hours
Corequisites: ARC 4528
Aligned with ARC 4528 to provide a formal setting in which to reflect and focus on the integrative design process, the challenges and potentials of achieving full synthesis and integration in a project. Deliberation in the place and nature of innovation within the many demands of an architectural design.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4026 Corequisites: ARC 4507
First studio for comprehensive architectural design. Requires program development and wide-ranging response to needs of planning and composition, based in studies of equity, history, and environmental systems, usually in the context of a healthcare project. Emphasizes integration with professional practices by addressing collaboration in teams, concerns for regulatory standards.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4527 Corequisites: ARC 4518
Second studio for comprehensive architectural design. Requires program development and wide-ranging response to needs of planning and composition, based in studies of equity, history, and environmental systems. Emphasizes integration with professional practice by synthesizing various requirements of architectural design including systems, assemblies, user and regulatory requirements, site conditions, ecological concerns, and accessibility.
3 Hours
This course is an introduction to the visual language of drawing. Emphasis is placed on learning to see by stressing intense looking, critical judgment, and precise measuring through direct observation. Each class will include hands on projects and homework assignments that heighten the students’ ability to accurately create the illusion of three-dimensional forms in space on a two-dimensional picture plane. Demonstrations using a variety of media will be used to reinforce topics such as, composition, space, sighting, contour line, point perspective, and rendering value. $50.00 course fee.
B.S.A.S. Major Requirements
- ARC 1001 Architectural Drafting
- ARC 1003 Foundations Studio
- ARC 1015 Craft, Profession, Vocation: Architectural Practices Past, Present, and Future
- ARC 1020 Shop Fabrication & Sustainability
- ARC 2021 Architecture Studio I: Architectural Design Methods
- ARC 2022 Architecture Studio 2: Architectural Design Methods
- ARC 2031 History of Architecture before 1400
- ARC 2032 History of Architecture after 1400
- ARC 2051 Digital Representation I
- ART 2850 Portfolio Practices
- ARC 3023 Architecture Studio 3: Integrated Design
- ARC 3024 Architecture Studio 4: Integrated Design
- ARC 3033 History of Architecture in the United States
- ARC 3041 Structures I
- ARC 3042 Structures 2
- ARC 4025 Architecture Studio 5: Integrated Design
- ARC 4026 Architecture Studio 6: Integrated Design
- ARC 4034 Theories of Architecture and the Environment after 1400
- ARC 4043 Environmental Systems 1
- ARC 4044 Environmental Systems 2
- ART 1030 Drawing I
3 Hours
The development of basic manual drafting skills in a studio setting, introducing the components of plan, elevation, and section drawing and requiring the use of drafting tools and instruments. Cross Listed with ITD 1001
3 Hours
A fundamental approach to architectural and interior design through a sequenced investigation of design elements and principles that develop skills which will inform the complete relationships between geometries, composition, and systematic strategies. Analysis of case studies and use of analytical diagramming to further inform design solutions presented with three-dimensional modeling and drawing. Cross Listed with ITD 1003.
3 Hours
History and current conditions of the profession of architecture. Investigation options for career goals within a study of vocational fulfillment in the Christian tradition of service. Students will establish an eportfolio, attend guest lectures and participate in field trips.
1 Hours
Materials, fabrication methods, assembly and finishing explored through safe use of hand and power tools in a shop setting. Study of sustainability issues related to materials commonly used to fabricate models and projects for art and design disciplines.
3 Hours
Prerequisites/Corequisites: ARC 1003, ARC 1020
Introduction to methods of architectural design communicated through orthographic drawings and principles of composition based in traditional and modernist precedent studies. Emphasizes problem-solving through an iterative process, including planning, properties of materials, and basic structural assemblies as design elements.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2021 Corequisites: ARC 3041
Increasing facility with methods of architectural design communicated through orthographic, axonometric, and perspective drawings and principles of composition based in traditional and modernist precedent studies. Emphasizes problem-solving through an iterative process, including planning, prperties of materials, structural assemblies as design elements, and the importance of physical context. Concludes with mid-semester eportfolio review.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: HIS 1010
Architecture from Prehistory to ca. 1400, emphasizing Western and Christian culture with an introduction to Asian, African, Pre-Columbian American, Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Underscoring the traditional values that shape the arts and architecture and investigating connections between culture, ecology and buildings.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: HIS 1020
The historical development of architecture after ca. 1400 in locations around the world, including Europe, the Americas, Persian Gulf, and East Asia. Emphasizing aesthetic and architectural theory, building technology, and values that shape architecture, investigating connections between culture, ecology, and buildings, especially related to global building traditions introduced in ARC 2031.
3 Hours
Prerequisites/Corequisites: Two and three dimensional computer-aided drafting, utilizing architectural line weights and line types to produce communicative documentation. Introduction to various presentation methods, interface with printing ad page setup, and computer rendering principles.
Cross Listed with ITD 2051
1 Hours
Prerequisites: ENG 1010 and ART 1000 or ARC 1015, or permission of instructor
Through inquiry, reflection and integration, students will bring coherence to, synthesize, and integrate learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom in the context of a liberal arts university by producing an electronic portfolio for both academic and professional purposes. This course will introduce students to the basis of documenting, curating, reflecting on, and showcasing learned proficiency’s as shown through such artifacts as visual and written work. The course will emphasize both visual and written/reflective components of creating and critique. Students will also be introduced to professional practices in preparation for an internship.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2022
First studio for integrated architectural design (structures). Requires responsiveness to context, to principles of composition, and to a given program for a small civic building. Includes studies of traditional/vernacular and post-industrial structural materials and methods in relationship to building forms and planning.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3023
Second studio for integrated architectural design (history). Requires responsiveness to context, principles of composition, and a given program. Includes studies of historic, regional historic typologies in relationship to building form and planning to solve contemporary residential problems.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2032
History of architectural development in the United States in global context and with the regional emphasis. Includes considerations of aesthetic and architectural theory, building technology, and the cultural values that shape architecture with special focus on vernacular typologies in the Southeastern United States in general and Nashville in particular.
4 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3023
Structural design, performance and properties of vernacular and industrial building materials (including wood, masonry, and steel) through an analysis of assemblies. Includes strength of materials, concepts of statics, tension, compression and bending. Addresses sustainability via embodied energy, life-cycle costs, and the impact of construction on the environment. Includes exercises in convention of graphic representation for construction documentation.
4 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3041
Steel, concrete, and enclosure technology in the context of long-span and high-rise structures. Concepts of tension/compression, bending and sheer stress, combined stresses, load resolution, and member sizing. Addresses sustainability and the impact of construction materials on the environment. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 3024
Third studio for integrated architectural design (inclusive design, interior design). Emphasizes principles of composition and responsiveness to a given program. Includes studies of culture, equity, and inclusive design in relationship to building form and planning. Collaborates with an interior design studio.
6 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4025 Corequisites: ARC 4034
Fourth studio for integrated architectural design (environmental systems, theory). Emphasizes principles of composition and responsiveness to a given program for a public building (usually a performing arts space). Includes studies of traditional and advanced passive environmental systems design and ecologically-oriented architectural theory in relationship to building form and planning.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 2032
Architectural theory surveyed from the Renaissance through the present day. Connections to industrialization and globalism, and ecological responses to them, are particularly sought.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ENV 1150 and ENV 1155 Corequisites: ARC 4025
Relationships between architecture and the environment with an emphasis on passive systems to control climate (air, temperature, water, light, and sound). Other concepts include architecture as embodied energy and energy consumer; sustainability issues include life-cycle costs and carbon footprint analysis. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
3 Hours
Prerequisites: ARC 4043
Relationships between architecture and the environment with an emphasis on active systems to control climate (air, temperature, water, light, and sound). Other concepts include environmental systems within integrated design strategies and sustainability issues related to energy conservation and life cycle costs. Includes exercises in conventions of graphic representation for construction documentation.
3 Hours
This course is an introduction to the visual language of drawing. Emphasis is placed on learning to see by stressing intense looking, critical judgment, and precise measuring through direct observation. Each class will include hands on projects and homework assignments that heighten the students’ ability to accurately create the illusion of three-dimensional forms in space on a two-dimensional picture plane. Demonstrations using a variety of media will be used to reinforce topics such as, composition, space, sighting, contour line, point perspective, and rendering value. $50.00 course fee.