PURPOSE
The college provides graduate education for professional, research, and academic careers in architecture, design, environmental resource management, and urban planning. Students in the master’s programs benefit from small classes, seminars, and studios, from close, individual contact and faculty mentorship, and from an interdisciplinary curriculum. Students and faculty make full use of the Phoenix metropolitan area and the Sonoran region as research bases and profit from strong interaction with the professional communities. The faculty have earned national reputations in energy-efficient design, computer-assisted design, corporate interior design, design for special populations, urban design, and environmental policy. Programs of study, including internship and trainee opportunities, give graduates the best possible start on academic, research, and professional careers.
ORGANIZATION
The college has three academic units: the School of Architecture, the School of Design, and the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture. The units and their faculty have strong ties with programs and faculty in business, computer science, construction, engineering, fine arts, geography, biological sciences, agribusiness, and public affairs.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
The new Ph.D. degree program in Environmental Design and Planning is a collegewide interdisciplinary degree offered by faculty representing the different disciplines comprising the Schools of Architecture, Design, and Planning and Landscape Architecture. Three areas of concentration are available: design; planning; and history, theory and criticism.
Faculty in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design offer six master’s degree programs through the Graduate College: a professional program leading to the NAAB accredited degree Master of Architecture (the two-year as well as three-plus-year programs), a professional graduate program leading to the PAB accredited Master of Environmental Planning degree, a research and applications M.S. in Building Design, a M.S. degree in Environmental Resources, and the Master of Science in Design degree in Design with concentrations in graphic design, industrial design, and interior design. Faculty in the School of Architecture offer the Master of Architecture and the M.S. degrees in Building Design. Faculty in the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture offer the Master of Environmental Planning and the M.S. degrees in Environmental Resources. Faculty in the School of Design offer the professional Master of Science in Design degree.
| Major | Degree | Administered by |
| Architecture | M.Arch. | School of Architecture |
| Building Design Concentrations: computer-aided design, energy performance and climate-responsive architecture, facilities development and management | M.S. | School of Architecture |
| Design Concentrations: graphic design, industrial design, interior design | M.S.D. | School of Design |
| Environmental Design and Planning Concentrations: design; history, theory, and criticism; planning | Ph.D. | Environmental Design and Planning Executive Committee |
| Environmental Planning Concentration: urban planning | M.E.P. | School of Planning and Landscape Architecture |
| Environmental Resources | M.S. | School of Planning and Landscape Architecture |
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants to each of the seven graduate degree programs must meet Graduate College admission requirements, in addition to requirements of the academic unit offering the program. For application requirements and deadlines of the Graduate College, see “Admission to the Graduate College.” For application requirements and deadlines of each program, see the following: Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning; Master of Architecture; Master of Environmental Planning; M.S. degree in Building Design; M.S. degree in Environmental Resources; and Master of Science in Design with concentrations in graphic design, industrial design, and interior design.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Environmental Design and Planning. Applicants to the Ph.D. program must have completed a master’s degree in architecture, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, or planning, or must be able to demonstrate equivalent standing. The degree is structured as a 54-hour postmasters program, and not as an 84-hour postbaccalaureate program. The following test scores are required: Graduate Record Examination scores and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 600 from applicants whose native language is not English.
Master of Architecture. Applicants to the two-year program must have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree with a major in architectural studies or a similar preprofessional degree in architecture. The degree should be from an institution offering a National Architectural Accreditation Board-accredited degree in architecture. Applicants to the three-plus-year program must have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree in any discipline. International applicants whose native language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 or above.
M.S. Degree in Building Design. Students who have completed a professional baccalaureate degree in architecture (five or six years) or a baccalaureate degree in engineering or a related area and wish to pursue advanced study and research may apply for admission to this program. International applicants whose native language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of at least 550.
Master of Environmental Planning. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree. International applicants whose native language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 or above.
M.S. Degree in Environmental Resources. Applicants are expected to have completed 18 semester hours in environmental sciences or closely related subjects and hold a baccalaureate degree.
Master of Science in Design Degree in Design. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree in graphic design, industrial design, interior design, or a related design discipline as determined by the School of Design Graduate Program Committee. International applicants whose native language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 or above.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
A concurrent Master of Architecture/Master of Business Administration degree program is available. The School of Architecture also offers programs for study in Paris and Italy. Also, a selective summer internship program places highly qualified students in nationally known American firms.
The Master of Environmental Planning program has special ties with the professional planning community and offers students considerable interaction with practitioners in the field, as well as experience in local planning offices and agencies.
The Master of Science in Environmental Resources program often works with state and federal agencies concerned with a range of investigations from hydrology research and shrub control to livestock and wildlife concerns.
All of the master’s programs are interdisciplinary in focus and require or strongly recommend course work in other programs, departments, and colleges. Each program works with affiliated and associated faculty from other units within the college. Also, faculty from such areas as geography, engineering, public affairs, business, transportation, environmental studies, and fine arts collaborate with the faculty and graduate students of the college.
COLLEGE FACILITIES
With the opening of the award-winning expansion to the Architecture building in spring of 1989, the college consolidated its facilities into a single complex and more than doubled the space available for instruction, research, and service activities. Expanded facilities include the library, the shop, studios, faculty and administrative offices, and research facilities. Research and special project rooms include a high-bay research laboratory, a lighting laboratory, community outreach and design excellence studios, a materials resource center, as well as a solar instrumentation laboratory and a rooftop outdoor solar and day lighting testing area. The college is especially proud of its computer facilities and the faculty-graduate student computer research laboratory. The university also maintains a computer site in the building and there is a local area network that ties together faculty, studio, and library resources. Emphasis is on mini- and microcomputer modeling, simulation, and design applications. (Also refer to the description of computing facilities and services.) Teaching and research activities are also supported by a media center with photography and video services and a slide and media library. Individual studio work space is available to graduate students and the expansion features extensive jury, review, and display space.
As a branch of the university library, the college library is located in the expansion and provides easy access to books, periodicals, and reference materials for students and faculty. The collection includes approximately 30,000 volumes. Special research collections on the work of Paolo Soleri and Frank Lloyd Wright are located in an archival quality special collections suite.
The Gallery of Design is one of eight university galleries and museums. It provides premium space for traveling exhibitions and exhibitions of student and faculty work.
ADVISING
Architecture. Students should contact the graduate secretary for general information about the school’s programs and procedures. In addition, a graduate coordinator is available for preadmission and general advising. Upon enrollment, each student is assigned a faculty advisor for continuing assistance. Call 602/965–3536 or e-mail arch.grad@asu.edu for more information.
Design. Preadmission information, advising, and continued support are provided by the director of the school and the graduate program coordinator. Call 602/965–4135 for more information.
Planning. The school director provides preadmission information and general advising. Each admitted student is initially assigned a faculty advisor but may later select a supervisory chair. This faculty member later serves as a chair of the committee. Call 602/965–7167 for more information.
ACCREDITATION
The Master of Architecture is fully accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The Master of Architecture requires a minimum of three years of study following an unrelated bachelor’s degree or two years following a related preprofessional bachelor’s degree. This professional degree is structured to educate those who aspire to registration/licensure as architects. See “Accreditation and Affiliation” for more information.
The School of Architecture is a full member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the Environmental Design Research Association, and the Architectural Research Centers Consortium.
The programs in the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture are affiliated with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.
The Master of Environmental Planning program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
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