MSc

This is an interdisciplinary program open to all candidates holding a Bachelor's Degree in architecture, restoration, engineering or industrial design. The aim of the program is to establish an interface between the systematic findings of ‘science’ and the creative aspirations of architecture by instilling a grasp of how the former looks at the same world in which the latter performs. A highly worthwhile endeavor in view of the fact that architecture is essentially a net ‘borrower’ of knowledge from the annals of science: Some from the physical sciences (e.g., mechanics, optics, thermodynamics, acoustics, electricity, geology, geography, meteorology, hydrology, astronomy, et al.); some from the social, behavioral and administrative sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, economics, management, et al.) and others yet from the life-sciences (e.g., plant and animal ecology, environment management, hygiene, pollution control and containment, sewage treatment, et al.).

However, a great deal of controversy arises when ‘science’, delving into ever-broadening domains that increasingly encroach on those of architecture, ever more frequently makes disturbing and high-handed proclamations about what architecture should and should not do, with practically no idea about the technical, temporal and/or financial complications which these would entail if carried out as demanded. Needed, therefore, is a kind of ‘half-and-half’ professional: One with a background to a lesser or greater extent involved with the built environment, who is at the same time well-versed in the outlooks, approaches, motivations and methodologies of the scientist; one who, by way of being conversant in both languages, can carry the concerns of one to the other so they converge on some common ground. Put in a nutshell, this, then, is the job cut out for our graduates...

In more specific terms the programme looks into the many-faceted aspects of concerns like building management efficiency, construction systematics, computer aided design and manufacturing technologies in architecture, computer-based library for construction detailing, function-systematics, function-specific spaces, energy in building design, integrated mechanical systems, building system design for sustainability, structures, lighting, environmental and room acoustics, thermal performance of buildings, computer modeling and simulations, etc.

A total of 9 courses, of which 4 compulsory and 5 elective courses approved by the Building Science Program, should be taken by the students. In total, a minimum of 21 METU credits must be taken. The list of the compulsory courses of the program are as follows:

Course Code Course Name METU Credit ECTS Credit
BS500 M.Sc. Thesis in Building Science 0 50
BS501 Seminar in Building Science 0 10
BS503 Building Science Workshop 3 8
BS504 Research Methods in Building Science 3 8