Final Year Options
Please see details in the final year options information meeting presentation slides.
Gensler/GastingerWalker&/Invision CoOP
Fall internship; Spring campus capstone studio
The Fall semester provides an immersed orientation to the professional workplace, the spirit of design teams, the design and delivery process, and an exploration into the urban existence of distinctly different cities. The paid internship provides hands-on project experience in firm offices across the country – Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, New York, Des Moines, Waterloo, and Los Angeles. After spending the Fall researching and collaboration in the separate cities, the intern team reconvenes back in Lawrence for the final semester where teams explore the thesis-based topic manifested from the Fall research. Alongside the KU Architecture faculty, the professional sponsors participate in studio reviews, critiques and semester studio development. The internship in the Gensler offices is for the Fall Semester only. The internship for Invision (Des Moines and Waterloo, Iowa) and GastingerWalker& (Kansas City) is for the full Summer and Fall semesters.
Health & Wellness
Fall internship; Spring campus health studio
Students can earn a Certificate for Health & Wellness Architecture and/or pursue a Health + Wellness option for their final year in the Master of Architecture program. A 75 credit (typical) option is crafted to prepare students for professional careers in healthcare and lifecare architecture, or in any building type concerned with the promotion of human wellness (e.g. workplaces, homes, schools).
Paris Academic Internship
Fall/Spring
This program enables students to complete studio coursework under the tutelage of Professor Pierre Engel at the Ecole Nationale Superieure D'Architecture Paris Val-de-Seine and Professor Steve Padget of the University of Kansas, as well as engage in a part-time, academic internship with one of Europe’s most prestigious practices. Students are exposed to the latest European architectural projects and to the international practice of architecture focused on large-scale projects in an urban setting utilizing advanced technology. See KU Study Abroad for more information.
Social Entrepreneurship
Fall/Spring campus studio or Fall internship/Spring campus studio
The Social Entrepreneurship Final Year Option has two tracks. The “Academic Studio” track is a 6-credit academic studio focused on arming students with leadership and entrepreneurial skills that will allow them to operate as architects of change; and, to become practitioners that are able to act critically, strategically, and independently to restructure a world they cannot wholly remake. The studio expands upon the traditional client-based practice to explore alternative modes of practice, one that supports broader community engagement, democratic agency, and alternative ownership models. The “Social Entrepreneurship Internship” track allows students to gain professional experience through a fall internship. These students return to campus in the spring to join the Social Entrepreneurship academic studio.
Sports & Leisure
Summer/Fall internship; Spring Kansas City
Students will complete a summer and fall internship at a top sports and entertainment design firm based in Kansas City or St. Louis, including: AECOM, BRR, Multistudio; HNTB, HOK, Hollis+Miller, Generator Studio, PGAV Destinations and TK Architects. The internship will be followed by a spring Capstone Studio based in Kansas City that will focus each year on a Sports & Entertainment focused design project. Learn more
Studio 804
Fall/Spring Designbuild project
A comprehensive educational opportunity for Graduate students entering the final year of the Master of Architecture program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. Every year, Studio 804 produces one building with the support of the organization and individuals committed to environmental stewardship that the program is able to continue its service to the community at large. Learn more
Urban Design
Summer/Fall internship; Spring Kansas City
Students will complete a summer and fall internship at a leading urban design practice with office locations in Kansas City and throughout the United States. The internship will be followed by a spring Capstone Studio based in Kansas City that will focus each year on an urban design project. For its initial year, the proposed Urban Design Option will place 8-10 students across approximately four firms, based upon firm capacity and student applicant pool, including: Populous, PORT, Perkins & Will and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and DLR Group.