Programme

The Master of Advanced Studies ETH in Architecture and Digital Fabrication is a one-year full time educational program positioned within the vibrant multidisciplinary research environment of the Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) Department of Architecture at the ETH Zurich. Jointly organised by the Chair for Digital Building Technologies and Gramazio Kohler Research. Furthermore, the MAS is the educational program of the National Centre for Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication, one of the biggest and world leading interdisciplinary research clusters on digital fabrication and robotics in architecture.

Focus

Benefing from exceptional infrastructures and technologies at the forefront of digital design to fabrication for architecture and construction, the programme provides expertise in the application of the latest digital technologies for design, simulation and fabrication of digital architecture and construction. The focus is on computational design, robotic fabrication and 3D printing, and novel topics in architecture. Projects and assignments enable students to develop strong design concepts and realize large-scale prototypes using the unique robotic and 3D printing facilities at ETH Zurich, the curriculum offers training on wide-ranging practical and theoretical topics.

Perspective

Expert knowledge in computational design, advanced fabrication methods, robotics, materials research, visualisation techniques and AI, the program prepares our graduates to be well-versed in the cutting-edge topics in our field. The MAS ETH DFAB has regular interactions with representatives from industry and architecture, to prepare our students for practice.

Alumnae and alumni of the programme have successfully set up robotic divisions in progressive architecture and construction firms, work as computational design and digital fabrication specialists or have become leading researchers in the field.

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE (PDF)

MAS ETH DFAB brochure

Structure and Curriculum

The twelve-month full-time programme is structured in three terms: Digital Foundations teaches relevant basics through exercises, tutorials and short design projects. These skills are applied to large-scale building tasks during two consecutive Design and Fabrication Projects constituting the second term. The third term is the Master’s thesis, where students pursue in-depth research in collaboration with researchers from Digital Building Technologies and Gramazio Kohler Research.

Financial Aid - Find out more about our MAS ETH DFAB Scholarship of Excellence.