The College of Design prepares designers who, in the broadest sense, shape the world.
Design education is more than an attempt to teach a set of technical skills. The environment - including the spaces in which people live and work, the products they consume, and the messages they receive - has a powerful impact on how humans function in a society. Good design requires attention and sensitivity to social, economic, political, cultural and behavioral issues. The aim of all curricula in the College of Design is to develop the designer's perception, knowledge, skills and problem-solving abilities.
The College of Design offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate study in architecture, art + design, graphic design, industrial design and graduate studies in landscape architecture, through several degree programs, including the Ph.D. in Design. The college employs a selective admissions process that ensures a highly motivated and diverse design community. As a result, entering design students consistently rank at the top of academic achievement at the University, and their graduation rate is the highest at NC State.
The College of Design integrates practical, ethical, and aesthetic thought and action to enhance the meaning and quality of life through the creation of knowledge informing the critical study of artifacts and places.
The College of Design provides tours for prospective students interested in our undergraduate and graduate programs. Click here for tour dates, directions to the College, and parking information.
It is an exploration of ideas and a celebration of creativity.
It is a way of seeing and thinking about the tools we use, the materials we read, the clothing we wear, the buildings we live in, our environment, and the insights that help to foster a deeper understanding of life.
The College of Design has an honorable history. The graduates of design have distinguished themselves in endeavors as diverse as web design, product design, water resource management, building and landscaping design, animation, and textile design. New forms of learning with technology complement traditional educational experiences.
The College of Design is engaged with the issues important to North Carolina citizens through an active cooperative extension program. Faculty and staff provide leadership in research on subjects such as visualization, universal design and children's natural learning environments. From undergraduate studies through advanced Ph.D. work, the College of Design presents an intense learning environment.
The choice to attend the College of Design means becoming a member of a passionate and exceptionally bright community of students, faculty and staff. The decision to come to the College of Design is a decision to pursue the "love of making" and is a commitment to contribute to the quality of living. It is a decision to work hard.
Life in the College of Design is all this and more. Please explore our website and get to know us better. We look forward to learning more about you.
Dean Marvin J. Malecha, FAIA
FALL 2011 Enrollment Information
| Undergraduate | |
|---|---|
| Architecture | 172 |
| Art + Design | 80 |
| Graphic Design | 118 |
| Industrial Design | 69 |
| Landscape Architecture | 46 |
| Total Undergraduate Enrollment | 485 |
| Graduate | |
|---|---|
| Architecture | 81 |
| Art + Design | 27 |
| Graphic Design | 18 |
| Industrial Design | 29 |
| Landscape Architecture | 66 |
| Ph.D. in Design Candidates | 22 |
| Total Graduate Enrollment | 243 |
There were 728 students in the College of Design as of Spring, 2010.
| Faculty members with Fellowship status in professional associations | |
|---|---|
| Fellows in the American Institute of Architects | 8 |
| Fellows in the Masonry Society | 1 |
| Fellows in the American Society of Landscape Architects | 1 |
| Fellows in the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture | 1 |
| Association of Collegiate Scholars of Architecture Distinguished Professors | 3 |
| Fellows in the American Planning Association | 1 |
| Fellows in the Industrial Designers Society of America | 1 |
| Fellows in the International Research Exchange | 1 |
| Academy of Distinguished Industrial Design Educators | 1 |
| Fellows in the American Institute of Graphics Arts | 1 |
| TOPAZ Medallion Recipients | 1 |
| Fulbright Scholar Recipients | 3 |
| Total Full-time and Part-time faculty and staff members | 112 |
| Leadership in Professional Associations | |
|---|---|
| President, The American Institute of Architects | 1 |
| President, Association of Schools and Colleges of Architecture | 1 |
| President, Association of Landscape Architects | 1 |
| President, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture | 1 |
Under the guidance of its founding dean, Henry L. Kamphoefner, the College of Design experienced a remarkable display of creative and intellectual development almost immediately upon opening its doors to students in Fall, 1948.
Designers and theorists such as Buckminster Fuller, Matthew Nowicki, Lewis Mumford, Eduardo Catalano, and other internationally recognized design luminaries joined the college's faculty and built a reputation for innovation and experimentation. Their legacies of creative intrepidness, diversity and excellence continue to this day.
Students have won national recognition including the Prix de Rome, numerous Fulbright Scholarships, and five Paris Prizes. They initiate an annual student publication that reflects the college's experimental posture. Many have gone on to assume important positions in practice and education.
The late Robert P. Burns, FAIA, Architecture Professor Emeritus
College of Design, Class of 1957
It is the fundamental aspiration of the College of Design to secure a diverse design community that enhances the education experience of its students. Gradually over the past decade, the college has matured into a community diverse in culture, race, gender, and personal interests. More remains to be accomplished. The College has expanded student recruitment activities that target the goal of increased diversity.
Our belief: that the creative energy of the College will be enlivened by our differences.
Diversity is an inclusive community of people with varied human characteristics, ideas, and world-views and whose interactions both benefit and challenge each other to grow while making the community better.
Such a community will:
By definition, NC State reflects diversity because it comprises a community of individuals from varied backgrounds and demographic categories; it encourages, accepts, and values a diversity of people and ideas; it seeks to promote an environment where equity, respect and understanding represent the norm in the campus climate and; it seeks to prepare entrepreneurs who are effective citizens of a global community. We will know that we have achieved authentic diversity when all four of these objectives are fully realized.
For more information about diversity at NC State visit: http://www.ncsu.edu/diversity/