Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
Professor Marta Gutman, Dean • Associate Professor Sean Weiss , Chair • Department Office: SSA 113 • Tel: 212-650-7118
General Information
The Spitzer School of Architecture offers the following graduate degrees:
In addition, the School offers the following joint program with the Grove School of Engineering, and the Division of Science, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
Sustainability in the Urban Environment (offering an M.S. in Sustainability degree)
Additional information about programs in Architecture may be found in the Bulletin of Undergraduate Programs.
Research
The J. Max Bond Center is founded on the legacy of architect and former Dean J. Max Bond, Jr. (1935-2009) and the City College Architecture Center (CCAC), which operated in the 1980s and 1990s as an influential pro bono architecture and planning service for underserved communities throughout New York City.
To J. Max Bond, social equity was a core value, as was design integrity. Founded in 2011 and through 2015 The J. Max Bond Center for the Just City at CCNY advanced Max’s vision through collaborative faculty research projects, urban design advocacy and projects, leadership development, and educational programs at its home within the Spitzer School of Architecture.
The center was re-established and renamed The J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures in 2018. The Center will again honor its past with its mission to advance our collective urban futures toward greater social equity and cultural cohesion. Our methodology and belief is that social impact and innovation are both achievable and actionable through applied research and design.
The center offers research opportunities for students including independent study for credit.
Admissions
The following information applies to the programs housed solely within the Spitzer School: Master of Architecture I, Master of Science in Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design (MUP). (Candidates for the interdisciplinary MS Sustainability, including its architecture track, should refer to its application instructions.) Spitzer School applications for admission are completed online through the college website, www.ccny.cuny.edu. All applications must include a resume, two academic or professional letters of recommendation that attest to the applicant’s intellectual and/or design abilities, an academic transcript, a 500-word personal statement, a portfolio of creative work, and a non-refundable application fee.
As the program curricula include rigorous reading and writing requirements, international students who were educated in non-English-speaking countries must submit current standardized test scores certifying English language ability. The IBT TOEFL minimum score is 79. Students educated outside the United States should also arrange for an authorized agency to submit an evaluation of their non-U.S. credentials.
The priority deadline for the receipt of applications is in mid-January. Some programs accept applications on a rolling basis into the spring, space permitting.
Transfer Students, and Course Waivers for M. Arch I Program
Candidates who have completed the equivalent of any required M Arch I courses in another accredited master program may apply to transfer those credits. All credit transfers are at the discretion of the faculty heads in each curricular area and require a grade of B or greater.
Candidates who hold a B.A. or B.S. in Architecture (a pre-professional pro-gram from a NAAB recognized school if from the U.S.) and who have completed the equivalent of any of our required courses may qualify for a waiver of those courses (up to 36 credits). All students must still complete 108 graduate level credits at The City College in order to qualify for the Master of Architecture degree.
Whether seeking transfer credits or course waivers, all candidates will be asked to provide additional information including completed coursework and course syllabi as well as course descriptions and transcripts to determine eligibility. Design faculty will review portfolios to make a determination for studio and visual studies courses and will consult with the heads of each curricular area outside of design (such as history, technology, etc.) to determine if non-studio course work qualifies for a waiver. All granting of either course waivers or transfer credit is at the discretion of the School and under no circumstances will any student be allowed to spend less than two full academic years of study in the M Arch program.
Accreditation
Architecture Accreditation
In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.
Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The City College of the City University of New York, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:
B. Arch. (160 undergraduate credits)
M. Arch. (non-preprofessional degree + 108 credits)
Next accreditation visit for all NAAB-accredited programs: 2025
Landscape Architecture Accreditation
Programs leading to first professional degrees at the bachelor’s or master’s levels in the United States are eligible to apply for accreditation from the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). LAAB is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the official accrediting body for first professional degree programs in landscape architecture. LAAB is a member of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA). The Master of Landscape Architecture program at the City College of New York is accredited by LAAB. City College has had a fully accredited MLA degree program since Spring 2009. The most recent accreditation review was in Spring 2022, and the next accreditation review is scheduled for Spring 2028. In accordance with the Higher Education Act, City College of New York confirms that the Master of Landscape Architecture program meets the educational requirements for licensure eligibility in all U.S. states. For more information about LAAB, see https://www.asla.org/accreditationlaab.aspx.
The City College of New York Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture also offers the following non-accredited degree programs:
M.U.P. Urban Design (32 credits)
M.S. in Arch. (48 credits)
M.S. in Sustainability in the Urban Environment (30 credits)
The M.S., and M.U.P. have been registered by the New York State Education Department. They are also accredited, as are other graduate programs at The City College, by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Faculty
Ahu Aydogan, Associate Professor
B.Arch., Uludag University, M.Arch., M.S. Izmir Institute of Technology; M.S., Ph.D. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Nandini Bagchee, Associate Professor
B.Arch., Cooper Union; S.M.Arch.S, M.I.T; R.A.
Cesare Birignani, Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Columbia University
Mohammad Bolhassani, Assistant Professor
B.Sc. K.N. Toosi Univ. of Tech. (Iran); M.S., Drexel Univ., Ph.D.
Mi-Tsung Chang, Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Pratt Institute, M.Arch.; Ph.D., Union Institute
Jeremy Edmiston, Associate Professor
B. Arch., Univ. of Technology (Australia); M.S., Columbia Univ.; R.A.
Gordon A. Gebert, Professor
B.Arch., M.I.T.; M.Arch., Princeton Univ.; R.A.
Marta Gutman, Professor and Dean
B.A., Brown Univ.; M.Arch., Columbia Univ.; Ph.D., Univ. of California (Berkeley)
Jerome Haferd, Assistant Professor
B.S., Ohio State University, M.Arch., Yale University
Denise Hoffman-Brandt, Professor
B.A., Univ. of Pennsylvania; M.F.A., Pratt Institute; M.L.A, University of Pennsylvania; A.S.L.A.
Bradley Horn, Associate Professor
B.Arch., The Cooper Union; M.Arch., Columbia Univ.; R.A.
Fran Leadon, Associate Professor
B.Arch., Univ. of Florida; M.Arch, Yale Univ.; R.A.
Fabian Llonch, Associate Professor
M.Arch., Univ. of Washington
Frank Melendez, Associate Professor
B.A., University of Arizona; M.Arch., Yale Univ.
Shawn Rickenbacker, Associate Professor
B.Arch., Syracuse Univ.; M.Arch., Univ. of Virginia
Julio Salcedo-Fernandez, Associate Professor
B.A., Rice Univ.; M. Arch., Harvard Univ.; R.A.
Elisabetta Terragni, Professor
M.Arch., Facolta di Architettura, Politecnico di Milano
Christian Volkmann, Associate Professor
Dipl. Arch. ETH, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (Switzerland)
Laura Wainer, Assistant Professor
B.A., Universidad de Buenos Aires, M.S. The New School University, Ph.D., M.I.T.
Sean Weiss, Associate Professor and Chair
B.A., Vassar College; Ph.D., Art History, Graduate Center, CUNY
June P. Williamson, Professor and Director of M.Arch and M.S. in Arch
B.A., Yale Univ.; M.Arch., M.I.T.; M.U.P., The City College of New York; R.A.
Zihao Zhang, Assistant Professor
B.Eng., Beijing Forestry University, M.L.A., University of Virginia, Ph.D., University of Virginia
Professors Emeriti
Jonathan Barnett
Carmi Bee
Horst Berger
Hillary Brown
Lance Jay Brown
Alan Feigenberg
M. Paul Friedberg
Peter Gisolfi
David E. Guise
Ghislaine Hermanuz
James B. Jarrett
Hanque Macari
Garrison McNeil
M. Rosaria Piomelli
Labelle Prussin
Donald P. Ryder
Bernard P. Spring
Achva Benzinberg Stein
Lee Weintraub