The Master of Sustainable Design (MSD)

The Master of Sustainable Design (MSD)
at
St. John International University

The Master of Sustainable Design at SJIU:

The Master of Sustainable Design (MSD) is a graduate degree program for applicants holding a professional degree (Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), the Italian Laurea in Architecture, or comparable degrees). This one-year program in advanced architectural study typically lasts a full calendar year, and it combines courses, studios and in-depth research. It provides students with a sound training in the fundamentals of environmental design and explores extensively the critical issues of CO2 emissions and pollution produced by buildings, and the impact of these on occupant health and the environment.

The Master is designed for professionals in early or mid-career who wish to expand their interest in the environmental, energy and health issues associated with buildings as a means of developing their careers; as well as for recent graduates with building industry or environment related degrees who wish to train further before entering their chosen professions. Students will explore current design issues in a stimulating, rigorous, and experimental studio setting.

A talented and experienced faculty is joined by an academic support staff dedicated to serving the individualized needs of students admitted into the University’s Master of Sustainable Design program.

The Master of Sustainable Design’s Goals:

The Master of Sustainable Design (MSD) at St. John International University has five distinct goals for our Program graduates:

1. Our graduates will bring their distinct training, background, and career aspirations to the classrooms, internships, and other learning environments offered by the University and, as a consequence of their progression through this graduate curriculum, will be well prepared and well disposed to take on career challenges and opportunities of increasing and significant professional complexity and responsibility;
2. Our graduates will acquire the training necessary to enter into the design and construction professions at levels involving greater responsibility and/or required advanced knowledge in Sustainable Design;
3. Our graduates will be recognized in the workplace, in academic circles, and in the other communities of which they are a part as advanced professionals in Sustainable Design;
4. Our graduates will be capable leaders and problem-solvers by virtue of their capacity to address today’s most critical issues in the built environment;
5. Our graduates will pursue their professional roles, whether in the design or academic arenas, recognizing the higher calling of social responsibility and ethical decision-making in which the consideration of people, planet, and profit becomes central to the field of architecture.

The Curriculum:

The Master of Sustainable Design (MSD) curriculum at SJIU is specifically and coherently designed to provide each graduate student with the theory-based, practical, and experiential instruction and support essential to achieving the Program’s goals. Students may complete the Program in as little as twelve (12) months. The Master of Sustainable Design is organized around a thirty-six (36) graduate credit curriculum, including a thesis/project requirement. The year-long studio (Design I: Solar Design, Design II: Bioclimatic Building Design, and Design III: Bioclimatic Building Design) is the core of the program. Each studio director will be joined by a team of several other faculty members from the Department. The course sequence is detailed below.