PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University’s School of Architecture and Construction Management was ranked sixth among graduate architecture programs in the West, tying University of Washington and University of Southern California, according to Design Intelligence magazine.
The magazine is published for the Design Futures Council, an interdisciplinary network of design, product and construction leaders. The annual rankings are determined through research as well as surveys of professionals, students in the schools, deans and administrators.
With approximately 500 students, WSU’s School of Architecture and Construction Management is unique in its integration of
the architecture and construction management programs within an engineering college. Even in programs that contain both architecture and construction management within one school, few do as much to integrate their programs as WSU.
The school, for instance, holds an
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School will expand,
add disciplines Next year, the school will expand to about 700 students and will combine with WSU programs in interior design and landscape architecture. The program will be the only such school in the U.S with an entirely unique curriculum.
Those involved in the effort are positive about the collaboration and are excited about what the new program will offer students, said Kessler.
“We’re gaining efficiency but more than that, we’re gaining a more enriched pedagogical model,’’ he said.
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integrated symposium each year that requires students to work together on a project.
With leadership from civil engineering and architecture professors, the National Science Foundation-supported Integrated Design Experience is another unique effort. It is a year-long design class that includes students from several disciplines, including architecture, engineering and even agricultural programs.
WSU’s multidisciplinary Institute for Sustainable Design also has heavy involvement from the school.
“People are starting to recognize the quality of our graduates as well as the strength of our interdisciplinary work,’’ said Gregory Kessler, director of the school. “We are starting to have some real impact.’’
Students who come out of WSU’s program are known to have a good grounding in theory and philosophy, but also in pragmatic skills to be effective immediately. With the collaborative atmosphere in the school and college, graduates are better prepared to work in teams made up of diverse disciplines, Kessler said.