Preliminary Inventory of the College of Architecture Records and Photographs

Arizona State University's architecture program was established during 1949-1950 when James Elmore, the founding Dean of what is now the College of Design, proposed a two-year technical architecture program. This program became the Division of Architecture in the 1950s. It began offering bachelor's degrees in 1957 and became an associate member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and was renamed the School of Architecture in 1959. The program was accredited in January of 1961 and became the College of Architecture in 1964.

During the 1970s, the program expanded to include architecture, urban design, and design. A Master of Architecture program was introduced in 1975 and offered specializations in Building Design (Solar Energy Technology, Individual Studies, and Thesis) and Human Settlement in Arid Regions (Urban Design and Urban Planning). The College was organized into three departments (architecture, design sciences, and design planning) in 1977-1978 and renamed the College of Architecture and Environmental Design in 1983. The architecture program became the School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture when the landscape architecture program was moved in 2004 and the College was renamed College of Design in 2005. The Architecture program was merged with the Herberger Institute for Design and Arts when the latter was established in April of 2009.