APLA Launches Mass Timber Architecture Master’s Degree

The one-year degree program will focus on Mass Timber Design, helping solidify Auburn’s research and educational advancement in the emerging field of mass timber.

The program will be led by members of the Auburn Mass Timber Collaborative (AMTC), including program chair David Shanks—who recently earned promotion with tenure—and core faculty Professors of Practice Tom Chung and Kiel Moe. Interdisciplinary faculty will include Landscape Architecture Graduate Chair and Associate Professor Emily Knox, Gottleid Associate Professor David Roueche from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Associate Professor Yucheng Peng from the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment and Assistant Research Professor Jake Elbrecht from the McWhorter School of Building Science.

The program is split into three semesters, with the first cohort of students graduating in May 2027. The first semester will focus on mass timber tectonics, and the second will cover mass timber ecologies. In the final term, the students will complete an externship with a professional firm at the forefront of Mass Timber practice and capstone research project.

“The addition of a new specialized graduate program in Mass Timber Design opens tremendous opportunities for students to work with world-renowned faculty experts on advanced interdisciplinary research within the Auburn Mass Timber Collaborative,” Shanks said. “The post-professional degree will competitively position our students for leadership in the growing field of mass timber design.”