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Director: Dr. Karen Spence Academic Records Assistant: Pandora Prater Academic Advising: Laura Mitchell Office: 240 Giles Hall General Information Architecture offers the opportunity for individuals to engage in a career that improves the physical world, addresses the problems of our society, and gives form to modern culture. Meeting these demands requires a highly trained profession composed of dedicated men and women. The School of Architecture serves as the educational foundation of the profession in the State of Mississippi, teaching skills and developing a range of understandings to prepare the student for his or her role in the practice of architecture. The School of Architecture offers an intense, carefully structured, and rich array of courses that constitute a solid foundation for architectural practice. The totality of these courses provides students with an awareness of the diversity and complexity of today’s professional world. Each course has its own important role in developing the knowledge, collaborative skills, and abilities required of architects in a contemporary practice. The School of Architecture at Mississippi State University is the professional school for the State of Mississippi and is the only accredited program in the state. To meet the needs of the state and region, the School was established in 1973 with the support of an Advisory Committee of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Accreditation In the United States, most registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. regional accreditation, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an eight-year term, an eight-year term with conditions, or a two-year term of continuing accreditation, or a three-year term of initial accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established education standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may require a non-accredited undergraduate degree in architecture for admission. However, the non-accredited degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. Mississippi State University School of Architecture offers the following NAAB-accredited degree program: B. Arch. (152 undergraduate semester credits) Next Accreditation Visit: 2025 The Bachelor of Architecture program at the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University has been continuously accredited since its inception. In 2016 the School was reaccredited for another full eight-year term. This accreditation was extended another year because of Covid-19. Admissions Acceptance to the School of Architecture is limited and highly competitive. The School of Architecture has a rigorous application process. Unfortunately, due to guidelines and standards related to the limited size of our program (including facilities and faculty/staff), the School of Architecture is not in a position to accommodate all of the applicants who have been accepted at MSU and wish to study architecture. Prospective students should read carefully the application/admission materials on the School’s web site and communicate with the School of Architecture to request current information. Touring facilities and meeting the School’s admissions coordinator is encouraged. Application Process: Apply to Mississippi State University. Submit all required materials including high school transcripts and ACT or SAT scores to MSU Indicate your choice of major as “Architecture.” Once admitted to MSU, complete the School of Architecture online application, which is found on the applicant's  my.msstate.edu  homepage.   Architecture online applications must be received on or before January 15. Applications are reviewed and ranked as received. Places for students with qualified applications received after this date will be considered as space permits. These applications will be wait-listed to fill-in openings if they become available. The School of Architecture considers applicants as follows: Students accepted to begin in the Fall Architecture Program (in the fall term). Entrance to the Fall Architecture Program is extremely competitive and has academic prerequisites. Students with an ACT score of 26 or better (or the SAT equivalent) and a 3.5 GPA or greater may qualify for Early Acceptance if their formal online Architecture Application submission is received prior to December 15 (depending on available space). Students not accepted into the Fall Architecture Program. Students who are not accepted into the fall term are classified as  Undeclared – architecture concentration.  The  Undeclared – architecture concentration  students follow a similar course of study, but do not take ARC 1536 and ARC 1546 (first year studio courses). There are many reasons why a student may not be admitted to the Fall Architecture Program: late architecture application, lower ranking in the applicant pool, lack of math pre-requisites, and/or failing to submit an online Architecture Application. The  Undeclared – architecture concentration  student may attend MSU and continue to pursue the study of architecture. Once the student enters the university in the Fall and completes required first year courses for the  Undeclared – Architecture concentration  curriculum while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5, the student may be eligible for the following  Summer Architecture Program . Students interested in this path need to be in contact with the School Advisor at the end of the fall term and beginning of the spring term as intentions to enter the program need to be shared with the School by March 1. During the Summer Program terms, the student will take  ARC 1536 and  ARC 1546  (first year studio courses). Successful completion of these summer studios will allow the student to join the second year in the fall. Students may receive transfer credit for non-professional courses completed at other universities, colleges, and community colleges, provided a grade of C or better is received for each course. Transfer credit from other architecture programs is reviewed by the admissions committee and the director. Transfer credit for courses listed as technical, vocational, or architectural is solely at the discretion of the department. In addition to transcripts, course descriptions, syllabi, examples of work or a portfolio may all be required to receive any credit for such courses. Finances Costs for an architectural education are higher than in other disciplines. In addition to standard costs of fees, tuition, room, board, books, etc, an architecture student must buy required drawing equipment and materials for drawings and models during the school year. Additionally, at least one major field trip is required each year. Charges for field trip expenses are collected with tuition and currently range from $600 in first year to over $3,700 in fifth year for a two-week study abroad program. These charges are intended to cover transportation and lodging during field trips. These fees are not typically refundable after the first day of classes. Students are required to purchase a laptop computer in their first year, selected from a range of models approved by the School. Scholarships A number of scholarship opportunities as well as design competitions and awards are available to students within the School of Architecture. See the School's website for additional information. Normal MSU Scholarships are available to in-state and out-of-state students. Inquiries for financial aid or assistance should be sent directly to the MSU Department of Student Financial Aid and/or Office of Admissions and Scholarships. Counseling Once accepted into the School of Architecture, students are required to maintain at least an MSU 2.0 cumulative quality point average to remain in design courses. At the end of the fourth year, a student must have completed all required courses in order to advance to the fifth year. Any student who receives a grade of D or lower for two sequential design courses must repeat both of these courses and receive a grade of C or higher in both courses to advance in the program, or receive the Bachelor of Architecture degree. If a studio course is failed, a grade of C must be received to advance in the program, or receive the Bachelor of Architecture degree.