Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design
The Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design is a college part of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). The college houses over 1,600 students; making it one of largest environmental design programs in the United States. The college offers bachelor's degrees in five departments, as well as three master's degree programs. It is the only academic unit within the California State University system to be associated with a Pritzker Prize laureate (often referred to as "The Nobel Prize in Architecture"). History The planning programs at Cal Poly Pomona evolved from the undergraduate landscape architecture program that originally was part of the School of Agriculture. After approval of the creation of a new School of Environmental Design, the landscape and urban planning programs moved into their current building in January 1971. The Department of Urban Planning was created and soon after a Department of Architecture. Department of Urban Planning was renamed "Department of Urban and Regional Planning" in 1983 to reflect an expanded program. The School was renamed the "College of Environmental Design" in 1988. The Department of Art was transferred to Environmental Design from the College of Arts in 1992. In 1978, the College was briefly led by Richard Saul Wurman, founder of the TED (conference) and given credit for coining the term "information architect". In the summer of 2009 the University hired former Los Angeles City Councilman and current member of the Planning Commission Michael Woo to serve as Dean of the college. The college is housed in several buildings around campus including Building 7, designed by modernist architect Carl Maston, and the IDC (Interim Design Center), a design studio building at the east end of the campus. Current plans are for a new Architecture Building adjacent to the IDC (Interim Design Center). Admissions Rankings Academic programs and departments Architecture The Department of Architecture is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Two programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. The undergraduate program was ranked 16th nationally in the 2014 edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" published by the journal DesignIntelligence and was in the top 20 in the 2011 survey. In 2009, the program was named one of three schools in the nation that excel in sustainable design by Arch Ed 2009 published by Architect Magazine. The program has been "impacted" since its inception over 40 years ago, with many more students applying than can be accommodated. In 2002 the department admitted 15 percent of undergraduate applicants making it the 5th most selective Bachelor of Architecture program in the country. By 2007 the department's acceptance rate was down to 9 percent, or 225 out of 2,551 applicants, of which 100 enrolled. Due to the design studio based structure of the program, the student to faculty ratio is a relatively low 17 to 1. Prior to graduation students are required to complete a 500-hour internship under NCARB. Notable and influential 20th-century architects that have taught at the department