Catalog

The National Architectural Accrediting Board, which is responsible for the accreditation of all professional architecture programs in the United States, requires that accredited architecture programs publish the following statement:

“In the United States, most state 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 U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Master’s degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.”

The BEnvd degree awarded by the college at the end of four years of study is not recognized by the NAAB as an accredited professional degree. The BEnvd degree may be combined sequentially with a NAAB accredited master of architecture degree program to become an accredited professional education in architecture as defined by the NAAB. In this sequential program of study, students completing the BEnvd will normally be asked to complete a minimum of four semesters of additional course work (60 hours of credit) after admission into an accredited MArch program, either on the college’s Downtown Denver Campus, or in one of the other NAAB accredited graduate programs nationally.

The practice of planning is not currently licensed in most states. Professional membership and certification is overseen by the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Degrees in the field are accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.

Although students interested in entry-level positions in planning may find the BEnvd degree adequate, an advanced degree (master’s or PhD) is highly desirable and advisable. Students primarily interested in professional practice should obtain a master’s degree in urban planning, in urban and regional planning, in urban planning and community development, or in urban design. Students interested in teaching or research in planning should complete a PhD.

Students from the undergraduate program who continue their studies in the graduate professional planning program in Denver are given advanced standing when accepted into the program. Copies of the policies relating to advanced standing are available in the college office. Though the amount of advanced standing received is directly related to the specific course work completed in the undergraduate program, undergraduate planning emphasis students who continue in the graduate planning program typically receive between 9 and 15 semester hours of credit, and complete master’s-level graduate studies in two or three semesters.

The College of Architecture and Planning is in the process of implementing a separate emphasis major in landscape design at the undergraduate level. While that is being designed and implemented, the college is offering a structured option in landscape design within the design studies emphasis. The landscape architecture program offers a graduate professional degree (the Master of Landscape Architecture or MLA) on the downtown campus of UC Denver. Undergraduates who complete the landscape studies option are prepared for entry into the UC Denver MLA program or other graduate-level landscape architecture programs offered elsewhere. Advanced standing in that graduate program is available to students who complete the landscape architecture related courses as a part of their landscape design emphasis in the ENVD degree program.

There is an increasing demand in the design, construction, and development industries for people who combine an understanding of design with a specialized understanding of related fields like computing, management, finance, or marketing. Some students may use the design studies major as general preparation for graduate study in any number of academic fields that are also concerned with the design and planning of the built environment, including anthropology, geography, sociology, psychology, historic preservation, and architectural, urban, and environmental history. Other students may use this emphasis to prepare for further graduate study in a professional field related to architecture, landscape architecture and planning, including business, law, journalism, public administration, product design, and digital design.

As the design studies curriculum is individually tailored to each student, students in this emphasis major must outline and receive approval of their individual course plan by a faculty sponsor and the college dean’s office before entering the design studies emphasis. Participants in this emphasis are expected to attain a competent level of understanding and skill in architecture, landscape design, or planning. Additionally, they are expected to attain a high level of understanding and skill in one specialized aspect of these fields. Such specializations might include computer applications, resource management, housing policy, environmental psychology, history of architecture, or building systems analysis. In support of their specialization, students are further expected to attain a competent level of understanding of a relevant cognate field outside the college (e.g., anthropology, civil engineering, business, or fine arts).

Students in the design studies emphasis take core courses within the college and general requirements outside the college in parallel with the architecture and planning emphases. Additionally, design studies students must complete foreign language courses through level two (second-year level in high school, or second semester at the college level). A minimum of 30 hours of course work must be completed after official approval of entry into the design studies emphasis, and the 30-hour residency requirement in this emphasis is not waived under any circumstances.