The Architectural Design at James Madison University?is a place where you will be empowered to imagine and realize aspiring architectural design projects, and to build rich and sustaining friendships with your classmates and collaborators. Here, you will be encouraged to develop and practice your work through diverse venues and opportunities: to enter design competitions, to publish research papers, to draw beautiful drawings, to apply for design grants, to build and construct installations, spaces, and objects. You will find unexpected ways to solve hard problems, learn to thoughtfully and radically frame the important issues of tomorrow, and launch into a bold professional future.
The scope of our work is broad -- from the small scale of objects and furniture, to the middle scale of buildings (including both interior and exterior space), to the largest questions of urbanism and landscape. Our teaching balances a critical understanding of the world as it is today (ecologically, culturally, materially, technologically), while simultaneously challenging conventions and the status quo, in order to imagine bold new futures. We aspire to face and shape that future with cunning, generosity, good-humor, sensitivity, rigor and criticality.?
Career prospects
Approximately 90%?of our Architectural Design recent graduates seeking employment are employed within the professions by the end of the summer following graduation. ?Their new careers include employment in top firms in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington DC, and Virginia including designing and doing the Construction Documents for nine new Starbucks.