It has been estimated that the majority of architecture and design schools in the United States now have some form of design-build experience; however, KU Architecture and Design remains one of the nation’s leaders in design-build education. Pioneering this philosophical tradition, KU Architecture and Design is home to Studio 804, a two-semester advanced design-build studio that has been the recipient of numerous design awards and publications, including a monograph titled “Studio 804: An Architectural Experience”, published by Artifice Books. In addition to Studio 804, KU Architecture and Design offers ARCH 509 Designbuild Studio, an umbrella for several design-build studios such as the award-winning Dirt Works Studio and Dotte Agency, a public interest designbuild collective. Beyond design-build studios, the school offers furniture design, digital fabrication and robotics, and material investigations courses.

The Design-Build Certificate program aims to provide students with hands-on, material-based, experiential learning opportunities, anchored by the internationally acclaimed and award-winning designbuild studios at KU. This certificate is open to students in architecture, interior architecture, design, architectural engineering, and other allied disciplines. The certificate is available as a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunity for outside professionals as well.

Total Credit Hours Required for Completion: 12 

There are three primary paths to earn the Design-Build Certificate:
1) Studio 804: ARCH 803 Design-Build & Materiality I (6) + ARCH 804 Design-Build & Materiality II (6)
2) Design-Build+: ARCH 509 Design-Build Studio (6) + (2) additional qualifying 3-credit hour courses
3) Elective Courses: (4) qualifying 3-credit hour courses
Selected ARCH 600 Special Topics in Architecture and ARCH 700 Directed Readings in Architecture courses, with a focus on designbuild activities, may be eligible to fulfill the certificate program course requirements (syllabus submission required for certificate program director’s approval). Additionally, any of the above courses could be replaced with ARCH 799:  Independent Study or ARCH 800 Special Topics in Architecture,  focusing on the specific subject area.  

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ARCH 509	Designbuild	6
ARCH 600	Special Topics in Architecture: _____ (Furniture Design and/or Digital Fabrication )	3
ARCH 622	Material Investigations	3
ARCH 803	Design-Build and Materiality I	6
ARCH 804	Design-Build and Materiality II	6

Please direct questions regarding the Designbuild Graduate Certificate to:
Chad Kraus, Associate Professor of Architecture, ckraus@ku.edu.

Applicants must meet all admissions requirements for certificate-seeking graduate admission as defined by the University's policy on Admission to Graduate Study.