Architecture & Urban Studies

Overview

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is comprised of four Schools. The School of Architecture + Design includes accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design and interior design. The School of Public and International Affairs includes undergraduate programs in public and urban affairs and environmental policy and planning and graduate programs in public administration, public and international affairs, and urban and regional planning; and doctoral programs in public administration and public affairs and Planning, Governance and Globalization. The Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the first of its kind in the nation, brings together the Department of Building Construction in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the Vecellio Construction Engineering and Management Program in the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and includes undergraduate programs in building construction and in construction engineering and management; master’s programs in building construction science and management and in civil engineering with an emphasis in construction; and doctoral programs in environmental design and planning with an emphasis in construction management and building science and in civil engineering with an emphasis in construction. The School of Visual Arts offers undergraduate programs in art history, studio art, and visual communication design as well as a master’s of fine arts in creative technologies.


These programs share a common purpose—to understand and mold the constructed world through acts of creation, design, construction, and analysis. These forces give meaning to the built environments that shape our lives.


Research and outreach programs supplement instructional efforts and are carried out through college centers and laboratories. Specialized research and outreach centers offer students and faculty members opportunities for concentrated investigations in such areas as history and theory of art and architecture, housing, metropolitan studies, community design, construction safety and health, high performance learning environments, community health, governance and accountability, public policy, women in architecture, environmental design and planning, and visual design.


The college offers a range of advanced digital technologies, including an array of rapid prototyping devices and a wide range of computing and graphic equipment in support of the instructional and research programs of the college. The Environmental Systems Laboratory and Research and Demonstration Facility (RDF) is available to faculty members and students for the conduct of research, in-depth investigations of environmental systems, prototype development, and industrial, graphic and product design. To support these endeavors, the college's Virtual Environments Laboratory (VE Lab) and the Visual Design Studio for Education, Research, Exhibition and Outreach (VDS4) are located at RDF.


The Art and Architecture Library, a branch of the University Libraries, is located in Cowgill Hall and houses more than 60,000 volumes, 200 periodicals and 65,000 architectural slides. The college also provides media facilities - VTR systems, photographic, darkroom, print making, ceramics, and cinematographic space and equipment.


The college's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center and Northern Virginia Center in Old Town Alexandria. Virginia, provide opportunities for architecture, landscape architecture, public administration, urban and regional planning students to spend one or more semesters in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area examining the range of design and planning problems found in large urban centers. In addition to classes, studios, and curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the centers offer research and continuing education opportunities for students, faculty members, and alumni, and facilitates participation in the rich educational and cultural opportunities of the Washington, D.C. area.


The Europe Studio, based at the university's Center for European Studies and Architecture in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, provides undergraduate and graduate study opportunities for architecture students. Studios, seminars, and organized travel are offered. The college also sponsors an array of additional study abroad opportunities, including study-travel programs in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.


Students who wish to combine degree options within the college or with related disciplines within the university should contact the major school or department regarding special undergraduate and graduate program requirements.


A Summer Qualifying Design Lab the School of Architecture + Design is required for Virginia Tech students wishing to transfer or change their major into the architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design and interior design degree programs.