Program Overview

Architects are creative problem solvers. The primary responsibility of the architectural profession is the design of meaningful, productive environments for human occupation and use. Architects, therefore, must be able to understand the needs and desires of the people who will inhabit and use their creations and effectively synthesize the complex structural, mechanical, constructional components, and cultural references that influence the design of a building. As designers, they must possess creative and aesthetic skills as well as technical knowledge, collaborative ability, and problem-solving agility.

The architecture program seeks to increase students’ desire to learn and to develop a capacity for design-thinking and sound, critical judgment while simultaneously developing their creative potential. Specifically, the curriculum provides the background and means for the student to:

• Analyze and understand society’s needs and desires.
• Translate these needs and desires into a physical form and spatial organization.
• Contribute creatively to the building construction industry.
• Search out new problems and contribute to environmental knowledge through design-research.
• Initiate and review developments in technology and society.
• Participate in the community that makes decisions affecting the physical environment.

What you will learn
Architecture students develop the foundation skills and abilities to create complex built environments. In addition, they confront technical problems, address human needs, and resolve esthetic concerns. Confronting these issues requires a vision for the future that includes zero energy building technologies and more integrated design and building delivery models. Within these emerging realities students will increasingly be required to be creative and adaptable to changes in building culture and the leadership role an architect plays in a community's development. To prepare students for this challenge, Nebraska's architecture program provides a broad understanding of the arts and humanities as well as the specifics of technology.