The following is a sample listing of Sustainable Building Systems graduate studies courses (professional M.S., research M.S., and Ph.D.), separated into core topic groups and electives. Note: All courses ending in 97 with an additional letter designation (e.g. 697A) are subject to change.

Always check SPIRE online for the current course number listing and to look for additional classes of interest.

Curriculum Areas:  Sustainable Built Environment    Materials, Methods, and Structures   
 Building Energy & Systems    Construction Management   
 Information Technology    Business   Science    Communications 

Core Topic Area 1: Sustainable Building Systems

(ECo equivalent program category: Environmental Science)

  •      BCT 521 Environmental Control Systems (Spring – Prof. Fiocchi, 4cr.)
  •      BCT 540 Design of Wood Structures (Spring – Prof. Clouston, 3cr.)
  •      BCT 560 Alternative Material Construction Systems for Sustainability (Spring – Prof. Musah, 3 cr.)
  •      ECO 613 Light Frame Construction (Fall – Prof. Fiocchi, 3cr.)

Core Topic Area 2: Sustainable Building Science

(ECo equivalent program category: Quantitative Science)

  •      BCT 520 Energy and Buildings (Fall – Prof. Fiocchi, 3cr.)
  •      BCT 525 Solar Energy Systems and Building Design (Fall – Prof. Kim, 3cr.)
  •      BCT 590STB Advanced Construction Technology Trends and Material Testing (Fall – Prof. Musah, 3 cr.) 
  •      ECO 630 Mechanics of Building Materials (Fall – Prof. Clouston 4cr.)
  •      ECO 624 Understanding Wood and Wood Products (Fall– Prof. Schreyer 3cr.)
  •      ECO 614 Sustainable Building & LEED Certification (Spring/Summer – Prof. Kim, 3cr.)

Core Topic Area 3: Sustainable Building Projects and Policy

(ECo equivalent program category: Human Dimensions)

  •      BCT 511 Clean Energy Corps (Spring – Prof. Weil, 3cr.)
  •      BCT 550 Construction Scheduling and Project Control (Spring/Fall – Prof. Romero, 3cr.)
  •      BCT 597V Safety in Construction (Spring – 1cr.) 
  •      ARCH 597D History & Theory of Preservation (Fall – Prof. Page, 3cr.)
  •      ARCH 630 Philosophy of Arch & Design (Fall – Prof. Page, 3cr.)
  •      ECO 620 Studies in Building Information Modeling (Spring – Prof. Schreyer, 3cr.)
  •      ECO 690P Public Engagement & Communication (Spring, 3cr.) 
  •      ECO 692C Sustainable Building System Seminar (Fall/Spring – Prof. Fiocchi, 1.5cr., can be taken twice) 
  •      ECO 692S Readings in Sustainable Building Systems (Seminar) (Fall – BCT Faculty 3cr.) 
  •      ECO 697P Pathways to Zero: Retrofitting Existing Buildings to Net-Zero Carbon Emissions (Spring – Prof. Weil, 3cr.)
  •      ECO 697Q Green Building & Historic Preservation (Spring – Prof. Fiocchi, 3cr.)
  •      ECO 697RR Retrofitting and Retrocommissioning Existing Buildings 
  •      NRC 585 Introduction to GIS (Fall/Spring, 4cr.)

Electives (from outside the major)

Notes:

  • See Spire for a description of each course, possible prerequisites, and to investigate additional courses that might be of interest
  • Students should also explore courses offered by the four other schools in the Five College Consortium where any course can be taken at no additional cost.
  • Some courses will require permission of instructor

Architecture

  • ARCH 500 & 502: Graduate Design Studio I (fall) & Studio II (spring)
  • ARCH 530: Design Engagement (fall)
  • ARCH 540& 541: Analysis & Representation I (fall) & II (spring)
  • ARCH 597AD: Special Topics- Architectural Drawings, Now and Then (spring)
  • ARCH  597 varies- Courses at Yestermorrow in Vermont (fall & spring)
  • ARCH 597D: ST-History & Theory of Preservation (fall)
  • ARCH 605: Sustainable and High-Performance Facades (spring)
  • ARCH 630: Philosophy of Arch & Design (fall)
  • ARCH 660: Professional Practice (fall) 
  • ARCH 670: Research Forum (spring)
  • ARCH 698P: Practicum- Historic Preservation (fall)

Environmental Conservation and Related

  • ECo 601: Research Concepts (fall)
  • ECo 602: Analysis of Environmental Data (fall)
  • ECo 611: Offshore Wind Energy: Technology, Resources, Grid Integration, and Trends
  • ECo 675: Ecological Economics & Sustainability (fall)
  • ECo 691A: Current research in Environmental Conservation Seminar (fall, spring)
  • Envirsci 575: Environmental Soil Chemistry (fall)
  • GEOGRAPH 593G – Introduction to GIS (fall)
  • GEOGRAPH 670 – Urban Environmental History (spring)
  • NRC 590C – Clean Energy and Climate Policy in Massachusetts (spring)
  • NRC 597EC – Analytical Methods for Energy and Climate Policy (fall)

Engineering

  • CE-ENGIN 509: Transportation System Analysis (fall)
  • CE-ENGIN 605: Finite Element Analysis (Spring)
  • M&I-ENG 570: Solar & Direct Energy Conversion (spring)
  • M&I-ENG 573: Engineering Windpower Systems (fall)
  • M&I-ENG 597: EP Engineering Project Management (spring)
  • M&I-ENG 673: Wind Turbine Design (spring)

Landscape Architecture

  • LANDARCH 501-504: Studio I-IV (fall, spring)
  • LANDARCH 543: History of Architecture & Landscape I (fall)
  • LANDARCH 547 Landscape Pattern & Process (fall)
  • LANDARCH 582: Landscape and Green Urbanism (spring)
  • LANDARCH 591I S-Sustaining Green Infrastructure Planning and Design (spring)
  • LANDARCH 605 Recreation Plan & Design (fall)

Regional Planning

  • REGIONPL 574 City Planning (fall)
  • REGIONPL 580 Sustainable Cities (spring)
  • REGIONPL 585 Planning for Climate Change (fall)
  • REGIONPL  625 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Planning (spring)
  • REGIONPL  635 Research Issues in Landscape Architecture (spring)
  • REGIONPL 661 Cultural Landscapes: Documentation, Values, and Policy (fall)