(AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is considering merging its analytical College of Architecture with the free-thinking College of Fine and Performing Arts.

College officials say the merger could happen in the 2015-16 school year.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman says combining the two would help the university create more diverse courses that combine different disciplines.

Two other Big Ten Conference universities have already combined arts and architecture programs. Both the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and Penn State University have created successful combined colleges.

UNL officials plan to study what needs to be done to combine the colleges by July 2015.