The following documents must be submitted to the School of Architecture by the published deadlines.
Fall Graduate School Admissions - March 1
(Applicants may only start the M.ARCH program in a fall term.)
Graduate Application for Admission form as required by the Graduate School which can be found at DGE http://www.montana.edu/wwwdg/
Three letters of recommendation Letters of reference forms will be submitted online. The applicant will need to provide the e-mail address of the cecommender.
Graduate Record Examination official results www.gre.org
Online Application DGEA $60.00 non-refundable application fee. Payable to Montana State University, this fee will be paid online as part of the online application process
The following criteria and standards are used during the admissions process for the Master of Architecture program:
Grade Point Average
A minimum 3.o cumulative GPA is required.
Design Studio Grade Point Average
For students applying to the Master Architecture program with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design from Montana State University, a minimum studio average grade of “B” (3.0) is required for acceptance into the Graduate Program. Any student who does not have a “B” or better studio average would not be permitted to apply until they retake a studio to raise the overall studio average to a “B” (3.0). Studios included in the average are ARCH 151, ARCH152, ARCH 253,ARCH 354,ARCH 355 and ARCH 456.
Portfolio Review
A minimum rating score of a 6.5(on a 12 point scale) or better on the portfolio. Portfolios are reviewed by a committee of five members. Their ratings will be averaged to provide a final portfolio score.
Letters of Reference
Graduate Record Examination Scores
Admission Score
Admissions Review is performed by a committee with a minimum of three and a maximum of five faculty. An admission score is developed based upon the following percentages are used to weight the above criteria: cumulative GPA (40%), portfolio review (40%), Letters of Reference (10%) and Writing Component (10%)
Scoring Breakdown
Cumulative GPA (40%)
GPA based on a 4.0 system (4.0 = a letter grade of A)
Portfolio (40%)
12 points Outstanding
9 points Excellent
6 points Good * Required Minimum
3 points Poor
0 points Unacceptable
Writing Component (10%)
This score is based upon the written component score received on the GRE.
A minimum score of 148 on the verbal component of the GRE is required to be a Graduate Teaching Assistant once admitted into the program.
Letters of Reference (10%)
Letter of Reference score is based upon a compilation of the overall recommendation from each of the three letters.
A total combined score of 6.5 is required for admissions into the Graduate Program.
Students are placed in one of four categories:
1. Admitted
2. Provisionally Admitted - student may need to fulfill additional requirements for admittance.
3. Deferred Admission - Need to be in top 10% oc class.
4. Denied