Goals and Mission of the College

  1. Mission Statement of the College

    The College educates and fosters creative and responsible individuals to study, understand, design and enrich the built environment.

    The College supports research, disseminates knowledge and collaborates with communities and public organizations.

  2. College Goals

    1. Offer a broad range of academic experiences and preparation for careers in the environmental design professions and their allied fields. 
    2. Promote faculty and student research and creative activities within a vibrant intellectual environment.
    3. Serve the communities of Northeast Ohio and beyond.

  3. College Objectives

    1. Create an academic environment that promotes intellectual and professional development.
    2. Develop and maintain a commitment to excellence in teaching. 
    3. Foster an environment that supports critical scholarship and creative activity.
    4. Provide programs and courses which meet the educational and technological demands of disciplines represented in the College.
    5. Develop and maintain public outreach.
    6. Expand awareness, understanding and direct experience of world cultures.

  4. Organization of the Academic Program

    The College offers undergraduate programs in Architecture, Interior Design, Architectural Studies, and graduate programs in Architecture and Urban Design.

    The graduate programs in the College culminate in an accredited Professional Master of Architecture, a post-professional Master of Architecture, a Master of Urban Design, and dual degree programs in business and urban design.

    The following Mission Statements represent each of the four areas of study within the College:

    1. Architecture Program Mission Statement

      The Architecture Program at the University enables students to acquire and apply knowledge that contributes to the betterment of our physical environments. Within a balanced curriculum of technology, visualization, history, theory and design studio coursework, the program offers a platform for scholarship, constructive discourse and debate.  Northeast Ohio’s rich history and dynamic urban landscape serve as a setting for academic learning and the study of “real world” conditions.  By placing equal emphasis on the poetics and pragmatics of construction and design, the curriculum inspires experimentation, collaboration, discovery, critical thinking and innovation.  The program fosters academic excellence and prepares students to be responsible and accomplished architectural professionals.

    2. Interior Design Program Mission Statement

      The Interior Design Program at the University is dedicated to the understanding, development, and improvement of the physical environment and the protection of the public.

      To support this mission, the Interior Design program seeks to promote the following goals and objectives.

      1. Goals

        1. Foster intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and professional responsibility through a multidisciplinary approach.
        2. Promote an open dialogue of ideas, critiques and diversity of views in the educational process.
        3. Promote excellence through rigor in academics.

      2. Objectives

        1. Encourage exploration to examine and solve situations affecting individuals and environments physically, socially and psychologically.
        2. Develop an accountability of the global impact of professional practice on resources and on social and cultural systems.
        3. Promote collaboration with other disciplines locally, regionally, and globally.
        4. Support the mission of the University and the College.

    3. Architectural Studies Program Mission Statement

      The Architectural Studies [ARCS] Program offers a liberal arts based education on the current trends of design-related studies by linking contemporary architecture practice and theory to knowledge of urbanism, environmentalism, literature, media, cultural theory, art, science and technology, as well as philosophy, economics and political science.  The program, which leads to a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies, prepares graduates to seek employment in the construction and development industries, develop careers in cultural theory or pursue a three-year graduate professional program in architecture, as well as a variety of other professional programs in areas such as landscape architecture, urban planning, law, and business.

    4. Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative

      The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is the combined home of the College’s graduate program in urban design and the public service and research activities of the CUDC.  The graduate program offers a professional degree in architecture with a focus on urban design, as well as a Master’s of Urban Design for students with a prior professional qualification in a design discipline.  Certificate programs are also available.

      The CUDC is a community service and research organization with a professional staff of designers committed to improving the quality of urban places through technical design assistance, research and advocacy.  Supported by the Ohio Board of Regents' Urban University Program and the College, the CUDC offers architectural and urban design expertise in the service of urban communities, design professionals, and the planning and public policy work of the state universities in Akron, Youngstown and Cleveland.

  1. Other Academic Unit Guidelines
    1. Goals and Mission of the College
      1. Mission Statement of the College
      2. College Goals
      3. College Objectives
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