Design
Design the future
From landscapes to libraries to cities, sets, and stages, we provide the advanced technical skills and foster the deep human sensitivity needed so that you can create spaces, environments, and realities (digital and physical) – simply put, these degrees can help you build a better future.
Undergraduate
Degrees
B.Arch. in Architecture
The B.Arch. is a highly sought after five-year professional degree program that consistently produces graduates who push the bounds of architecture to enhance the human experience.
B.A. in Art
The B.A. in Art offers visual artists the opportunity to find their artistic voices in an environment that fosters individuality and prepares graduates for an impactful career in the arts.
B.A. in Art History
The B.A. in Art History offers an opportunity for students to explore and examine art while developing a deep understanding of how and why it brings the world closer.
B.Des. in Digital Arts and Media Design
The B.Des. in Digital Arts and Media Design is on the cutting edge of a rapidly growing discipline that prepares students to develop digital technology in art, gaming, simulations, web-based design, and much more.
B.Des. in Digital Multimedia Design
The wholly online B.Des. in Digital Multimedia Design program prepares students to impact the ever-changing visual art, information science and technology, and communications digital media landscape.
B.Des. in Graphic Design
The B.Des. in Graphic Design empowers students to become innovators that meet the growing demand for branding, storytelling, visualizing information, user experience, and user interface designs.
B.A. in Integrative Arts
The B.A. in Integrative Arts offers the unique opportunity for students to work successfully as innovative and dynamic artists, designers, and performers in an increasingly interdisciplinary world.
B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture
The B.L.A. in Landscape Architecture immerses students in cutting-edge sustainability strategies that produce responsible and creative design for the world around us.
B.Des. in Professional Photography
The B.Des. in Professional Photography prepares students to realize the power of photography while training them to professionally capture the beauty and complexity of the world.
B.F.A. in Theatre
With options in Stage Management and Theatre Design and Technology, the B.F.A. in Theatre trains the behind-the-scenes theatre professionals to produce a transformative theatrical experience by artistically engaging modern technology and skills.
Undergraduate
Minors + Certificates
Architectural History Minor
The Architectural History minor teaches exceptional visual acuity and analysis. You will better understand space, design processes, and construction practice within historical periods.
Architecture Studies Minor
The Architecture Studies minor will permit students in other majors the opportunity to gain insight into the discipline of Architecture.
Art History Minor
Explore art from ancient to contemporary times, in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. This minor relates visual images to the big questions of humanity.
Digital Arts Certificate
Blend classroom and online learning in this 15-credit certificate program that will help you develop artistic knowledge and technical skills that can be applied across industries and professions.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor
Become a leader in the arts or design. Engage in a start-up venture. Leverage your art or craft. Create alliances. Meet social or business needs. Craft ideas and make art work.
Graphic Design Minor
The Graphic Design minor is intended for students interested in augmenting their academic major with the physical, technological, aesthetic, and conceptual skills associated with a design discipline.
International Arts Minor
Expand your perspective. Become a well-traveled citizen of the world. A minor in International Arts will provide a deeper understanding of how art and design permeate cultures around the world.
Landscape Architecture Minor
Landscape architecture is a design profession focused on natural and built environments and people’s experiences within them.
Museum Studies Certificate
Learn the fundamentals of museum studies. Explore the history, theory, and practice of institutional collecting and conservation. Engage in a technical investigation of art.
Music Technology Minor
The Music Tech minor opens the study of musical acoustics, digital audio, sound design, and audio recording. You will apply domains of knowledge from your majors to the fields of audio production and digital technology.
Photography Minor
Acquire technical and conceptual photographic capabilities for documenting, expressing, and sharing information, ideas, views, and cultural perspectives. Learn to communicate in a visual language.
Graduate
Degrees
M.Arch. in Architecture
The professional M.Arch. degree deeply explores the techniques, principles, histories, theories of architecture, preparing students to become leaders in the field.
M.S. in Architecture (+Dual M.S. +IUG)
The M.S. in Architecture program is designed for students interested in advanced research and independent work. Integrated undergrad/grad, as well as dual-title program options exist.
Ph.D. in Architecture (+Dual Ph.D.)
The Ph.D. in Architecture is a research-based degree concentrating on a number of areas of inquiry. Hone the degree via research clusters, program focus areas, or dual-title options.
M.L.A. in Landscape Architecture
The professional M.L.A. program at Penn State equips students with the techniques, principles, histories, theories, and technologies to become leaders in the profession of landscape architecture.
M.S. in Landscape Architecture (+Dual M.S. +IUG)
The research-focused M.S. in L.A. degree, with HDNRE, Geodesign, and IUG options, is framed to enhance the expertise of individuals who already hold a professionally-accredited degree in landscape architecture or architecture.
M.P.S. / Certificate in Geodesign
The M.P.S. and graduate certificate in Geodesign are online programs that prepare students to employ a unique combination of science and design to change the way we design for a sustainable future.
M.F.A. in Theatre
The M.F.A in Theatre program is one of the most unique and well-respected theatre education programs in the country that consistently exists as a conduit to Broadway and beyond. Collaboration...
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Brian Kappel
B.A. in Art 1998Brian is a Portland, Oregon-based artist, graphic designer and a self-described “tinkerer.” After a more than 15-year career with Nike, he founded Space Monkey Designs, a firm that is responsible for numerous high-profile designs including VIP event space for ESPN, set design for the Dew Tour and the College Football Playoff suites.
Instagram
spacemonkeydesigns
Design Facilities
From labs and shops to libraries and galleries, A&A boasts myriad design spaces. Visit and be inspired.
See All Design Facilities
Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library
Located in 111 Stuckeman Family Building, the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library supports study and research in architecture and landscape architecture and their histories Learn More
DArt Design Studio
The DArt Design Studio computer and peripheral labs are available 24 hours a day to the entire DArt community, and are primarily for student Learn More
Stuckeman Shop
The Stuckeman Shop – primarily supporting architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic design students – provides an excellent opportunity for motivated students to develop their ideas Learn More
Theatre Lighting Lab
The Penn State School of Theatre Lighting Lab is one of the most advanced and well-equipped labs of its kind in the country. Seating Learn More
Students at work...
Crafting and creating solutions and systems. Design permeates our world, and A&A students lead the way forward.
Faculty Spotlight
Pep Avilés
Stuckeman Career Development Professor in Design
Pep Avilés is a historian, architect, and professor specializing in postwar and contemporary architecture. His academic research explores the impact media had on the materiality of architecture and the redefinition of modernism after World War II.
Avilés’ work has been sponsored by the Canadian Center for Architecture, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and the Getty Research Center, and has been exhibited at the Centre de Cultura Contemporànea de Barcelona (2017) and the Oslo Architecture Triennale (2019), among others. He is the founding editor of the journal Faktur: Documents and Architecture.
Jul 12 - 15
2021 Architecture & Landscape Architecture Summer Camp
ZoomThe Penn State Architecture and Landscape Architecture Summer Camp offers high school students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the kinds of activities that take
Events
Go. Explore.News from A&A
Graduating graphic design students host multimedia senior design showcase
Fourth-year students in the undergraduate Graphic Design program within the Stuckeman School are hosting a multi-media senior design showcase this spring.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fourth-year students in the undergraduate Graphic Design program within the Stuckeman School at Penn State are hosting their senior design showcase this spring through a variety
Working professionals gain immediate applicable skills in first geodesign course
An urban planner, a GIS analyst and a landscape designer were recently interviewed to learn about their experience as World Campus geodesign graduate certificate students. Read More
World Campus student thrives in her return to school
Lauren Schoth carved her own path—for herself and future students—in the World Campus Digital Multimedia Design program. Read More