Mission and values

The College of Design is a new, multidisciplinary college incorporating the departments of architecture, landscape architecture, and design, housing and apparel, and associated research and outreach units. The new college aspires to be an international and national leader in multidisciplinary research, creative production, teaching, and public engagement in a wide variety of design-related fields.

Dean: Professor Thomas Fisher.

Faculty: 48 tenured and tenure-track faculty members; 54 adjunct, visiting, contract faculty.

Enrollment: 1,085 undergraduate students; 310 graduate students.

Freshman class: 363 students.

Undergraduate demographics: 3.13 average GPA; 67% female, 33% male; 5% currently in honors program; 5.4% eligible for degree in fall 2007.

Graduate demographics: 50% male, 50% female.

Staff: 108 professional and administrative (instructors, researchers, administrators); 45 civil service/bargaining unit.

Departments: School of Architecture, Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel, Department of Landscape Architecture.

Undergraduate degrees offered: architecture (BS Arch), architecture (BA Arch), design in architecture (BDA), clothing design (BS), graphic design (BS), housing studies (BS), interior design (BS), retail merchandising (BS), environmental design (BED).

Minors: architecture, design, environmental design, housing studies, retail merchandising.

Postbaccalaureate certificates: housing studies, metropolitan design.

Graduate degrees offered: architecture (MArch), apparel, design communication, housing studies, interior design (MA, MS, PhD); heritage conservation and preservation (MS in architecture); interactive design (MA and MFA); landscape architecture (MLA), sustainable design (MS in architecture).

Major research and outreach units: Buckman Fellowship, By Design, Center for Changing Landscapes, Center for Rural Design, Center for Sustainable Building Research, Center for World Heritage Studies, Design Institute, Digital Design Consortium, Goldstein Museum of Design, Human Dimensioning Laboratory, InformeDesign, Metropolitan Design Center, Midwest Univesities Radon Consortium, University of Minnesota Extension Service, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.

Alumni: 12,527 living alumni; total alumni 13,923.

Annual budget: The CDes annual budget for FY 2008 is $23 million.