The College of Architecture, Art, and Design
The College of Architecture, Art, and Design includes the School of Architecture, Department of Art, Department of Building Construction Science, and Department of Interior Design.
Students graduate with a Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science in Building Construction Science, and Bachelor of Science in Interior Design.
Why Choose CAAD?
The College of Architecture, Art, and Design is dedicated to helping students develop skills and understanding in all areas of making, from individual pieces of artwork and graphic communication, through interior spaces, buildings, and entire communities. Learning occurs within a hands-on studio context consisting of a rigorous methodology involving process, critique, iteration, production, and representation. The development of foundational skills as the basis for innovation enables students to cultivate individual philosophies that uphold the highest standards of architecture, art, design, and construction.
See For Yourself!
The College of Architecture, Art and Design at Mississippi State University is a recognized leader in all of our disciplines. The faculty and students are being recognized for their achievements in all of the areas in which the college is engaged.
At A Glance
MSU students consecutively sweep the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) South Central Student Career Day competition, which includes universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Our Building Construction Science and Interior Design departments consistently have 99-100% employment rates.
The only program in the nation teaching construction management in a studio environment collaboratively with architecture students for a full year.
Two nationally recognized research centers (The Carl Small Town Center and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio) provide opportunities for student involvement.
Alumni are pursuing graduate work at top programs including Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, Pratt Institute, and The Art Institute of Chicago.
The state’s flagship architecture program was recently ranked #25 in Design Intelligence’s Top Architecture Programs in North America.
Mississippi State art students compete in regional, national, and international art and design competitions, consistently achieving more than 180 individual awards and recognitions annually.
Our school and departments are nationally accredited.
The Mississippi State University School of Architecture is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The program has been accredited continuously since its inception in 1973. In September of 2016, the school was reaccredited for another full, eight-year term.
The Mississippi State University Department of Building Construction Science is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE).
In 2004, MSU established the College of Architecture, Art, and Design. Previous to this creation, the college was known as the School of Architecture, housing a professional undergraduate program and a nonprofessional Master of Science in Architecture.
Joining these two programs were the Interior Design Program, formerly from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Department of Art, formerly from the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, the Mississippi Institute for Higher Learning Board approved the formation of the undergraduate program in Building Construction Science
The mission of the College of Architecture, Art, and Design is to promote and engage students and faculty in the following: conceptualization, craft, media and technology, history and theory, aesthetics, and ethical issues associated with making artifacts in the world
The college values collaboration between majors, across campus, and with industry professionals. In their senior year, students from all of our disciplines come together to work in teams on a competitive design project. Sponsored by the Birmingham, AL-based construction firm Brasfield and Gorrie, the project winners receive scholarship money to put toward their studies!
Construction and Architecture students come together for two full semesters in our innovative Collaborative Studio to work together on actual design-build projects. Past projects include designing and building bus shelters for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, restroom facilities and golf cart shelters for the university golf course, facilities on campus, a shelter for the Boy Scouts of America, and more.
Our hands-on, studio-based programs require unique facilities.
Learn more about what it’s like to be a part of the Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art, and Design community.