Architecture, B.ARCH

The Bachelor of Architecture Degree
Department of Architecture
Marietta Campus
Phone: 678-915-7253
Fax: 678-915-7228

Kennesaw State University’s College of Architecture and Construction Management is the only public state institution in Georgia to offer a five-year professional degree: the Bachelor of Architecture.  The curriculum is organized as a 2+3 program. The Lower Division constitutes the first two years and its curriculum is designed to introduce basic skill sets, fundamentals of design and building technologies. The Upper Division constitutes last three years of the program. Its curriculum is designed to enhance the students understanding of the relationship between people and the built environment, the role of technology, structures in comprehensive design, the importance of history and theory to design and introduce the broader challenges of urbanism and design research. Students must pass a portfolio and curriculum review to proceed from the Lower Division to the Upper Division

The Architecture Program offers unique educational opportunities for its students including: the Summer Workshop, the Focus Studio: a research based studio with and invited studio critic, and an individually structured Thesis project. The Architecture Program also offers students organized travel opportunities within the U.S. and abroad, including a summer program in Dessau Germany.

Vision and Mission

The mission of the Architecture Department is to expand and extend the University’s mission into the realm of Architecture, preparing students for professional practice in the design, planning, development and stewardship of the built environment. The Architecture Program fosters invention, creativity and craft through hands- on exploration that is the foundation of technological innovation. Moreover, knowledge of cultural diversity, communication, history and criticism is seen as inseparable from the application of such innovation. This holistic process is “the making of architecture.”

NAAB Accreditation

In the Unites States, most state registration boards require a degree form 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.

Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture 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 NAAB grants candidacy status to new programs that have developed viable plans for achieving initial accreditation. Candidacy status indicates that a program should be accredited within 6 years of achieving candidacy, if its plan is properly implemented. In order to meet the educational requirement set forth by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, an applicant for an NCARB Certificate must hold a professional degree in architecture from a program accredited by the NAAB; the degree must have been awarded not more than two years prior to initial accreditation. However, meeting the educational requirement for the NCARB Certificate may not be equivalent to meeting the education requirement for registration in a specific jurisdiction. Please contact NCARB for more information.

Kennesaw State University, Department of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree:

5- year B. Arch (150 undergraduate credits)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2022.