Contents > College of Design
College of Design
Wellington Reiter, MArch, Dean
Master of Architecture/Master of Business Administration Concurrent Degree Program
Master of Science in Building Design
Environmental Design and Planning (Doctoral Program)
Real Estate Development (Master’s Program)
Urban and Environmental Planning (Master’s Program)
The college provides graduate education for professional, research, and academic careers in architecture, design, landscape architecture, and environmental 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 they also 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.
The college has five academic units: the Department of Industrial Design, the Department of Interior Design, the Department of Visual Communication Design, the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and the School of Planning. The units and their faculty have strong ties with programs and faculty in business, computer science, construction, engineering, fine arts, geography, biological sciences, environmental resources, and public affairs.
The PhD degree program in Environmental Design and Planning is a collegewide interdisciplinary degree offered by faculty representing the different disciplines in the College of Design. Three areas of concentration are available: design; planning; and history, theory, and criticism.
Faculty in the College of Design offer five master’s degree programs through the Graduate College: a professional program leading to the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)–accredited Master of Architecture degree (the two-year as well as three-plus-year programs); a research and applications MS degree in Building Design with concentrations in design knowledge and computing, energy performance and climate-responsive architecture, and facilities development and management; the Master of Science in Design degree with concentrations in arts, media, and engineering; graphic design; industrial design; interior design; Master of Real Estate Development; and a professional graduate program leading to the PAB-accredited Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree.
See the College of Design Graduate Degrees and Majors table.
Applicants to each of the five 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, refer to the specific program section.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Environmental Design and Planning
Applicants to the PhD program must have completed a master’s degree in architecture, environmental resources, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, or visual communication design, or must be able to demonstrate equivalent standing. The degree is structured as a 54-semester-hour post-master’s program. The following test scores are required: Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 600 (250 for the computer-based version) from applicants whose native language is not English. International applicants who are interested in receiving funding as Teaching Associates (TAs) must also submit a Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of at least 50.
Admission as a graduate student to the Master of Architecture program is a two-part process and is granted only with the approval of both the Graduate College and the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
Regular admission to the Master of Architecture program is open to applicants who have completed a four-year Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Architectural Studies or similar preprofessional degree in Architecture. The degree must be granted by an institution with an NAAB-accredited degree program in Architecture.
Admission to the three-plus-year Master of Architecture program has similar two-part application procedures. This is an NAAB-accredited program designed for applicants with bachelor’s degrees in fields unrelated to architecture. The program begins with a 10-week summer program followed by three academic years.
Master of Real Estate Development Degree
All students applying to the Master of Read Estate Development (MRED) degree program must meet ASU graduate admissions requirements and are required to take the GMAT, LSAT, or GRE. In addition, students applying to the MRED degree program are required to provide an essay succinctly addressing their goals within the real estate development industry (500 to 750 words). Applicants must also provide three letters of recommendation and a current résumé.
Master of Science Degree in Building Design
Admission as a graduate student to the Master of Science degree in Building Design program is a two-part process and is granted only with the approval of both the ASU Graduate College and the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
Students with a previous NAAB-accredited professional degree in Architecture who wish to pursue advanced study and research should apply to the Master of Science degree in Building Design program.
Master of Science in Design Degree
Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree in industrial design, interior design, visual communication design, or a related design discipline. International applicants whose native language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 or above on the paper-based test or 213 or higher on the computer-based test.
Master of Urban and Environmental Planning Degree
Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree. International applicants whose native language is not English must submit a TOEFL score.
A concurrent Master of Architecture/Master of Business Administration degree program is available. The School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture offers a foreign study abroad program. Also, a selective summer internship program places highly qualified students in nationally known American firms.
The Master of Urban and 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.
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.
The College of Design facilities are organized for instruction, research, and service activities in a single complex. Facilities include the Architecture and Environmental Design Library, the modeling laboratory, studios, faculty and administrative offices, and research facilities. Research and special project rooms include a high-bay research laboratory, community outreach and design research studios, and 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 digital laboratory and the faculty-graduate student computer research laboratory. 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 (see 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 building features extensive jury, review, and display space.
The newly renovated 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.
Housed in the College of Design/North building, the college’s library has a spacious and welcoming interior, with cherry wood furnishings. A branch of the University Libraries, the Architecture and Environmental Design (AED) Library provides access to books, periodicals, reference materials, and product catalogs. The collection includes approximately 35,000 volumes. There are also 150 current periodical subscriptions available. ASU Libraries provide access to numerous online databases, including the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.
Rare and unusual materials related to architecture and environmental design reside in the Special Collections area. Notable among these are the extensive collections of books and ephemera on Paolo Soleri and Frank Lloyd Wright.
The rapidly growing Archival Drawings Collection is also part of the AED Library’s Special Collections area. Included are the archival drawings and papers of several noteworthy architects, including Alfred N. Beadle, William P. Bruder, Blaine Drake, Albert Chase McArthur, Victor Olgyay, Paul Schweikher, Calvin Straub, Marcus Whiffen, and Martin Ray Young, Jr. The Archival Drawings Collection also contains documentation of the company town of Litchfield Park, the Rio Salado Project, the Phoenix Civic Plaza design competition, and the Metropolitan Canal Alliance.
Students should consult the school’s Web site at design.asu.edu for general information about the programs and admission procedures. In addition, a graduate coordinator is available for professional advising. For more information, call 480/965-3536, or send e-mail to design.advising@asu.edu. For information about the undergraduate program and for undergraduate advising, send e-mail to design.advising@asu.edu.
Preadmission information, advising, and continued support are provided by the coordinator of the program. General information can be found on the program’s Web site at design.asu.edu. For additional information, send e-mail to designmsd@asu.edu.
Students should consult the school’s Web site at design.asu.edu for general information about the program and admission procedures. The school’s student coordinator provides admission information, general program information, and general advising. The school’s director and MUEP program coordinator provide professional advising and continued support. For more information, call 480/965-7167, or access the school’s Web site at design.asu.edu.
In the United States, most state architecture and landscape architecture registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The NAAB (www.naab.org), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. (A program may be granted a five-year, three-year, or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.)
Master’s degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, which, when earned sequentially, compose an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The Master of Architecture program at ASU is fully accredited by the 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.
The School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture is a full member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the Architectural Research Centers Consortium.
The School of Planning is a full member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
The Master of Urban and Environmental Planning and the Bachelor of Science in Planning programs are both accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board.
The Department of Industrial Design and Department of Visual Communication Design are full members of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
The Master of Science in Design is accredited by NASAD.
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