Department of Architecture

The Architecture Department at KSU attracts and retains a strong faculty committed to professional excellence and recruits and supports qualified students who desire to learn, achieve and excel in their field. Building on its strong history of excellence, the Architecture Program at KSU continues to create an environment supportive of a multidisciplinary approach to learning, creativity, scholarship, application, and engagement. We believe that these components are integral to a strong educational foundation, the creation of an environment that fosters our students' drive to achieve excellence and to contribute to their profession and their communities, which encourages a greater appreciation of architecture and good design.The mission of the Architecture Program is to be a prominent leader in architectural education at the national and international levels. It fulfills its mission via a strong commitment to:

• Create and continuously improve a multidisciplinary curriculum that nurtures critical thinking; embrace new technologies and encourage creativity and innovation through the integration of the theory, art, technology and science of the built environment.
• Apply learning methods that emphasize hands-on exploration designed to provide the student with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to be productive, contributing leaders in the architectural profession and civic community.
• Encourage outreach programs designed to maintain vital connections with the architectural community, improve effective communication, support continued professional development and build future leaders of the profession.
• Advocate an appreciation of good design and the benefits of responsible architecture through the education of its students and the civic community.

In addition to the core values identified in the strategic plans of KSU and the College of Architecture and Construction Management, the Architecture Program holds the following core values as important:

• Professionalism: The Architecture Program values its strong relationship with the professional community and the active role its members play in the Architecture Program, as colleagues with its faculty, participating on design juries and the advisory committee and serving as mentors and role models to its students as they strive to develop design expertise, aesthetic competency and sound contextual responses in their work. We believe that this serves to strengthen our pursuit of the Program's goal to develop and nurture a culture of professionalism and a strong sense of ethics within the program and the profession.
• Balancing Theory and Practice: The Architecture Program places great value on balancing theory and practice in its curriculum. We believe that an emphasis on applied learning and hands-on experience combined with theoretical exploration contributes to higher design standards that are evidenced in the quality and technical prowess of our student projects, the challenging studio and community projects we pursue, and the intellectual dialogues that our students and faculty engage in. We believe that this contributes to our student's proficiency and preparedness in addressing issues of professionalism, a commitment to improve the man-made environment, an awareness of environmental issues and sustainability, urbanism, etc.
• Diversity:The Architecture Program values diversity in its student body, faculty, supportive interdisciplinary climate, commitment to teamwork, and learning environment. We believe that this encourages collaboration and strong professional relationships among students, faculty, alumni and professionals and strengthens our commitment to encouraging critical thinking, creativity and innovation.