Programme Structure

A part-time program

The seminars and workshops of the MAS in History and Theory of Architecture (MAS GTA) take place on Thursdays and Fridays. We recommend working 60 percent of full time.

Seminars

The seminar series “Architecture and the City” is at the core of the four-semester program. Two semesters are dedicated to selected topics in the history of architecture and urbanism; a third is the MAS GTA research seminar (Projektarbeit). Here, students contribute to a research project, often organized in cooperation with the gta Archive and/or gta Exhibitions.

Research project

As part of the MAS GTA research seminar, students conduct research (archival research, field research) which they synthesize in written and graphic form. In the spring semester of 2020, this research project is Cooperative Conditions: A Primer on Architecture, Finance, and Regulation, on view as part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020: external page How Will We Live Together? In the spring semester of 2022, the research addressed the demolition and new construction of housing in a global perspective, which was part of the exhibition "Densification or Displacement?" at ZAZ Zentrum Architektur Zürich in the spring of 2023.

Study trips

Each fall semester there is a study trip open to MAS GTA students only.

Methods workshops

In addition to the seminars, in their first year, students take part in a weekly workshop focused on writing, research, and methods. In their second year, they have the option to enroll in the methods seminar of the GTA doctoral program.

Electives

Students also enroll in courses with a total of 4 ECTS offered by the GTA Institute or the Department of Architecture. These can be lectures, seminars or seminar weeks, according to academic and professional interests.

Independent scholarly work

In parallel to the seminars and workshops, the program’s second focus is on students’ individual research. In the course of the program, students write two papers and a master’s thesis on topics of their choice. These are individually tutored by the lecturers. (For further information, please see Didactics and Method.)