Established in 1984 at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, the Hammons School of Architecture is an accredited five-year professional degree program which offers a first professional degree. The required architecture courses are integrated with the liberal arts curriculum of the university. The objective of this integrated curriculum approach is preparation for professional architectural practice within the broadest possible educational context.

The first two years of the five-year program are considered the pre-professional years. Enrollment in the first year of the pre-professional program is limited based upon high school GPA and SAT/ACT scores.

During the first two years of this program coursework includes a liberal arts body of knowledge in collaboration with drawing, design, history and theory, computer graphics and technology. Students who successfully complete these initial studies continue on to the professional program to continue advanced courses in architecture and the Global Perspectives 21 (GP21) curriculum for the concluding three years.

Included in the 169 credit hours is a foreign study experience, a community design effort and a summer internship. The foreign study may be taken either as a semester abroad at the Drury Center in Volos, Greece, or through an alternate summer study abroad program. The community design project is taken through the Center for Community Studies (CCS). The internship is an opportunity for each student to work in the profession. Students can also explore other fields and complete, concurrently, majors and minors in the humanities, the sciences, business administration, and the visual and performing arts.

Co-curricular activities such as the Convocation lecture series, architecture lecture series, art and architecture exhibitions, student-designed and built community projects, and travel expeditions to surrounding states contribute to a rich and meaningful educational experience. The faculty has a strong commitment to teaching and to nurturing individual student development. There is also a strong collaboration with the American Institute of Architects Springfield Chapter.

The Hammons School of Architecture facility, constructed in 1991, is an exceptional structure that provides the proper setting for this unique educational experience. The heart of the building consists of the welcoming studio environment supported by computers, classrooms and a well-equipped shop. The 250-seat auditorium is used for academic, professional and public functions that make the school an important cultural center in Southwest Missouri.

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from a accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit US professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Masters of Architecture. A program may be granted a five-year, or two -year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards.