Students may apply to and matriculate in the Bachelor of Science in Building Sciences program. Students matriculated in the professional architectural program may apply for transfer to the Bachelor of Science in Building Sciences program. The building sciences focus on the design and construction of building systems such as structures, enclosures, environmental systems, lighting, and acoustics as well as their management, performance, and building diagnostics. Hands-on learning through real-life construction projects ranging from furniture to structures to entire housing systems create familiarity with the reality of building.

The B.S. in Building Sciences program will prepare graduates for a wide range of careers, including: owners, managers, and technical staff in construction, development, and design/build firms, facility planners, and managers, researchers, marketers, and technical representatives for building products, system manufacturers, and suppliers, software developers and consultants, planners, paralegal, financiers, real-estate brokers, and others in allied fields. In addition, the program prepares students for graduate studies at Rensselaer, or elsewhere, in the following areas: Master of Science in Building Sciences, Master of Science in Lighting, Master of Science Computer Based Design Research, Master of Business Administration, Law Degree, Master of Architecture.

Students in the building sciences program, declare a concentration and submit a Plan of Study at the end of the second semester. The Plan of Study is to be filed with the building science program director. The student and the building sciences program director, plan the remaining semesters and course work based on the concentration requirements or a plan of study. The concentration plan and plan of study must be approved by the building science program director. Concentration electives taken in conjunction with electives in science, humanities, and social sciences, can be used to build powerful and highly individualized programs. The degree requires 124 credit hours.

For the first two semesters students in the building sciences program have the same curriculum as the architectural students. For the remaining six semesters, building sciences students take concentration electives in place of design. Concentrations include computer applications, lighting, construction management, and advanced technology assessment. Faculty may develop additional concentrations based on research and scholarly interests.

B.S. Building Science Curriculum

1. Four credits of the Institute core H&SS requirements are embedded within the Building and Thinking of Architecture sequences: ARCH-2110, and ARCH-2120.

2. The School of Architecture will require that an undergraduate student’s Institute writing requirement, assuming that this requirement has not been satisfied by other means, be fulfilled by Writing for Classroom and Career (WRIT-1110) or Rhetoric and Writing (WRIT- 2110).

A student will formally have to take either WRIT -1110 or WRIT -2110 at this time. If they are able to be exempted from the writing requirement by other means, they will receive a exemption from WRIT-1110.

A student may be exempted from the writing requirement by the following means:
-scoring either a 4 or 5 on the AP English exams,
-scoring a least a 670 on the verbal portion of the SAT,
-receiving transfer credit for an approved college-level writing course taken elsewhere.

3. Four credits of the Institute core Science requirements are embedded within the Technology sequence: ARCH-2320, ARCH-2340, ARCH-4700, and ARCH-4750.

GENERAL NOTES:

A. All Undergraduate students should develop a Plan of Study with their faculty adviser. The degree requires 124 credit hours.

Concentrations

All Building Science Program concentrations require five 4-credit-hour courses (or equivalent) that are approved by a concentration coordinator, and director of the Building Science Program. Concentrations are designed to focus on the application of analytical methods, information technology, applied research, or product/system designs to a field in building science, architectural technology, or management within the building enterprise. Currently, the most popular concentrations are lighting, construction management, building systems and products, and computing in architecture. Many other concentrations may be approved in consultation with the building science director, the following are examples of possible course concentrations. For some concentrations specific courses are specified while others include generic course topics. Students may cross-register (refer to institute requirements on Cross-Registration page 62) and take courses at Hudson Valley Community College in the Department of Civil Engineering and/or Department of Construction Technology-Building Construction. At least 12 credit hours of concentration courses must be 4000-level courses.