School of Architecture and Design

Department of Architecture

Mission Statement
The Department of Architecture aims to foster critical thinking and develop the capability to significantly improve the built environment through participation in the professions of architecture and interior design.

Curricula
The Department of Architecture offers two degree programs: a five-year Bachelor of Architecture and four-year Bachelor of Interior Design. Both programs have a design-oriented curriculum based on innovative teaching/learning paradigms. While most architecture and allied fields within the region are affiliated with engineering schools, the architecture and interior design programs at AUS are housed within a School of Architecture and Design that is well-positioned to excel as the region’s premier architectural design program.

Design studios form the core of the both architecture and interior design curricula as a result of the department faculty’s intense focus on design and the credit/contact hours allocated. Studios provide the venue for students’ demonstration of a synthetic understanding of issues that may be addressed at a particular year level. Studio projects demonstrate the ability to synthesize knowledge acquired in the non-studio courses at the beginning and advanced levels. One of the goals of the Department of Architecture faculty is to prepare students for leadership roles in the profession. Towards this end, faculty members make deliberate attempts (within their curricular and extra-curricular activities) to instill in students inquisitive and experimental approaches to design. Inventive resolution of problems and creative articulation of problems both contribute to continued learning and intellectual growth. The architecture program curriculum facilitates students’ development of individual and collective learning agendas through its elective offerings, minor studies and the competitive options to pursue an independent senior project. While the internship requirements in both curricula aim to ensure that every graduate has minimal preparation for entry into professional practice, the curricula emphasis on design, critical thinking and autonomy aim to develop students’ leadership abilities in the profession of architecture.

Detailed information on the degree programs and course descriptions can be found in the online version of the university catalog.

Students
The Department of Architecture thrives on having a diverse student population with different cultural backgrounds speaking multiple languages and coming from high schools of diverse academic orientations. The Department of Architecture's strength lies in attracting top quality students on campus. Due to the large number of qualified students aspiring to enter the architecture program, the department faculty in Fall 2006 approved to raise the minimum GPA for entering the second year of the architecture program from 2.0 to 2.3. The Department of Architecture students’ academic work has been recognized in international competitions and is regularly published in local journals as demonstration of exemplary standards.

Alumni
Since the first commencement cycle for the BArch degree program in Spring 2003, the Department of Architecture has graduated over 120 architects and interior designers. Department alumni have been recognized in international competitions, employed at globally operating architectural firms, and pursued graduate education with prestigious academic institutions in Europe and North America such as Columbia University, Harvard University, MIT, the Architectural Association and many others.