The Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) is a two-year program of advanced study founded on research and inquiry in architecture as a discipline and as a practice. First established at MIT in 1979, the program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study. The degree may be pursued in one of six areas: Architectural Design, Architecture & Urbanism, Building Technology, Design & Computation, History, Theory & Criticism, and the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture. With one of these areas as an intellectual home, students are encouraged to explore connections in their research across these areas, and beyond to other programs and departments throughout MIT. SMArchS students work closely with one or more faculty who guide them in planning their courses of studies and in directing them purposefully towards a thesis. Notable strengths of the program are its range of concentration areas of study, its curricular flexibility and cross-disciplinary research focus, as well as its high faculty-student ratio.