Architecture impacts your life daily. You experience it in almost everything you do. As the only accredited program in Kentucky, the School of Architecture in the College of Design has, since its inception, strived to not only educate and prepare our students to be the next generation of Architects, but also to inspire them to become the future leaders of the discipline.
The College of Design School of Architecture, a STEM-designated program at the University of Kentucky, offers a four-year undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. This degree combines a broad liberal arts education with a foundation in the theory and practice of architecture. The Graduate School of Architecture offers an accredited Master of Architecture, a two-year or three-year professional degree program, which qualifies graduates to pursue licensure in architecture. With a rich history of industry-renowned faculty and alumni designing internationally, the School of Architecture prepares students for a myriad of professional opportunities.
Studios provide a social and curricular framework for the architecture student. Representational skills such as drawing, model making and computer modeling are practiced rigorously as essential skills for design. In addition to the design studio, students study building technology; materials and structural systems; digital fabrication techniques; the history, theory and criticism of architecture; and the ethical and professional principles of a successful architecture practice.
Undergraduate Degree Information | Graduate Degree Information
At its best, architecture can enhance lives, improve cities, and inspire people, organizations, communities and cultures.
The design studio is where you bring knowledge to propose innovative design solutions to a wide range of spatial challenges. In studio, you are the key component in a culture of critical thinking and creativity that challenges your preconceptions, and encourages you to formulate new ideas that stimulate your imagination. It aims to spark your curiosity, and to propel you to foster your own vision for the future of the built environment.
In reality, the studio is a creative, collaborative, hands-on environment. In this setting, you will spend hours exploring, researching, discussing and analyzing architectural challenges with your studio instructor and classmates. You’ll get your hands dirty as you test your intellectual ideas and propose creative solutions through drawings, models, scale mockups and digitally fabricated prototypes. For many, working closely together in the studio environment – critiquing projects, exchanging techniques, and sharing ideas throughout all stages of the design process – is one of the highlights of a design education.
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 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 term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.
The University of Kentucky School of Architecture offers the following degree programs:
States may have additional requirements for programs that lead to professional licensure or certification. If you plan to use the degree to seek licensure, you should also determine if the degree meets the educational requirements for licensure in your state. Visit the UK Out-of-State Educational Activities website to learn more about your program.
Undergraduate Program Application Deadlines
Early Action Track: December 1
Regular Action Track: February 15
Applications will be accepted after February 15 as space in the program is available.
Graduate Program Application Deadlines
Fall semester: April 15
Spring semester: September 15
