OUR INNOVATIVE MASTER’S IN ARCHITECTURE
Our innovative Master in Architecture combines a year-long thesis project, led by Thesis Chair Ben van Berkel, along with advanced design and construction courses, and an intensive Design Management Module, where you’ll begin to chart your individual professional path.
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EXPLORE THE Master in Architecture program
- Description
- Terms
- TERM 13 months
- TERM 23 months
- TERM 33 months
Master in Architecture presentation
Master in Architecture presentation
The Master in Architecture (Habilitante) is a full-time, 10-month program in English, based in Madrid. It is designed to prepare future architects for leadership roles, combining rigorous training for professional licensure in Spain and the EU with an international, entrepreneurial, and sustainable approach.
Leveraging IE University’s long-standing leadership in entrepreneurship, management, and business, this program offers a unique blend of architectural training with business acumen—something very unique in an enabling master's degree in architecture.
The program consists of three main elements: a Thesis Project module led by Ben Van Berkel of UNStudio, an architectural design and construction studio focused on sustainable technologies, and a Design Management module emphasizing business training in architecture and design. Students benefit from hands-on experience, study trips, and seminars with leaders from prestigious firms ensuring they graduate ready to lead in architecture and related fields.
Approaches
Jump Start
Students conduct research on their proposed topic, and determine the scope, site, and program for their final design project, working with our expert faculty.
Sustainable Strategies
A comprehensive design studio, dealing with complex, contemporary challenges in the urban setting, with special attention dedicated to the challenges of sustainability as well as the legal, economic, regulatory and social contexts in which architects work.
Sustainable Techniques
Students learn to integrate structural, mechanical, and environmental systems.
Sustainable Urban Development
Applications
Design Applications
In the second phase of the Thesis Project, students begin to define the primary design elements of their projects, dealing with site conditions, building systems, materials and, all applicable regulations. This course will be held in Amsterdam, led by Thesis Chair Ben van Berkel.
Technology Applications
This workshop supports the technical development of the Thesis Project, providing individualized feedback on structural, mechanical, and environmental systems.
Creativity & Organization
This course explores the interface of creative work and the organizations set up to perform it.
Strategy
Begin to develop your own business strategy in architecture and the design professions.
Project Management
You’ll focus on the supervision, preparation, and management of projects.
Synthesis
Synthesis
Here’s where you pull it all together. In the third and final module of the Thesis Project, students integrate the work of the previous phases, preparing and presenting a comprehensive architectural project, with all relevant documentation necessary.
This project serves as both a synthesis of all the student’s acquired knowledge and a stepping stone to his or her future as a professional in architecture and the related fields.
Final review of the work will be conducted by our expert faculty along with Thesis Chair Ben van Berkel, and leading Spanish professionals and other invited guests.
*Please note that our program content is continually updated to remain in sync with market demands. Therefore, we advise you that the content is subject to change and it can be dependent on student demand.
BEING PART OF THE IE COMMUNITY
Our masterclasses feature innovative guest speakers who are active architecture and design professionals, offering incisive insight into current trends. These sessions are complemented by diverse events such as School Day, which brings together students, impactful alumni, and world-class faculty members. This is what the IE Community is all about—a life-long network of support to help you design your own path to professional success.