Architecture Program at UMass Amherst Awarded National Accreditation
Sept. 4, 2007
| Contact: | Stephen Schreiber 413/577-1575 |
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first public institution in New England to offer a professional architecture degree after its recent accreditation by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB). The accreditation is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007.
Offered through the architecture+design program in the department of art at UMass Amherst, the master’s degree in architecture is available in two- and three-year tracks, according to Stephen Schreiber, the program director.
The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture. Since most state registration boards require any applicant for licensure to have graduated from a NAAB-accredited program, obtaining such a degree is an essential aspect of preparing for the professional practice of architecture.
One of three programs of study in the department of art, the architecture+design program offers an undergraduate pre-professional degree in design, the master of architecture degree, and a graduate, post-professional master of science.
“Our program offers a collaborative, interdisciplinary education to aspiring architects,” says Schreiber.
“NAAB accreditation marks a significant achievement for our campus,” says Joel W. Martin, dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. “UMass Amherst is now well positioned not only as a training ground for the architects of tomorrow but as a generator of innovative architectural design and research. Western Massachusetts, indeed all of New England, will be huge beneficiaries.”
“The new architecture program at UMass Amherst opens the door to a design career for hundreds of students who might not otherwise get the chance, and in the process creates a major center for the study of the built environment in the heart of New England,” says David Dillon, architecture critic and a member of the architecture+design advisory council.
The architecture+design program evolved from a strong design concentration founded in 1972. The fledgling program developed a rigorous interior design curriculum based on the principles of the Bauhaus. In the mid-1990s, the design program underwent a substantial reorganization, with the hiring of several new, full-time faculty members who were registered architects. In 2002, UMass Amherst was granted NAAB candidacy status for a proposed “4+2” master of architecture and a three-year master of architecture course of study.
In 2004, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved the master of architecture degree program, the first and only public professional architecture degree in New England.
Two years ago, the art department was reorganized into three distinct programs and a new senior position of director was created for the architecture+design program. After a national search, Schreiber, who had served as interim director since 2005, was named to the post.
To celebrate the accreditation award, the program is hosting a public reception on Friday, Sept. 7 from 5-7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center lobby. The reception follows the Second Annual Massachusetts Architecture Symposium, “Questionable Beauty,” which is being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Gordon Hall.
For more information on the events, contact Jean Crossman at 413/577-0943 or jcrossman@art.umass.edu. For a schedule and registration information for the symposium, visit www.umass.edu/architecture/news_events/index.htm
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