The University at Buffalo hosts the only School of Architecture and Planning in the State University of New York system. The School offers the only accredited professional degree in architecture and only one of two offering an accredited professional degree in urban planning. Instruction is carried out in many formats. These include studios, lecture courses, seminars, and independent study. Extensive use is made of Western New York and its communities as real-world laboratories to test and refine student skills.
Many opportunities exist for student participation in faculty research and design projects.
As part of a large university students also have access to computer facilities, libraries, and courses in departments elsewhere on campus. Student life is further enriched by extracurricular activities, ranging from an annual series of nationally and internationally prominent guest speakers and an exhibition series in the Dyett Exhibition Hall to several active and lively student organizations. Design professionals must be able to respond to the needs, objectives, and aspirations of those who will be affected by their work. The School of Architecture and Planning embraces the concept of a broad and liberal education, one that prepares students for a rapidly changing future even as it respects traditions of the past. The school's programs, therefore, strive to synthesize a wide array of aesthetic, environmental, social, historical, technical, and methodological concerns.