Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Bachelor of Architecture degree program has been granted an eight-year term of accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

Based in Washington, D.C., the NAAB is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation.

Scheduled for its next visit for continuing accreditation in 2024, the Bachelor of Architecture program offered by the MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design’s School of Architecture has been continuously NAAB-accredited since its inception in 1973.

The School of Architecture also is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Courses are taught by a faculty of professionals engaged in practice, education and research. For more information, visit www.caad.msstate.edu/sarc/accreditation.

The School of Architecture in MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design offers the only curriculum in the state leading to a professional degree in architecture. The school offers an intense, carefully structured and wide array of courses that constitutes a solid foundation for architectural practice.

Of the multitudes of criteria that were evaluated, all conditions for NAAB Accreditation were met, including all student performance criteria, said Michael Berk, director for the School of Architecture and F.L. Crane Endowed Professor.

“What I am most pleased about is how we excelled with distinction in the two extreme aspects of architectural education—abstract and conceptual design, and communication and thinking skills—as well as technical skills of both assembly and documentation and comprehensive integrative design,” Berk said. 

“This is a truly remarkable achievement for our university, and I am very proud of our architecture program and the hard work of our faculty and staff,” Berk added.

The School of Architecture boasts a No. 25 ranking among “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools” for 2016 by the Design Futures Council’s “DesignIntelligence” publication.

MSU is home to the only architecture program in the nation that requires two semester-long collaborative studios for all architecture and building construction science students, including a design/build studio in the second year.

The School of Architecture also offers a unique practice-oriented program for all fifth-year students that takes place in an off-campus, urban setting.

Additionally, the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum’s SuperUse Pavilion, a part of the museum’s rain garden program that has benefitted from the efforts of more than 100 Mississippi State undergraduate and graduate-level students, is part of an exhibition opening this month at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Titled “By the People: Designing a Better America,” the exhibition features 60 design projects from every region of the U.S.

Additional information about MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and its School of Architecture can be found at www.caad.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.