School of Architecture

Renee Cheng, head

The School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota is one of the oldest accredited programs in the country and offers the only professional architecture degree in the state. The faculty feels responsible for honoring the school's traditions while shaping its future. The school positions itself between conceptual and practical approaches to architectural education, believing that graduates should be encouraged to speculate while remaining grounded in the realities and ethics of contemporary practice.

The School of Architecture currently offers non-professional undergraduate degrees, one professional graduate degree and one academic research degree. Approximately 350 students are enrolled in our three undergraduate degrees, the bachelor of design in architecture (B.D.A.), the bachelor of arts in architecture (B.A.), and the bachelor of science in architecture (B.S.). The graduate professional M.Arch. degree typically enrolls 150 students. Our post-professional M.S. in architecture currently has eight students and is expected to grow as the program develops.

The architecture faculty is continually seeking ways for its research and teaching to address some of the most urgent issues related to the built environment. We expect that our graduates -- fluent in building technology, construction and materials -- will design according to sound ecological principles. We expect they will understand that their potential clients include both groups traditionally served by architects and the billions of underhoused people throughout the globe, and that while new technologies are always emerging, the principles to master them are fundamental and unchanging.

Our curriculum has begun to evolve to allow students to benefit from faculty expertise in the following areas.

1. Design -- pedagogy, creative practice, critical thinking, representation, illusion
2. Responsible approach to the built environment -- sustainable design, affordable housing, historic preservation, community-based design, renewable energy, energy conservation, ethical issues in design
3. History/theory/culture -- urban design, culture of practice, user-centered design, regional architecture, aesthetics, history of European architecture, heritage conservation, phenomenology, religious architecture, modern architecture
4. Emerging technologies -- digital design, digital manufacturing, emerging practices

Departmen of Landscape Architecture

John Koepke, head

The major focus of the Department of Landscape Architecture this year will be strategic planning. Taking a cue from the University's strategic positioning efforts, we feel an open and engaging planning process will continue to move the department forward intellectually as well as upward in the national rankings. Building on our recent accomplishments and last year's extremely successful accreditation review, the faculty, staff, and students will further clarify our teaching and scholarship goals, assess our needs, and formulate strategies to secure the resources necessary to achieve even greater success.

The department currently offers three degrees, the bachelor of environmental design (B.E.D.), with 120 enrolled students, the master of landscape architecture (M.L.A.) with 75 students, and the master of science (M.S.) with one to five students per year. The M.L.A. is a well-established degree program and is the only professional landscape architecture degree available in the state. Our department enjoys a strong national reputation as demonstrated by the excellent track record of our graduates, who have found positions in the best offices and agencies, locally, nationally, and internationally.

The faculty is our greatest strength. They are accomplished and inquiring teachers and researchers with diverse interests who teach design as a mode of inquiry -- the fundamental means by which landscape architects give shape to and explore their ideas. Some years ago, inspired by the multi-dimensional works and theoretical writings of H. W. S. Cleveland, the faculty set as a goal to "change the nature of practice" of landscape architecture in the region, engaging students and local professionals to ask larger questions about their role in envisioning the "green" infrastructure of our cities and rural landscapes.

Clearly, as evidenced by the interdisciplinary scope, scale, and quality of the local and national American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) awards won by our graduates and the positive transformation of our urban fabric in the Twin Cities over the last several years, their efforts have paid dividends. We feel that as our numbers and capabilities have grown, each generation of students has been better prepared to lead the profession and, as we had hoped, they have literally changed the nature of the practice of landscape architecture.

Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel

Becky Yust, head

The Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel (DHA) is working this year to foster the growth and independent identity of our disciplinary areas: clothing design, graphic design, interior design, housing studies, and retail merchandising. Each area is reassessing its strengths and opportunities, particularly regarding our relationships with the other departments and research and outreach units of the college.

The DHA vision is to be recognized as the catalyst for inspiring and motivating innovative discovery and research-based design, as well as translating and communicating that knowledge to enhance people's lives and empower them to take active roles in society.

We are centered on the interactions between people and the components of apparel, housing, interiors, and visual communication. We are committed to developing a richer understanding of these interactions to contribute toward socioeconomic well-being and empowerment, to enhance the well-being of communities through effecting positive change, and to improve environmental conditions.

The discovery and research projects of the faculty address

• the human experience through inquiry of the design process and production, aesthetics, human factors and behavior, and product development;
• social issues including public policy, economics, and multiculturalism;
• environmental conditions regarding indoor contaminants and the use of apparel for health protection; and
• advancing our disciplines through inquiry of designed artifacts, the scholarship of teaching, theory development, and research methods.

We serve more than 700 undergraduate students seeking the B.S. degree and about 65 graduate students enrolled in one of our five degree options at the graduate level: post-baccalaureate certificate in housing studies, master of science, master of arts, master of fine arts (in interactive design) and the Ph.D. We also offer undergraduate minors in housing studies and retail merchandising. We are exploring expansion of the graduate experience and reconsidering elements of the undergraduate curricula.