The School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute offers a one-year program for a Masters of Science degree emphasizing architectural acoustics for public spaces. Building types to be studied in the program include performing art centers, museums, schools of theater, dance, and music, arenas, amphitheaters, houses of worship, and other places of public assembly.

The heart of the program will center around an experimental research center dedicated to improving predictability factors in sonics in architecture design. Candidates will have opportunities to work with architectural acoustic CAD programs as well as take part in experiments to be conducted in the research salon as well as the famed Troy Music Hall, a concert hall recognized as one of the world’s best.

One major research effort will be related to evaluating the accuracy of predictability software in relation to physical measurements taken in the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. The degree program is designed for those individuals with backgrounds in electronic or acoustic engineering who are interested in becoming professional architectural acousticians and for architects and theater consultants whose interest lies in the design of performing arts buildings and public facilities in general.

The director of the program is Christopher Jaffe, a noted acoustician responsible for the design of over 300 performance spaces during the last forty years, including the recent renovation of the Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center and Severance Hall, Home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Jaffe has taught Architectural Acoustics at Julliard, Rensselaer, and the City College of New York and lectured at both Harvard and Yale. A fellow of the ASA, the AES and the IOA, he recently delivered the Distinguished Knudsen lecture to the Acoustical Society of America.

The School of Architecture offers a one-year program for a Masters of Science degree emphasizing Architectural Acoustics in Public Spaces. A student who holds a B.A. or B.S. in Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Music and Acoustics or comparable credentials may apply to the Master of Science (Concentration in Sonics in Architecture) degree. Those with other degrees, having already worked in the field, will also be considered. The curriculum includes 36 credits of project and course work and normally requires one year to complete.

Curriculum

The degree requires 36 credit hours.