Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD)

The rotating MAAD curriculum theme, centered on a novel building material and/or construction technique, is set by the program director, who is joined by a team of faculty from the Department of Architecture and the College of Environmental Design. Past MAAD cohorts have investigated earth architecture, with Professor Ron Rael, and lignin, with Professor M. Paz Gutierrez.

The ACSA Timber Education Prize–winning MAAD curriculum for 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, Forest — Fiber — Frame, is led by Assistant Professor Philip Tidwell. 

In the context of the global climate emergency — which demands a renewed interest in wood building – you’ll be immersed in the question of how a shift from “stick” building to “mass” assembly might change architectural design in the coming decades. Over the course of two semesters, you’ll explore how wood processes, structures, and assembly systems can support a reciprocal relationship between forest management and building design.

With California as a point of departure, you’ll investigate wood construction as a material practice, extending from forest management to manufacturing, construction, and waste reclamation. Using the College of Environmental Design’s state-of-the-art fabrication shop, you’ll develop and test novel techniques and materials and fabricate studies and full-scale constructions.

Students who complete the program receive a Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD) degree, which is not accredited by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). 

Offering you a rich intellectual community rooted in the dynamic contexts of UC Berkeley, the Bay Area, and beyond, California is the ideal place to study. As the birthplace of social justice advocacy and the environmental movement, 21st-century California brings issues of equity, urbanization, and climate change into stark relief. Its diverse population, 40 million strong, and its rich and varied environmental conditions — coasts, deserts, mountains, cities, suburbs, exurbs, and agricultural regions — makes it the ideal laboratory for our discipline.

As a UC Berkeley graduate student, you will be studying at the number one public university in the United States alongside the brightest and most passionate students from across the globe. Berkeley’s environment of critical inquiry, discovery, and innovation is informed by a deep commitment to contributing to a better world. 

When the College of Environmental Design was created in 1959, it was the first in the nation to unite the disciplines of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture, leading the way toward an integrated approach to analyzing, understanding, and designing our built environment. The college emphasizes environmental design as a profoundly ethical practice, inseparable from social, political, economic, and cultural contexts and co-produced through dynamic engagements with diverse communities.

UC Berkeley begins accepting applications in early September for the following fall term only (no spring admissions). The fall semester begins in mid-August. 

We recommend you start the application process as soon as possible. As a prospective graduate student, you’ll submit your application through UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division. You’ll find lots of useful information on the Graduate Division website, including application instructions and information about funding your education. 

Only online applications (including letters of recommendation) are accepted. All documents, regardless of language of instruction, must be translated into the English language. Transcripts, diplomas, and certificates should be provided in the original language of instruction AND in English. Transcripts must show your full name, degree conferral date, and degree.