National Architectural Accrediting Board Architecture Program Report September 2013 Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson, President Dr. Rafael L. Bras, Provost Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs College of Architecture Dr. Steven P. French, Dean School of Architecture Dr. George B. Johnston, Chair [email protected] Telephone: (404) 894-0558 Dr. John Peponis, Associate Chair Volkan Alkanoglu Director of Professional Studies Master of Architecture 2-Year Program: Pre-Professional Degree + 60 Semester Hours 3+Year Program: Non-Pre-Professional Degree + 108 Semester Hours Table of Contents Part One Institutional Support and Commitment to Continuous Improvement I.1 Identity & Self-Assessment 1 I.1.1 History and Mission 1 I.1.2 Learning Culture and Social Equity 5 I.1.3 Response to the Five Perspectives 9 I.1.4 Long Range Planning 16 I.1.5 Self-Assessment Procedures 24 I.2 Resources 31 I.2.1 Human Resources and Human Resource Development 31 I.2.2 Administrative Structure and Governance 65 I.2.3 Physical Resources 71 I.2.4 Financial Resources 79 I.2.5 Information Resources 87 I.3 Institutional Characteristics 90 I.3.1 Statistical Reports 90 I.3.2 Annual Reports 94 I.3.3 Faculty Credentials 96 Part Two Educational Outcomes and Curriculum II.1 Student Performance – Educational Realms & Performance Criteria 97 II.1.1 Student Performance Criteria 97 II.2. Curricular Framework 106 II.2.1 Regional Accreditation 106 II.2.2 Professional Degrees and Curriculum 107 II.2.3 Curriculum Review and Development 115 II.3 Evaluation of Preparatory/Pre-professional Education 117 II.4 Public Information 120 Part Three Progress Since the Last Site Visit III.1 Summary of Responses to the Team Findings 122 III.1.1 Responses to Conditions Not Met 122 III.1.2 Responses to Causes of Concern 126 III.2 Summary of Responses to Changes in the NAAB Conditions 127 Part Four Supplemental Information 4.4 Course Descriptions (Appendix 1) A1-1 4.5 Faculty Resumes (Appendix 2) A2-1 4.6 Visiting Team Report from the previous visit A3-1 4.7 Catalog and Related Materials A4-1 PART ONE (I): SECTION 1 – IDENTITY AND SELF ASSESSMENT – I.1.1 History and Mission PART ONE (I): SECTION 1 – IDENTITY AND SELF ASSESSMENT I.1.1 History and Mission Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Tech was established by an act of the Georgia legislature in 1885 and first admitted students in 1888. The School's creation signaled the beginning of the transformation of the agrarian South to an industrial economy. Writing on the occasion of Georgia Tech’s centennial, Robert McMath et al. have described the historical context of the school’s founding: “The Georgia School of Technology that first opened its doors to students in October 1888 was an institutional response to far-reaching social, cultural, and economic changes. These changes affected the curriculum of the new school and the aspirations of its founders and its students. The emergence in Europe and the United States of new approaches to engineering and industrial education provided alternative patterns for the leaders of the movement in Georgia to establish a technological school. Their selection of the commercial shop approach as exemplified by the Worcester Free Institute in Massachusetts had significant consequences, vestiges of which may still be seen after a century. The founders of Georgia Tech were advocates of an ideology that has become known as the “New South Creed,” a doctrine that influenced strongly the expectations of what the school and its graduates might contribute to the economic growth of the state and region. This creed still continues to affect perceptions of the school and its mission to the present day.”1 Today, Georgia Tech is one of 31 public institutions comprising the University System of Georgia and one of four major research universities in the state. Georgia Tech offers educational opportunities in over 150 degree-granting programs from 30 schools within six academic colleges: the College of Architecture, the College of Computing, the College of Engineering, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, the Scheller College of Business, and the College of Sciences. In Fall 2012, the Georgia Tech student body was comprised of 14,527 undergraduates and 7,030 graduates, and the academic and research faculty totaled over 3,000 full-time and part-time members. Georgia Tech has established a tradition of excellence in technological research and education, is well known for its high academic standards and stands among the top ranks of U.S. research universities. U.S. News & World Report consistently lists Georgia Tech among the ten best public universities in the nation with many of its individual programs ranking within the top ten. Research is conducted for industry and government by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, by various academic schools and departments, and by more than 200 research centers and laboratories. In the State of Georgia, the Institute plays a leading role in the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), a centerpiece of the state's economic development strategy. Georgia Tech is a future-oriented institution with strong traditions, one dedicated to human progress, an intention best expressed in its strategic vision and plan, “Designing the Future”: Vision Georgia Tech will define the technological research university of the 21st century. As a result, we will be leaders in influencing major technological, social, and policy decisions that address critical 1 Robert C. McMath, Jr. et al, Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech, 1885-1985 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985), p. 3. 1 PART ONE (I): SECTION 1 – IDENTITY AND SELF ASSESSMENT – I.1.1 History and Mission global challenges. “What does Georgia Tech think?” will be a common question in research, business, the media, and government. Mission Technological change is fundamental to the advancement of the human condition. The Georgia Tech community—students, staff, faculty, and alumni—will realize our motto of “Progress and Service” through effectiveness and innovation in teaching and learning, our research advances, and entrepreneurship in all sectors of society. We will be leaders in improving the human condition in Georgia, the United States, and around the globe. Georgia Tech’s complete strategic plan may be found here: http://www.gatech.edu/vision/ Architecture at Georgia Tech Architecture was established as a discipline of study at Georgia Tech in 1908 at the request of a civil engineering student who recruited fellow students for an entering class of twenty. Over the intervening 105 years, the Department of Architecture has been complemented by the addition of disciplines (in order of establishment) of Industrial Design (1940), City & Regional Planning (1952), Building Construction (1958), and Music (1991). The multi-disciplinary College of Architecture was established in 1975, and a significant milestone that soon followed was the establishment in 1982 of the Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture degree and the multi-disciplinary Doctoral Program, a reflection of the increasing complexity of the designed and built environment as well as the growing emphasis upon leading-edge research at Georgia Tech. In addition to the five Schools, the College encompasses seven research centers: the Center for Quality Growth & Regional Development, the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access, the Alternative Media Access Center, the Digital Building Laboratory, the Construction Resource Center, and the Center for Music Technology. Since 1999, all undergraduate students in the College of Architecture (currently Architecture and Industrial Design) have been introduced to the broad field of design and the built environment prior to declaring their majors through multi-disciplinary instruction in the Common First Year. Most recently, in 2010, the academic programs in the College were reorganized as School-level units comparable to all other academic units in the Institute with each responsible for its own discipline-specific doctoral-level degrees and cross-disciplinary research programs. The School of Architecture at Georgia Tech encompasses five distinct degree programs, a reflection of the School’s multiple missions in undergraduate education, professional education, and advanced studies & research. The undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree contributes to the general education mission of Georgia Tech through studio-based design education that provides grounding in liberal and technological knowledge and emphasizes creativity and the ability to seek and solve problems related to the built and inhabited environment. At the heart of the School is the professional degree in architecture, the accredited Master of Architecture, which satisfies one requirement for individuals aiming to achieve licensure as practicing architects. Embedded as it is in an institute of technology and situated within a vibrant metropolis, Georgia Tech’s M.Arch. Program fosters a culture of design informed by research, sparked by imagination, and infused by a spirit of enterprise, innovation, and know-how. 2 PART ONE (I): SECTION 1 – IDENTITY AND SELF ASSESSMENT – I.1.1 History and Mission Building linkages with practice and industry, the School has developed several post-professional degree programs: the newly established Master of Science in Urban Design degree, a partnership with the School of City and Regional Planning, which addresses national and global challenges related to urban growth; and the Master of Science (with a major in Architecture) degree with distinct concentrations in the areas of Digital Design & Fabrication, High Performance Building, and Health & Design. These concentrations mirror fields of study in our Ph.D. program: Design Computation, Building Technology, and Evidence Based Design each with an associated research lab and substantial funding base. We also support work in History & Culture, Organizational & Cognitive Performance, and Urban Design. Historically, the development of a culture of funded research in the field of architecture has lagged behind sister disciplines in engineering and the sciences.