Message from the Dean
CALA Mission, Vision and Goals
Core Values and Operating Principles
Programs
Context, Traditions and Future
Welcome to CALA!
The University of Arizona is world-renowned for its work in environmental science, design, and policy. As a campus leader in these efforts, the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) develops design and planning professionals with a sensibility honed in the edge conditions of an arid climate on a major international border. The College also produces scholars focused on the environmental and cultural conditions of place. In the practice of appropriate design and scholarly methodologies, CALA students and faculty respond to the local context of the Sonoran Desert and its communities while developing a process of analysis and creation that is portable to other locales. Our Sonoran setting thus offers inspiration and guidance in the study of delicate and unique ecologies worldwide. Located in Tucson, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States, CALA combines knowledge from a culturally rich past and present with cutting-edge environmental research and new technologies to envision global arid communities of the future.
CALA is recognized for the development of a new integrative model for the education of next-generation design professionals and scholars building solutions to major environmental challenges. CALA alumni are at the forefront of sustainability and are skilled in research and inquiry, in the synthesis of theory, technology, materials, and context, and in communication and consensus building. CALA alums are major contributors to the design of solutions to the great challenges facing humankind and the planet.
We welcome you to join our extraordinary commmunity of designers and planners working in one of the most phenomenal environments in the world - the Sonoran Desert.
Jan Cervelli, FASLA, FCELA
Dean and Professor of Landscape Architecture
The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture defines itself by our success in leadership in sustainable design and planning, and the communication of our findings to our professions and the larger community. CALA embodies an ethic of self-reliance, integrity, stewardship, and community engagement. We strive:
Programs
The College is comprised of three professional programs focused on the development and application of the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary for the effective evolution of human settlements. CALA offers an accredited five‑year program leading to the professional degree, Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch). A post‑professional master's program (M.Arch) is also offered by the School of Architecture, and a two-track program leading to a professional Master of Architecture degree is being developed. Accredited graduate programs in Landscape Architecture (MLA) and Planning (MPLN) are offered by the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning.
The College also offers an interdisciplinary graduate curricular program in Preservation Studies that draws students from both the schools of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and Planning, as well as from other disciplines across campus. Students may also enroll in dual graduate programs, including the Master of Architecture/Master of Planning, and Master of Planning/Master of Business Administration.
The Drachman Institute is the research and public service unit of the College and conducts projects of relevance to Arizona communities. The Technical Assistance Program, formerly the Community Planning and Design Workshop, is intended to bring the skills and knowledge of the students, faculty, and staff of CALA to communities in need throughout Tucson, Pima County, and the State of Arizona. The Program helps to fulfill the Land Grant Mission of the University of Arizona by making its resources available to meet the needs of neighborhoods, community groups, non-profit corporations, cities, towns, and rural areas. Contained within the Drachman Institute are two other entities: the Drachman Design-Build Coalition, Inc., a 501(c)(3), non-profit corporation, design-build licensed general contractor associated with the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and established for the purpose of service-learning development and construction; and Water CASA, a water conservation research center formerly part of the Water Resources Center and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.