Architecture Technology

Effective: Fall 2023
Certificate of Achievement Program Map

This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

The Chabot College Architecture Program is a well-established program that prepares students to transfer into architecture programs at 4-year universities. Students may complete the program by earning an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in Architecture, or Certificate of Achievement in Architecture Technology, or transfer without a degree. Our program provides upgraded Building Information Modeling (B.I.M) computer labs and drafting studios with state-of-the-art computer drafting software for students to complete. Required courses cover design, drafting, building code, construction materials, interior design, graphics, 3-D modeling, urban design and landscape architecture.


What can I do with this major?

This certificate of achievement is designed to prepare students for employment  as assistant Architects, assistant landscape architects, junior developers, interior designers, architectural drafters, architectural office managers, model-making workers, and building construction workers.


Learning and Career Pathway
  • Arts and Design

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

9 units

ARCH 2A
Design and Visual Communication I

3 units
Introduction to freehand and mechanically constructed drawings employing orthographic, axonometric and linear perspective drawing systems to represent three-dimensional forms and environments on two-dimensional surfaces. Emphasis on the understanding of basic drawing conventions, their implications and applications.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

ARCH 3
Digital Tools for Design and Visual Communication

3 units
Introduction to digital tools with computer-aided design drafting. Ability to effectively use basic design principles in two dimensions. Topics include command basics including drawing entity creation and modification, industry layering standards, text and dimensioning systems appropriate to architecture, creating symbol libraries, external reference techniques, model and paper space commands, and plotting techniques.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Spring, Fall, Summer

ARCH 16
People and Environmental Design

3 units
Principles of landscape architecture emphasizing design concepts as they relate to site, building, and client requirements. Includes site analysis, land use patterns, circulation, layout, planting materials, irrigation. The general design process and outcome are examined in context of relationships between people and the environments, both natural and man-made, with focus on sustainable design principles applied to passive environmental control, landscaping, functional adaptation, social and economic impacts, integrating their influences in community development and urban planning.
Course Details:

Semester 2

9 units

ARCH 2B
Design and Visual Communication II

3 units
Continuation of the content and issues introduced in Architecture 2A plus the theories and methods for applying shadows, reflections, materials, and entourage in a variety of drawing types. Layout and integration of composite drawings in support of the process and presentation of architectural designs.
Course Details:
  1. Prerequisite: ARCH 2A
Terms Offered: Spring

ARCH 4A
Architectural Drafting Principles I

3 units
Introduction to principles and practice of architectural drafting with emphasis on working drawings for wood frame construction; introduction to drafting concepts and conventions for architectural working drawings, basic building systems, and architectural applications of computer-aided drafting technology.
Course Details:
  1. Prerequisite: ARCH 3
  2. Prerequisite: ARCH 68
  3. or
  4. Prerequisite: ID 49
Terms Offered: Spring, Fall

ARCH 33
Digital Communication in Modeling

3 units
Introduction to 3-dimensional digital modeling using 3-dimensional software called Revit. It is a digital modeling with building information system,
Course Details:
  • Transfers to UC
  • Terms Offered: Spring

    Semester 3

    10 units

    ARCH 4B
    Architectural Drafting Principles II

    3 units
    Continuation of Architecture 4A with emphasis on architectural working drawings for non-residential buildings with wood, masonry, steel and concrete structures. Application of advanced computer-aided drafting techniques for architectural construction documents will be reviewed, as will the use of electronic/web-based information sources, including Architectural Graphic Standards, Sweets Catalogs, and the Uniform Building Code.
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ARCH 4A
    Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

    ARCH 8A
    Fundamentals of Architectural Design I

    4 units
    Introduction to the theories, principles, and methods of architectural design using traditional and digital media. Studio projects emphasize composing two- and three-dimensional organizations to convey intended concepts and meanings. Aesthetic, environmental, social, and technological factors which inform architectural design are investigated. Course work is supplemented with lectures, discussions, and readings.
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ARCH 2B
    Terms Offered: Fall

    ARCH 12
    Construction Materials and Methods1

    3 units
    Introduction to the methods and materials used in contemporary and historical building construction. Wood, steel, masonry, and concrete structural systems will be explored, as will major interior and exterior finish systems. The relationships between occupancy and construction types will be reviewed as will the influence of building codes, climate, labor supply, and economic factors.
    Course Details:

    Semester 4

    9 units

    ARCH 8B
    Fundamentals of Architectural Design II

    4 units
    Continuation of the content and issues introduced in Architecture 8A. Emphasis on generating and developing design concepts, incorporating structure, materials, and energy considerations as determination of form. Emphasis on applied traditional and digital graphic communications tools, including scale models to convey intended concepts and meanings.
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ARCH 8A
    Terms Offered: Spring

    ARCH 14
    California Architecture and Urban Design

    3 units
    California architecture and urban design from indigenous beginnings to the contemporary avant garde. Historic, cultural, and environmental influences on the shaping California’s distinctive buildings and cities. Work reviewed ranges from anonymous adobes to historic masterpieces by Maybeck and Morgan to new works by Gehry, Moss, and others.
    Course Details:

    ARCH 80
    Architectural Education and Practice

    2 units
    Architectural education and practice in Architecture department setting approved by Architecture faculty as related to student’s architecture major or classes at Chabot. Cooperative effort between student and instructor or architecture firm supervisor to accomplish agreed upon work objectives, complete projects and broaden experiences. Student provides verification of service experience or work on projects during the term. Students will get an architecture firm approved by architecture faculty or work on projects closely with instructor. Students will meet with architecture instructor for input and hands-on experience lectures and discussion focused on architecture firm structures, project procedures, design developments, specification book and construction documents.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ARCH 4A
    2. and
    3. Strongly Recommended: ARCH 33
    Terms Offered: Spring, Summer
    Total Units: 37 units