Architectural Studies (ARCS) is a liberal arts program that exposes students to the design process and prepares them to be active, well-rounded contributors to society. As the only liberal arts degree in Kent State’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design, ARCS offers a high level of flexibility, which allows students to customize the undergraduate experience to suit their own career and educational goals. The ARCS program includes required design studios, lecture/studio hybrid courses and seminars on design thinking, history/theory/criticism and sustainability. It also includes required electives chosen by the student from courses across campus, which ARCS students use to pursue minors in related areas like Construction Management, Geography, Urban Studies, Biological Sciences, Music, Fine Arts, Business, Marketing, Art History and others. ARCS students also have the option of graduating with a streamlined dual degree: Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies and Bachelor of Science in Construction Management. Additionally, ARCS students take Architecture electives, which allow them to explore digital design, fabrication processes and building technology, or to pursue a minor in Architectural History or Historic Preservation. ARCS students also have the option of spending a semester at Kent State’s facility in Florence, Italy. ARCS lays a broad foundation for professional graduate education in a diverse array of design fields including architecture, landscape architecture, urban design/planning, construction management, graphic design, industrial design, real estate law, development, historic preservation and architectural history/theory.

Architecture + Making The boundaries between architecture, installation art, environmental graphics and industrial design are often hard to locate. Someone with training in more than one of these fields is, therefore, well placed to make effective and compelling work at a variety of scales. Students who want extensive hands-on engagement in the process of making can combine the ARCS core curriculum with more studio centered coursework that focuses on craft and visual problem solving. After graduation, many students who follow this path will want to go on to a Master of Fine Arts program or graduate study in architecture, graphics or industrial design. Architecture + Information Systems While the use of computers to draw buildings has become the norm, that is only the very beginning of the ways in which digital technology is changing the design process. Information systems also improve the construction process, help us devise new applications for building technologies and environmental systems, and allow for the rapid prototyping and testing of design ideas. Students with strong analytic skills and the ability to communicate complex technical information have a future in emerging and rapidly evolving design-related professions related to construction technology, systems management and methods of organization. Students interested in pursuing this focus may choose to combine the ARCS curriculum with studies in digital sciences or technology. Architecture + History/Theory Knowledge about architecture and design grows not just through built and graphic work, but also through inquiry into design history, theory and criticism. Students with strong verbal skills and an interest in scholarship can combine design training, writing and historical study to prepare themselves for graduate study in architectural history and theory or historic preservation. Others may combine the ARCS curriculum with studies in journalism, graphic design, art or other fields that give them the skills and understanding to work in journalism or in museums and galleries. Architecture + Society There are many nondesign professionals who play key roles in shaping the built environment, working with designers on a regular basis. Someone who understands design but also has the verbal and analytic skills required for these outside professions is in an excellent position to collaborate with designers on complex projects and contribute to a high-quality outcome. Students can build on the ARCs core curriculum with coursework or minors in other colleges at Kent State to prepare themselves for graduate study and professional work in business, real estate, law, environmental policy, public health and other fields that relate to the built environment. Architecture + Cities Buildings are situated within complex urban and suburban networks of infrastructure, ecology, economics and politics. Students with an interest in these complex issues can combine the ARCS core curriculum with work in geography, sociology and political science to give themselves a strong qualification for graduate work in urban design, landscape architecture, urban planning or community development. Kent State offers an excellent graduate option through the Master of Urban Design degree offered at the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (KSU CUDC), where students engage in intensive study of real-world challenges in urban design practice and research. Students may also combine work at the CUDC with the urban planning programs of the nationally ranked College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.