STUDENT AWARDS
The School of Architecture recognizes exceptional work by students in the design disciplines through semesterly and annual student awards processes.
DEAN'S DESIGN DISTINCTION
Dean’s Design Distinction recognizes cumulative excellence in design as an outcome from the Undergraduate Portfolio Review processes. With input from the semester’s Portfolio Review teams, each Portfolio Review studio instructor may nominate up to two students for Dean’s Design Distinction. The Program Directors for Architecture and Interior Design* then review and confirm Dean’s Design Distinction selections.
*Beginning in Spring 2021.
DESIGN EXCELLENCE
Design Excellence is a collaborative process among the Program Directors for Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, and Student Affairs. Design Excellence winners are selected by a jury each academic year, and represent an exceptional level of accomplishment across our design disciplines and studio levels.
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Discover the hidden narrative of one of the world’s largest distributed freshwater reserves: aquifers.
Instagram Post@utsoaOn Sept. 29, architectural designer, researcher and UTSOA visiting lecturer Toshiki Hirano (@artitec of @thd_arch) joins us for his lecture, "AESTHETICS OF (IN)EXCESS."
Instagram Post@utsoa🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Jessica Garza (BSID '26) has won the 2025 Senior Student Scholarship from the Angelo Donghia Foundation! Jessica Garza is one of 15 undergraduate interior design students in North America to receive this honor this year in the form of a $30,000 scholarship.
Instagram Post@utsoaMatt Fajkus already holds the titles of licensed architect, multiple award winner and Austin Design Icon. Now, he adds another achievement to his list: a promotion to Full Professor of Architecture.
Instagram Post@utsoaMaster of Interior Design students Yuzheng Gan and Stephanie Belov win 2nd place for their project, “HYDROCOMMONS,” in the Student Commercial Design Category at the @ASID_hq's 2025 Celebrating Design Texas Awards!
Instagram Post@utsoaANOMALIES & ORDER: GRAMMARS OF ANONYMOUS ARCHITECTURES ⋅ Come explore the uneasy alliance between system and rupture, form and formlessness, through the lens of “anonymous architectures.”
Instagram Post@utsoa🎉 Congratulations are in order for @cldavis_ii and @tdudleyphd!
The Mellon Foundation recognized their contributions to exploring untold narratives and expanding the architectural canon.
Instagram Post@utsoaAnnouncing our Fall 2025 lectures and events series: “Planetary Imaginaries” an expansive set of public engagements to reimagine our ethical and ecological responsibilities in the Anthropocene.
Instagram Post@utsoaIt is with sadness that we share the news of the death of Professor Michael Benedikt, who passed away on August 13 at the age of 78. Benedikt was one of the school’s longest-serving faculty members, and a hallmark of this institution.