Three NDSU departments are combining to collaboratively strengthen their unique programs for the benefit of students in the state and region.
The architecture, landscape architecture, and visual art departments are now the NDSU School of Design, Architecture and Art. The new school allows the university to be a leader in the region by strategically capitalizing on design and design thinking.
NDSU has the only architecture and landscape architecture programs in North Dakota. The inclusion of visual arts, with its design/illustration and UX/UI, helps position NDSU as a destination for design and art education.
“This is a great opportunity for us to combine 100 years of design excellence in architecture with emerging new design fields to create a powerhouse of design thinking,” said David Bertolini, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “The new school will disrupt current design education practices to provide valuable careers to benefit the state and the region.”
The new school has more than 500 students, including 70 graduate students pursuing degrees in the three founding departments. All three departments have had significant enrollment increases the past four years.
The school will be the hub of strong design related disciplines at NDSU. To connect with these disciplines, the school is forming affiliations and increasing opportunities to work with campus partners such as the Nice Center for entrepreneurship; apparel, merchandising, interior design, and hospitality management; and strategic communications and advertising.
Opportunities to work with complimentary disciplines and faculty members in mechanical engineering, public history, civil engineering, construction management and others also are being explored. These affiliations and partnerships are a key component to expanding opportunities for students and faculty in both the school and across the campus.
"There is not a discipline on campus where the school is not a potential partner,” said Michael Strand, school director and professor of art. “Design plus anything is possible and is a key to bringing innovative solutions to both challenges and opportunities we have today.”
Program enhancements, such as shared facility, new programs, diversified experience for students and increased research capacity through interdisciplinary approaches, are goals of the new school.
“The impact of design and art is everywhere,” Strand said. “With more than 50 years of collective experience supporting a vibrant learning community of 500-plus students in unparalleled shared faculties within the region, we are thrilled to come together as a school to inspire efforts across disciplines to re-imagine and create thriving and healthy communities.”
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