Tennessee Tech approved a new Bachelor of Architecture degree program.
Vice President Dr. John Liu said the program addresses a high demand for workforce development across the state and nation. Liu said the degree will strengthen the university’s existing STEM and engineering programs by providing a complementary field of study that produces licensed professionals.
“I am extremely excited starting this new program,” Liu said. “So the need for this program, of course, workforce development in Tennessee that’s a need in high demand from the region.”
Liu said the five-year format is a strategic choice that aligns with national standards and ensures graduates are prepared for professional licensure. Liu said the program will require 154 credit hours and will seek accreditation through the National Architecture Accrediting Board.
“Graduates will be more successful when they are licensed,” Liu said. “It’s almost like nurses that you get a degree is important but if you do not get that license it’s not going to, that your degree worth is less.”
The university plans to enroll a small initial cohort of 30 students per year to accommodate the specific space requirements of architectural studios. Liu said each student requires roughly 60 square feet of dedicated space for their design work throughout their academic career.
“Many student live there day and night, you know drawings design stuff, they never move,” Liu said. “That’s their academic as well as partially their, you know, they just live some students live there.”
Trustee Tom Jones said the university must ensure the curriculum evolves alongside rapid advancements in technology. Jones said the program needs a heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence to remain relevant in the modern architectural field.
“If we don’t grow that program with a heavy emphasis on using AI to facilitate architectural developments and we are teaching old school architecture, we are not doing the students’ justice and we will fail,” Jones said. “So that’s my comments about it and I guess to be blunt I was a little bit disappointed that they didn’t consider the evolution of AI in this letter of justification for the program.”
Tennessee Tech President Dr. Phil Oldham said the program is currently being “birthed” out of the architectural design studies program in the School of Human Ecology. Oldham said while the program needs an initial home, the long-term vision includes the creation of a standalone School of Architecture.
“In order to to make all of this work the architecture program is the critical piece,” Oldham said. “It’s the it’s the cornerstone that and sorry for the pun but it is the cornerstone that that makes all of this possible.”
Liu said the university will begin hiring two to three new faculty members per year starting in the fall of 2027. Liu said the program is designed to be self-supporting in the long term.
The committee voted unanimously to send the proposal to the full Board of Trustees for final approval. Enrollment for the new degree is projected to begin in the fall of 2027.