The College of Architecture, Art, and Construction (CAAC) offers a unique combination of disciplines, providing students with skills, knowledge, and a profound understanding of construction, architecture, art and design. Graduate coursework blends theory with practical expertise, empowering our community to creatively shape and enhance the physical world and the built environment. Master’s degrees are offered in Architecture; Architecture + Health; City and Regional Planning; Construction Science and Management; Historic Preservation; Landscape Architecture; Real Estate Development; Resilient Urban Design; and Visual Arts (MFA). The College also offers two doctoral programs: Construction Science and Management and Design and the Built Environment (DBE).
Graduate courses may be available to provide electives for students in other colleges. Students should contact the appropriate department for more information.
Lee Hall, which houses the on-campus home of the School of Architecture, the Department of Art, and the Nieri Department of Construction, Development and Planning, is designed to promote collaboration between these professional programs, enabling students to work collaboratively to address contemporary issues of architecture, art and design, planning, development and construction. Our programs are national leaders on issues of sustainable design and environmentally conscious building.
Graduate students in the School of Architecture can study at the Clemson Architectural Center in Charleston and at our international locations in Italy and Spain: the Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genoa, and the Barcelona Architecture Center. The school is home to seven graduate degree programs: Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture + Health, Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP), Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Resilient Urban Design, Master of Science in Historic Preservation, and a Ph.D. in Planning, Design and the Built Environment. Accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), the Master of Architecture (M. Arch.) is the professional degree required by most state registration boards as a condition of licensure for architectural practice. The Master of Architecture in Architecture + Health, is a NAAB-accredited professional degree and a STEM Designated Graduate Degree Program. The MCRP Program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB); graduate students enrich their classroom experience by collaborating with community and public service partners on real-world projects as part of an applied, practitioner-oriented environment. The Master of Science in Historic Preservation degree, a two-year course of study, is based in Charleston, South Carolina. The Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) is a nationally recognized, STEM-designated professional degree accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB).
Visual Arts graduate students are provided the opportunity to achieve a high degree of professional competence in the Master of Fine Arts, the terminal degree within the studio art discipline. The MFA Visual Arts program offers concentrations in the studio areas of ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture, with complementary coursework in art history, animation, digital media and graphic design. Interdisciplinary and collaborative projects are encouraged within the department, resulting in highly individualized methods of instruction. Graduate students may also take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad in the department’s faculty-led Art in Italy Program in the summer to spend time in Rome, Orvieto, Florence and Venice. Clemson University’s art and design programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
The Nieri Department of Construction, Development and Planning offers three graduate programs: Master of Construction Science and Management (MCSM), Master of Real Estate Development (MRED), and a Ph.D. in Construction Science and Management. The MCSM, STEM-designated and accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), offers its graduate students both on-campus in-person and distance learning online options as well as a thesis and non-thesis options. The MRED program, based in Greenville, SC, focuses on promoting an entire vision for a community through sustainable design, creative financing methods, place making and healthy communities.
Across the College, faculty research activities have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Bingham Trust, the American Council of Learned Societies, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and Department of Defense.
NOTE: A student’s advisory committee aids in developing an individualized curriculum. A student’s personal GS2 Plan of Study documents their specific curriculum as determined by the advisory committee and consistent with the program guidelines, as well as Graduate School and University policies. For more information, see the most current graduate program handbook(s) and the Graduate School Policies and Procedures handbook, which include important information related to degree and program requirements, and may contain more updated policy information than what appears in this catalog.
