Introduction
The College of Architecture and Design was established in 1963 by bringing together into one administrative unit the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Construction Science, Interior Architecture, and Regional and Community Planning. The early founders of that coalition were very insightful, realizing that the practice of the design professions would involve multi-disciplinary efforts. Housing these programs in a single college enabled students to better understand the roles and relationships of the disciplines that comprised the design of the built environment. This combination of design and planning received national attention as a model organization for education in the design, planning, and management of the environment.
Today, the College of Architecture, Planning and Design continues to be a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, environmental design school with accredited professional programs in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and regional and community planning. Students are exposed to the environmental, societal, and design issues addressed in each of these disciplines by beginning their academic studies in the Environmental Design Studies Program.
Since 1871, Kansas State University has provided students with an excellent education in environmental design. The programs in the College are among the oldest and most firmly established in the United States.
In 1903, a formally organized four-year curriculum in architecture was initiated. By 1922, the Department of Architecture and Allied Arts demonstrated strength in the subject areas of theory, design, art, and technology. This program became one of the first in the United States to earn professional accreditation.
Landscape Architecture at Kansas State University can be traced to the founding of the University. The first series of landscape gardening courses was offered in 1878 and then rapidly expanded in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1934, landscape gardening became an area of study in the Department of Horticulture within the College of Agriculture. A formal landscape architecture curriculum was established in 1941. In 1963, landscape architecture was moved to the newly established College of Architecture and Design.
In 1993, the Department of Regional and Community Planning merged with the Department of Landscape Architecture. This merger facilities an even grater connection between physical design and planning. The Department now offers nationally accredited degrees.
The Master of Regional and Community Planning at Kansas State University was established in 1957, making it one of the oldest planning programs in the Midwest/Great Plains area. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the American Institute of Certified Planners first recognized the program in 1961.
The Interior Architecture program, started in the early 1970s, was one of the first to be recognized by the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research. In 1999, the Department of Interior Architecture received accreditation as a product design program by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The Department is now called the Department of Interior Architecture and Product Design.
In the early 1970s, the Department of Environmental Design was formed to provide a common, two-year, introductory undergraduate program that combined general academic education and environmental design studies. In 1990, the College changed environmental design to a one-year program of study and maintained the professional degree-granting departments as administrative units. At the same time, an undergraduate enrollment cap and selective admission to the College were established.
In 2006, the Kansas Board of Regents authorized the establishment of 5-year master’s degrees in Architecture; Interior Architecture and Product Design; Landscape Architecture; and Regional and Community Planning. All degrees are accredited and will lead to professional license or certification.