Most architecture schools around the world offer their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in separate tracks. That means that if students want to attain a Master’s degree, they first need to acquire a B.A. or B.S.,which usually takes five years. Altogether, this can be an expensive, eight-year endeavor that can subject students to crippling debt. One US report found that both undergraduate and graduate students can easily accumulate $100,000 in student loan debt, and another finds that “undergraduate students majoring in theology, architecture and history are much more likely to graduate with excessive debt,” compared to those pursuing math and the sciences.
Given these harsh realities, a school that combines both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in a single, five-year program is a welcome option. Enter the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts‘ School of Architecture.
Students can be admitted to The Royal Danish Academy’s School of Architecture one of four ways. First is the Danish-language program, open to all Danish-speaking students (this is the aforementioned five year program). For the first three years, students pursue their Bachelor’s studies in one of eleven architecture specialties or “Departments” which include Town and Landscape, Space and Form, Experiment and Technology, and Architecture, Design and Industrial Form to name a few. Students also have opportunities to work with the four different research institutes affiliated with the school, such as the Institute of Technology, where the goal is to explore technology as equal parts inspiration and practical tool for architects. During the last two years, which comprise the Master’s portion of the program, students build upon their basic knowledge and skills by specializing in planning, building design, or design. Even better, students who are citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland can attend tuition-free.
