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School of Architecture
School of Architecture The School of Architecture, founded in 1909, offers professional degree programs in both architecture and architectural engineering. The integration of these programs through shared faculty, facilities and coursework is a major strength of the School. It is one of the few such integrated programs in the United States, and as such produces graduates who are particularly prepared for the integrated team processes used in professional practice. The School of Architecture is a primary unit in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and therefore benefits from excellent state-of-the-art resources which significantly enhance the School’s professional programs. The program moved into a brand new facility, the Donald W. Reynolds School of Architecture Building in 2009, and at the same time celebrated its centennial as a School of Architecture. The School of Architecture is dedicated to providing a high quality and focused professional education to students whose career goals are to enter the practice of architecture or architectural engineering. Professional and liberal study electives provide opportunities for educational breadth or depth and a possible double degree in both architecture and architectural engineering. Minor plans of study are also available from the School of Architecture; the Architectural History/ Theory minor (ASHT), the Architecture and Entrepreneurship minor (ASAE). A twelve-credit hour Graduate Certificate is now available, focused upon Integrative Design of the Building Envelope . Oklahoma State University graduates are recruited by the leading architectural and architectural engineering firms both in Oklahoma and nationally. The Oklahoma State University School of Architecture is particularly proud of having among its alumni many of the leaders of the best firms in the country, an AIA Gold Medalist (the highest award given to an architect), and presidents of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB), and the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations (NCSEA). Mission and Goals Architecture is the difficult and complex art and science of designing and building a setting for human life. It is unique among today’s professions in that its successful practice requires a blend, in roughly equal shares, of traits normally considered less than compatible: human empathy, artistic creativity, technological competence, and organizational and economic acumen. In contrast to other fine arts, architecture is rarely self-generated; it is rather a creative response to a stated or perceived human need. It must, therefore, be more user-oriented than fine art alone and more humane than pure science. Its design solutions must avoid the total subjectivity and detachment of other arts while striving to be functionally, technically and economically objective and sound. Yet, in a seemingly insoluble contradiction, the keenest technological and economic functionality will fall far short of becoming architecture unless it also strongly appeals to human spiritual and emotional values. When one thinks of the environment, one cannot help but see or recall architectural images: pyramids in Egypt, Greek and Roman temples, gothic cathedrals, medieval castles, industrial cities, modern skyscrapers and dwellings or entire cities which significantly express the culture and values of the people who live or lived there. The mission of the School of Architecture is to cultivate a collaborative learning community focused upon critical thinking and ethical responsibility. To do so, the faculty embrace the established fundamentals and encourage the exploration of emerging innovations in
design. The vision of the school is to empower students to make creative contributions in the cause of architecture. The School of Architecture endeavors to instill in each individual sensitivity to human needs, a genuine concern for quality, integrity and high ideals, a positive attitude for life-long learning, and an appreciation for one’s own self-esteem. The School’s primary goal is to provide excellence in professional education for students preparing to enter the private practice of architecture or architectural engineering. This professional focus is to educate not only qualified candidates for the degree, but graduates who, during their careers, will be licensed professionals and will assume positions of leadership within the profession and society. Accreditation The School of Architecture offers two separately accredited professional degree programs. The Bachelor of Architecture degree, BArch, is accredited by the NAAB. The Bachelor of Architectural Engineering degree, BArchE, is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET http://www.abet.org) as an engineering program. Both programs require approximately five years of study to complete. In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year, three-year or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a pre-professional undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. The Oklahoma State University School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs - BArch. (154 undergraduate credits). The next accreditation visit will occur in 2025. Architecture Architecture is the complex synthesis of creatively solving problems involving both art and science through the disciplined orchestration of image-making, activity organization, technological applications, legal constraints and budgetary parameters which together express culture, enhance quality of life and contribute to the environment. Education in architecture consists of campus-oriented classroom and studio courses, as well as off-campus studies. It is conducted in an intellectual climate which stimulates inquiry, introduces principles and values, and teaches the disciplines necessary to work in collaboration with others. The goal of the program is the education of future leaders within the architecture profession. In the pre-professional portion of the architectural program (approximately two years of study), the focus is on the fundamental principles of design and technology supplemented by appropriate general education courses in English, social sciences, natural sciences, math and humanities. These courses allow students to assimilate a beginning knowledge base in architecture along with a broader liberal-based component to their education.
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