NC State’s College of Design is introducing a research-based master’s program for postgraduates in the School of Architecture called the Master of Advanced Architectural Studies (MAAS). The program will begin in the fall semester of 2022. 

The program is two to three semesters, and students who apply must have a professional degree. The program allows students to delve deeper into their desired research topic, which is unlike other master’s programs in the area. 

According to the NC State website, MAAS is a research-based program that is divided into four crucial areas: city design; energy and technology; history and theory; and public interest design. Students can conduct research in several of these areas or concentrate their research on one of them.

Daniel Garrett, a graduate student in Architectural and Environmental Architectural Design, applied for the program’s fall semester.  

“It’s under a branch of public interest design because I am trying to reach out to veteran communities,” Garrett said. “It’s actually under a faculty member’s specialty of affordable and sustainable housing, so I am kind of in between both of them. But I like public outreach and public interest design and using the feedback that you get from actual people to design for them rather than just assuming what people need within a design.”

Community service and environmental sustainability are some of the main components of MAAS. However, the research component of the program is what appealed most to architectural graduate student Yash Shah, who also applied to the fall semester of the MAAS program.

“I wanted to pursue grad school mainly because it’s a research opportunity; a lot more so than undergrad because in any undergraduate degree it’s quite curated in the courses you take and the way that the semesters go by,” Shah said. “Whereas the MAAS program, specifically, is based on research. So you get to take all the courses you want to, and in some way, you get to frame your degree or your classes. It is a critical sort of research.” 

Shah said the program feeds into her research interests. 

“The program feeds back into your research. In some way, it’s a method to critically think and understand the architectural practice,” Shah said. “That’s the main reason I want to do it because I enjoy research. I enjoy technology more than traditional practice, so I want to be able to do more research essentially.”

Garrett said the program will be particularly useful for his goals. Garrett said with the program, because of his degree, he’s able to do a thesis on something he finds interesting.

“I believe that getting a master’s degree is another stepping stone to some of my goals,” Garrett said. “A goal that I am working towards is teaching here at the College of Design and I know getting the master’s degree will help me with that. Also, I came here on the GI Bill. I was in the Marines, and I got out and came to NC State, so I am focusing my thesis on veteran housing and sustainable veteran communities. So, I am just using something that I am interested in and passionate about as a way to actually focus my thesis.” 

Garrett said he thinks other students in architecture should apply to the MAAS program. 

“I think that if you are interested in getting your master’s degree and have the accredited degree already and are thinking about pursuing it, I think this is the best avenue that you can take,” Garrett said.