University Catalog

Mission and Philosophy

The mission of the graduate Architecture and Landscape Architecture programs is to prepare students for sustained contributions and leadership in the design professions. This mission occurs in partnership with the larger University. Together the programs and the University share the aim of educating broadly to the demands of a complex society and, more specifically, to the demands of sophisticated and changing professions.

History and Overview

Architecture was first taught at what is now The University of Texas at Arlington in the early 1940s as a two-year, non-degree program within the School of Engineering. In 1968, with the support of professional architects in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, architecture became a department of the College of Liberal Arts, granting the degree of Bachelor of Science in Architecture. The department prospered, and by 1973 a decision was made to establish a separate school of architecture based on a four-year undergraduate program with a two-year master of architecture program as the professional degree.

By 1978, the School of Architecture and Environmental Design (as it was named in 1974) had an enrollment of more than 1,000 students with 31 full-time faculty. Four programs were included at that time: architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning. Subsequently, planning moved to the Institute of Urban Studies. In 1989, the school was renamed the School of Architecture.

Architecture and landscape architecture are seen as both the means and the goal of the education we offer. As means, our fields provide a ready path to the larger domain of ideas, history and the human condition. Architecture was seen, after all, as one of the essential liberal arts during the Renaissance. As goals, our fields call upon us to learn specific professional knowledge and skills they focus our attitudes and abilities to produce tangible, concrete things. This demand that we alternately widen and narrow our vision is one of the great strengths of the fields and is one source of their effectiveness as courses of study.

Within a broad curriculum, design as a discipline and a process is emphasized. Students are encouraged to give rich visual and material substance to both theoretical and pragmatic ideas. The context for design at UT Arlington centers on the contemporary urban condition, an approach appropriate for a school at the heart of a diverse, expanding and internationally oriented region like Dallas/Fort Worth.

The school's location at the center of the Dallas/Fort Worth area is especially important for students of architecture and landscape architecture. Almost every cultural, social and professional opportunity is nearby. The urban setting serves as a laboratory to observe the issues that confront current design and to test the proposals put forward. Built work by many of the foremost contemporary architects and landscape architects may be experienced and studied firsthand. Kahn, Pei, Wright, Johnson, Meier, Legoretta, Rudolph, Giurgola, Barnes, Predock, Holl, KPF, Kiley and Walker all have major projects here.

The School of Architecture offers large and up-to-date facilities for research and study. Constructed in 1984, the Architecture Building houses studios, classrooms and offices in addition to a CAD laboratory, a photography studio, a materials shop, a slide library and the Architecture and Fine Arts Library, with 40,000 books and 190 periodicals. The UT Arlington Libraries contains more than 1 million volumes, and students have access to The University of Texas System Library, which house 12 million volumes.

The School of Architecture has an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students, of whom about 160 are graduate students. They come from all parts of the United States and the world; more than 20 percent are international students. About one-third of the graduate students are women.

In terms of recognition of quality, 134 School of Architecture students have received awards in 63 major design or research competitions over the last 10 years, most at the national or international level. This unsurpassed record of competitive accomplishment reflects the education focus of the school. Developed student abilities, along with a tradition of integrating work and academic experience, give UT Arlington graduates ready entry and advancement in the professional world.

Accreditation

The school offers the Master of Architecture and the Master of Landscape Architecture as first professional degrees in the respective programs. The former is accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board and the latter by the Landscape Architecture Accrediting Board. The M.Arch. and the M.L.A. taken as second, or post-professional degrees, do not carry professional accreditation.

Scholastic Activity and Research Interests of the Faculty

The faculty-full-time, adjunct and part-time-are involved in their areas of academic and professional interest. This takes many forms: built projects, design studies and competitions, scholarly writing and applied research. This work enriches the teaching mission and provides contributions to the larger community. For a detailed listing of faculty activity, see the Faculty Catalog, available from the School of Architecture.

Special Programs and Opportunities

Visiting faculty members are an integral part of the graduate program at UT Arlington. Noted teachers from other schools in the United States and abroad as well as distinguished practicing designers offer advanced studios and courses each year. Thus, students have access to both a core of permanent faculty members and to a changing spectrum of approaches and values. In addition to on-campus coursework, graduate students may study and travel abroad as an integrated part of the curriculum. The school maintains semester-long, full-credit student exchanges during the academic year with architecture schools at the Universities of Barcelona (Spain,) Lund (Sweden,) Innsbruck (Austria,) and Cottbus (Germany.) During the summer, there is a full-credit, five-week travel program to Rome, Florence and Verona, Italy.

(COPIED TEXT Below from SUPA College Landing Page - CAPP Staff to incorporate text as determined)

School of Urban & Public Affairs

Graduate Degrees

• Master’s in Urban Affairs and Policy
• Master’s of City and Regional Planning
• Master’s of Public Administration
• Ph.D. in Public and Urban Administration
• Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy

Mission and Philosophy

The mission of the School of Urban and Public Affairs is to conduct basic and applied research into urban problems and public policy, to provide services in support of public and nonprofit agencies, and to educate and train students for public service careers.

History and Overview

The Institute of Urban Studies was established in 1967 by an act of the Texas Legislature. The institute’s mandate was to offer Texas city and county governments and other public agencies high-caliber, university-based research, training and other technical services. In 1992, after significant expansion of its staff and programs, the School of Urban and Public Affairs was created. The Institute of Urban Studies continues to operate as a vital research and outreach arm of the School of Urban and Public Affairs.

The Institute is the state’s only university-based center for applied research and service in urban affairs. It is called upon routinely to study and recommend solutions for problems confronting government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private industry.

During its more than 40 years of existence, the Institute of Urban Studies in the School of Urban and Public Affairs has conducted hundreds of studies on such topics as transportation, housing, local economic development, public safety, corrections, education, human services, child care and regional governance. These reports are included in the collections of virtually every major library in Texas and have been adopted as texts at many colleges and universities.

Students are offered a wide array of opportunities for projects, internships and employment. SUPA faculty, staff and students work on "real-life" urban and public affairs projects in cooperation with city governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Accreditation

The School of Urban and Public Affairs is one of only approximately 20 in the country having both its Master’s of Public Administration and its Master’s of City and Regional Planning programs fully accredited by their respective accrediting agencies.

The Master’s of City and Regional Planning is officially recognized and accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board that accredits North American planning programs on the basis of a strict and extensive set of criteria rooted in planning knowledge, skills, and values. Students enrolled in accredited programs are eligible for certain national scholarships, and graduates of accredited programs may qualify for certification by the American Institute of Certified Planners after fewer years of experience than graduates of nonaccredited programs.

The Master’s of Public Administration degree is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration that requires public administration programs to meet strict standards for faculty qualifications, curriculum content, admissions and program requirements, student composition and services, budget and facilities. Accreditation enhances the program’s national reputation and opens doors and provides opportunities for students applying for Texas-based scholarships and nationwide positions.  Public Administration was ranked 74^th by U.S. News & World Report in 2014.

Scholastic Activity and Research Interests of the Faculty

SUPA faculty are actively engaged in research and community service projects that benefit local jurisdictions, public and nonprofit agencies with expertise that is beyond the normal scope of their particular services and resources. Typical projects include revitalization studies for inner-city neighborhoods, development plans for central business districts, economic development strategies for municipalities, inter-local contracting studies, and assessments of service delivery alternatives in communities and school districts.

The broad range of faculty research interests primarily focuses on local issues and provides support for local officials and urban professionals, but it also includes basic research into urban problems and public policy that is published in national journals and used in university texts. Research topics include such planning issues as urban design, land use analysis, environmental planning, economic development, community service and development, focus group research and group facilitation; such public administration issues as public management, intergovernmental relations, entrepreneurship in government, education and economic development; and such urban affairs issues as urban theory, development, management, politics, social welfare policy, social service administration and minority relations.

Faculty

Nan Ellin
Founding Dean

Rebecca Boles
Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Bijan Youssefzadeh
Program Director of Architecture & Interior Design

Pat D. Taylor
Program Director of Landscape Architecture

Ardeshir Anjomani
Professor

Barbara Becker
Professor

Richard Cole
Professor

Donald F. Gatzke
Professor

Robert Hamilton
Professor

Jianling Li
Professor

Madan Mehta
Professor

Enid Arvidson
Associate Professor

Ivonne Audirac
Associate Professor

Colleen Casey
Associate Professor

David Coursey
Associate Professor

George Gintole
Associate Professor

Rod Hissong
Associate Professor

Kathryn Holliday
Associate Professor

David Hopman
Associate Professor

Douglas Klahr
Associate Professor

Maria Martinez-Cosio
Associate Professor

John Maruszczak
Associate Professor

Taner Ozdil
Associate Professor

Steven Quevedo
Associate Professor

James Richards
Associate Professor

Alejandro Rodriguez
Associate Professor

Bradley Bell
Assistant Professor

Karabi Bezboruah
Assistant Professor

Colleen Casey
Assistant Professor

Norma Figueroa
Assistant Professor

Darla Hamann
Assistant Professor

Yekang Ko
Assistant Professor

Joshus Nason
Assistant Professor

Michael Buckley
Associate Professor in Practice

Susan Appleton
Assistant Professor in Practice

Jerald Kunkel
Assistant Professor in Practice

Heath MacDonald
Assistant Professor in Practice

Kevin Sloan
Assistant Professor in Practice

Richard Atchison
Lecturer

Ogden Bo Bass
Lecturer

Dennis Chiessa
Lecturer

Donald del Cid
Lecturer

Gregory Cuppett
Lecturer

Bang Dang
Lecturer

John Fain
Lecturer

Rhonda Fields
Lecturer

George Truett James
Lecturer

David Messersmith
Lecturer

Edward Nelson
Lecturer

Thomas Rusher
Lecturer

Claude Thompson
Lecturer

Dustin Wheat
Lecturer

Bill Boswell
Professor Emeritus

Raymond Joe Guy
Professor Emeritus

Martin Price
Professor Emeritus

Lee Carroll Wright
Professor Emeritus

Richard Greene
Professor of Practice