IU will offer a master’s of architecture degree through its recently established School of Art and Design beginning in fall 2018.
Provost Lauren Robel presented the program in her March 2017 State of the Campus, and it was accredited the same week. The master’s degree will have a focus in Columbus, Indiana. The city is a hub of architecture and features at least seven national historic landmarks and buildings designed by the likes of Harry Weese and I.M. Pei. Weese was instrumental in formulation of the metro system in Washington, D.C., and Pei is best known on the Bloomington campus as the architect who designed the Eskenazi Museum of Art.
Columbus’ prestige in the architecture world was kickstarted in the mid-twentieth century by J. Irwin Miller, CEO of diesel engine producer Cummins Incorporated, who offered to pay architect fees for any new public buildings, given the architects were chosen from a list his company provided. Eventually, the offer was extended to other nonprofits. The program fits into the Bicentennial Strategic Plan, which calls for creation of programs that meet students’ aspirations, and will also aid in meeting Indiana’s workforce need.
Architecture jobs are expected to increase more than 20 percent in the next five years, according to a press release announcing the program’s accreditation, which referenced the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
“The addition of the new Master of Architecture degree program, together with the new program in intelligent systems engineering, will contribute enormously to IU’s efforts to create and sustain a culture of ‘building and making’ on our Bloomington campus,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in the release.
Jesse Naranjo
