School of Architecture and Planning

Dean: Mary Anne Alabanza Akers, Ph.D.

Mission

The mission of the School of Architecture & Planning (SA+P) is four-fold:

Education Mission: The School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) provides professional preparation for future Architects, Landscape Architects, and Planners. We provide access to all students, including those with less demonstrable preparation. Through our graduates, our programs advance sustainability and enrich and preserve cultural and built environments.

Research Mission: SA+P embraces an interdisciplinary agenda that promotes sustainability in its broadest sense. It engages research that value design and practice leading to problem solving and theory building, which focus on urban core areas of the region.

Service and Outreach: SA+P’s service and outreach priority rests within our desire to support the neighborhoods of Baltimore. Service is provided to communities and nonprofit organizations through collaborative ventures.

Diversity: SA+P fosters knowledge and appreciation for the cultures and contributions of diverse segments of humanity and their environments. We promote the inclusion of students who have been traditionally excluded from the study of the built and natural environment.

The School of Architecture & Planning offers masters degrees in Architecture, City & Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture. It also offers an undergraduate degree (BSAED) that is designed to accommodate interest in architecture, environmental design and city planning. Topical explorations bring students into direct contact with the diversity of people who live and work in urban areas. Student and faculty research is framed by such issues and considerations as planning and design theory, community and economic development, environmental sustainability, historic and cultural preservation, information and construction technologies, human behavioral sciences, social equity, environmental justice, professional practice, and leadership roles in the built environment professions.

Description of the Three Graduate Master’s Programs

The three professional programs strive to provide national leadership in architecture, landscape architecture, and planning, in particular confronting issues that affect minority and revitalizing communities. Using the greater Baltimore-Washington region as a field of inquiry and practice, students have an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to the issues affecting the evolution and viability of cities worldwide. Course work is enriched by field trips to significant sites in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and throughout the Baltimore area. In addition to Institute programs and resources, students enjoy ready access to nationally and internationally significant libraries, lecture series, and art galleries. The rich cultural environment offers access to many of the nation’s and the world’s leading institutions and to leaders in the design and planning professions. All three programs enjoy strong working relationships with professional offices, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies; local and regional practitioners serve as adjunct faculty, guest critics, lecturers, and intern mentors. The School is one of only a small number of programs in the country offering fully accredited first professional degree programs with most design studios and classes available in the evenings. Graduate assistantships, through the Graduate School, as well as faculty research projects, are available to assist students financially.

Accreditation

All three programs offer professional degrees fully accredited by the appropriate national accrediting boards: the architecture program by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB); the landscape architecture program by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB); and the planning program by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB).