Architecture program will pay off in South Dakota

Beginning this school year, students at South Dakota State University will be able to earn a degree in architecture. Believe it or not, it will be the first accredited architecture program in the state.

Architecture is an important industry in South Dakota. There are at least 80 licensed architects in the state, according to the South Dakota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and dozens of more associate architects.

But until now, South Dakota high school graduates who wanted to study architecture needed to leave the state to earn an accredited degree. And we're certain that some South Dakotans who went to Montana State, Tulane, Nebraska or Arizona State probably didn't return to their home state after graduation.

So practicing architects in the state started working with SDSU to change that. Starting a new program like this takes a lot of time and money, but that didn't deter the architects. The new program offers a bachelor's degree in architectural studies after four years and a master's degree after six.

We think there are lots of opportunities in the architecture field. While the nationwide construction boom peaked a couple of years ago, there are still great possibilities in South Dakota, which includes not only new building design and construction, but renovation, landscape architecture and, perhaps the hottest field, "green" architecture. We know a Sioux Falls architect who is working to help rebuild Haiti after the tragic earthquake there in January.