Academic Programmes

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M. Arch. (International) launched by Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design

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Achieving standards set by the best international practices in design education，the Master of Architecture (International) program by Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design has officially started enrollment since 2021.

​Program Introduction​

Under the national innovation-driven development strategy and the coordinated development strategy of the Shanghai metropolitan area, supported by the development of Shanghai as a globally influential science and technology innovation center and “City of Design,” Shanghai Jiao Tong University is now launching a full-time English taught international Master in Architecture program, M. Arch. (International), relying on the advantages and characteristics of the university’s international educational environment. This M. Arch. (International) program will start its enrollment from 2021 with a single class.

The M. Arch. (International) program aims to cultivate professional leading talents who acquire not only Chinese cultural heritage, noble ethical values, international vision and truth-seeking spirit, but who also devote themselves to contributing to the common destiny of mankind and to the theory of world design. In accordance with this goal, the program hopes to train professional leading elites and high-level applied talents who will create a better living environment imbued with technology and humanism.

Practice is the core value of this program. It cultivates candidates who are competent in both their current career and in meeting  the future challenges of architectural design, historical architecture and heritage protection, urban design, design of building technology and other fields. Student in this program will be trained comprehensively. They will be capable of design and research in architectural design firms, as well as work in architectural design management, education, development, consulting and other relevant fields. We believe students who graduate from this program will have the potential to serve as outstanding professionals and senior management in architecture.

Program Features

The M. Arch. (International) program aims to enable students both from home and abroad to receive a world-class architecture education with Chinese characteristics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It has the following key three features:

Practice oriented on Shanghai’s metropolitan areas with the theme of “design and theory of high-density habitats”

The program aims to cultivate architecture professionals with humanistic qualities and international vision with the theme of “design and theory of high-density habitats” based on the Yangtze River Delta Metropolitan Region. The curriculum demonstrates the characteristics of the professional master's degree in architecture, stressing the improvement of design skills by thematic workshops (studios) and corresponding theoretical courses focusing on innovative design, smart cities, ecology, informatics design and building technology.

World-class education in English supported by global faculty resources​

The program relies on the foundation of its existing well-established cooperation with several first-class design, art and architecture schools worldwide, including with faculty from world-class universities, including Harvard University, Politecnico di Milano, University of New South Wales, University of Michigan, McGill University, Kingston School of Art, together with faculty and teaching fellows from the School of Design. This foundation is used to compose a high-quality faculty group for regular spring and autumn semesters. In addition, the program will invite professionals from top universities to carry out exploration at the frontier of theoretical and architectural practice on specific topics in the summer semester. The ratio of Chinese to foreign teachers will approach 1:1, enabling students to receive a world-class architectural education without going abroad.

“1 + 1 + X” teaching mode: Multidimensional education consists of full-time faculty, practitioners as teaching fellows and interdisciplinary courses

The first “1” refers to a full-cycle course and tutorial by on-campus faculty, and the second “1” refers to internship opportunities in top-level architectural ateliers or institutes, aiming to a combination of theory and practice through a “1+ 1” cooperative education from both on-campus and off-campus professionals. Interdisciplinary courses with Industrial Design and Landscape Architecture will exceed 30% of the entire curriculum. The “1 + 1 + X” teaching mode composed of “lectures” combined with “tutorials” will be highly efficient, substantial and diversified, with the clear purpose of training comprehensive talent through the cross-disciplinary integration of various design disciplines.

Course Features

The 2.5-year program will reflect three attributes: “Multi-disciplinary”, “cross-cultural” and “experimental”. In the first year, there are three joint courses of “Ecology+ Design”, “Digital+ Design”, and “Society+ Design” to inform students’ interdisciplinary research perspectives. Meanwhile, courses enhancing studies of the architectural profession are arrayed across the four areas of “architectural design and theory”, “architectural history and theory“, “urban design and theory”, and “architectural technology and science”.

In the second year, through the “Multidisciplinary Cooperative Design” studio,  students will receive integrated training in architecture, landscape architecture, and design, breaking through the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Standing at the forefront of design exploration and practice, the studio will cultivate students' systematic thinking and awareness of interdisciplinary cooperation. At the same time, a large number of various, rich, exploratory, and experimental elective courses will be provided.

There will be two summer seminars throughout the program, and international professors from top universities will be invited to give short-term lectures, leading students to engage in cutting-edge issues and discussions, further enhancing their international vision and cross-cultural research capabilities.

Advantages

Through years of development, the Department of Architecture has built its high-quality, multi-cultural and international faculty and has been one of the fastest-growing architecture departments in China, ranking 47th in the QS World University rating of “Architecture & Built Environment” in 2020.

The School of Design has established cooperation with famous institutions like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan University, Cornell University, McGill University, New South Wales University, Politecnico di Milano, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and National University of Singapore. We also have a strong and broad cooperative foundation in talent training and scientific research with universities and research institutions in “One Belt One Road” countries. We have pioneered the introduction of “3.5/4+2 undergraduate + graduate” joint programs as part of the overall architectural training system. The Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design’s international program attains a standard set by world first-class architecture, design and art institutes. As a result, domestic students can receive a world-class professional education at our school without going abroad.

Our program will be held at the Engineering Building at Xuhui Campus, to provide students with a unique learning experience enriched in an atmosphere imbued with humanity and design aesthetics, in the international and high-density Xuhui District in downtown Shanghai. The Engineering Building is built with an Art Deco style by Laszlo Hudec, a world-famous Hungarian-Slovakian architect. With a prominent position and high value in architecture, the building is a famous landmark and destination for researchers and students in architecture.

Tuition Fee

According to the relevant documents issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, all master’s students enrolled in our university via the national postgraduate enrollment plan are required to pay tuition. For specific fee standards, please refer to the public tuition fee program on the website of our school's financial planning department (www.jdcw.sjtu.edu.cn). The tuition for the M. Arch. (International) program is RMB 48,000/year, and the length of the program is 2.5 years, therefore amounting to RMB 120,000 in total.

• Excellent students can be granted with a School Scholarship (under the condition that haven't obtain any other type of scholarships).
• Excellent students can complete the program in 2 years (with full tuition fees paid).

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