About

Dean’s Message

Welcome to the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) at Auburn University, where we are actively engaged in the making and re-making of our collective world.

Our notable faculty and dedicated staff foster a robust academic and social context that foregrounds creative processes, critical thinking, collaboration, effective communication and environmental consciousness to advance a better future.

The CADC’s rigorous, nationally recognized programs in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (APLA, the McWhorter School of Building Science (BSCI) and the School of Industrial and Graphic Design (SIGD) offer unique professional and academic specializations coupled with objective, in-the-field, signature experiences that position students to be critical, creative leaders and globally conscious stewards of the built environment.

The three schools—APLA, BSCI and SIGD—form a compelling collection of making-based fields of study, each with distinct expertise, theoretical knowledge, technological influences and professional methods. Our undergraduate programs include architecture, building construction, environmental design, graphic design, industrial design, interior architecture and landscape architecture. Our graduate programs feature building construction, industrial design, landscape architecture and real estate development. Each sequence crafts and integrates outreach and service initiatives, high-impact project-based learning, industry collaborations, study abroad experiences, leadership opportunities and exposure to advanced faculty research, creative works and scholarship.

We at the CADC embrace the land grant mission of Auburn University and believe that design, with its complexities, range of scales, types and mediums, is essential for addressing pressing concerns in the world today. Our collective teaching, research and outreach foreground creative, equitable, sustainable solutions for our local, national and international communities—solutions that range in scale from cities and regions to landscapes and infrastructures, buildings and spaces, information graphics and products, objects and details. The world is what we make it.

Join us at the CADC to engage in exciting project collaborations and initiatives that impact our now and near-future world!

Dawn Finley
Dean and McWhorter Endowed Chair
College of Architecture, Design and Construction