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Dear Alumni and Friends,

In recent years the faculty of the design program at the University of Massachusetts has been at work planning an expansion and development of the existing program. Reflecting on the program's mission and strengths, as well as the dynamic changes that are occurring within the architectural and interior design professions, we are making some critical changes and introducing an exciting new program. These changes have been designed to allow us to provide an enhanced education for the next generation of architectural and interior designers.

The design program at the University of Massachusetts has always pursued an interdisciplinary approach to design education as envisioned by the program founder, Professor Emeritus Arnold Friedmann. Recent changes in the interior design accreditation process have increasingly narrowed the definition of interior design creating an artificial separation between interior design and architecture. Rather than follow what we see as a confining direction, we at the University of Massachusetts have decided to discontinue our relationship with FIDER. We will continue to provide interior design education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, continuing our commitment to defining a program that breaks down the artificial barriers between interior design and architecture educating all designers to be sensitive to issues of interior and exterior space.

As a reflection of this design philosophy we are in the process of enhancing and developing our program offerings. We are pleased to announce our new degree program: Masters of Architecture, the first to be offered at a public university in New England . This new program is offered in addition to our Masters of Science in Design, thus making our graduate offerings parallel with our undergraduate BFA Design program, which will continue to offer tracks in interior design and architectural studies. We have also developed important linkages and collaborative academic course offerings with Landscape Architecture, the School of Engineering , and Building Materials and Wood Technology, in order to provide expanded educational opportunities for all our students. These changes within the UMass Program in Architecture and Design completes the spectrum of design offerings, underlining our awareness of the permeable boundaries that exist among all the design disciplines and supporting a holistic approach to design.

We invite all our friends and alumni to visit our revised web page at www.umass.edu/architecture and review the details of the new program. If you have any questions or comments please contact us via email, and when you can, visit us in Amherst.

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