Drury starts Master of Architecture program

The National Architectural Accrediting Board has approved Drury University's Hammons School of Architecture to offer a Master of Architecture degree.

Drury already offers a five-year Bachelor of Architecture program. The new master's program will require an extra summer of coursework.

Students will focus on one of three specialty areas: urban studies, architectural history and theory, and sustainable technologies. Their coursework will conclude with a master's level thesis project.

"The master's program allows students, while they're still in school, to start focusing their work and hone in on what's important to them," Bruce Moore, associate director of the Hammons School, said in a news release. "It's very good preparation for entering into the profession."

The accreditation is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, which means last year's freshman architecture students are now enrolled in the master's program. The first master's class is scheduled to graduate in 2013.

Drury and Washington University in St. Louis are the only two accredited architecture programs in Missouri, according to the release. Both now offer a master's degree.For more on Drury's new degree program and other architecture news, see SBJ's Aug. 17 In Focus: Architects & Engineers feature section.