KNOXVILLE—The Graduate Architecture Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has established new certificate programs and concentrations to enhance its full-time master’s program and to provide graduate study options for industry professionals.
The certificate programs and concentrations in high-performance buildings and conservation and stewardship begin in fall 2012.They join two other recently added areas of study: urban design and sustainability.
The four new concentrations address the leading building trends in architecture today. They acknowledge the need to design structures that are environmentally conscious, energy-efficient, and keep to current ideas and practices in preservation.
The UT Graduate Architecture Program offers both a professional and a post-professional graduate degree. These degrees are distinguished by the length and level of studies required.
Practicing professionals who have completed a bachelor’s degree may pursue the certificate programs. Master’s students may take the four certificate programs as concentrations.
Adding the specialty areas enhance offerings in the college’s graduate architecture curriculum and provide opportunities for professionals and master’s students to gain a specialization.
“We see these new certificate programs and concentrations as a way to better differentiate our graduate program from those of our peer institutions, to help us attract the best students and provide the best service to the state and region,” said George Dodds, chair of the Graduate Architecture Program.
The College of Architecture and Design currently has an ongoing partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop technologies, design solutions, and materials for high-performance buildings.
“Professor Edgar Stach, who has long been a leading researcher in light structures, has spent the last few years focusing on ‘zero-energy’ design,'” Dodds said. “He is now leveraging the lessons learned through these projects into a new concentration.”
The conservation and stewardship concentration and certificate will teach students and working professionals about concepts in preservation that may range from individual buildings to large-scale restoration projects.
“The conservation and stewardship concentration and certificate are just the beginning of our college’s efforts to address a longstanding and unmet need in Tennessee and the region, ranging from the preservation of discrete buildings to large-scale issues of landscape restoration and regenerative practices,” Dodds said.
The UT Graduate Architecture Program is noted for a design-centered curriculum that promotes professional development through hands-on projects, cross-disciplinary learning, and in-depth research practices.
Enhancing UT’s graduate programs is a core goal in the university’s quest to become a Top 25 public research university.
Recent program activities have involved design-build projects such as the New Norris House, an award-winning LEED Platinum home, and Living Light, a zero-energy, solar-powered house. The College of Architecture and Design promotes course work at its urban design centers, as well, which include its Knoxville downtown studio and partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center.
For more information, visit the Graduate Architecture Program website.
—
C O N T A C T S :
Kiki Roeder (865-974-6713, kroeder@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)