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PrincetonUniversity |
The School of Architecture |
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The School of Architecture, Princeton's center of teaching and research in architectural design, history, and theory, provides students with a course of study that reflects contemporary and emerging issues in architecture. Its roots reach back to 1832 when Professor Joseph Henry, an amateur architect and scientist, taught a course on the history of architecture. The formal study of architecture began in 1882 when the Department of Art and Archaeology was founded and Professor Allan Marquand offered a course in the history of Christian architecture. The School of Architecture was opened in 1919; its official opening delayed due to World War I. Principal degrees offered by the school include a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.), a Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The master of architecture program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), is intended for students who plan to practice architecture professionally. The curriculum for the master's degree emphasizes the synthesis of architectural scholarship and design expertise. Architecture is approached as a cultural discipline, with an emphasis on the pivotal role the architect plays in the development and construction of buildings, cities, and landscapes. Students are encouraged to construct a personal course of study that concentrates on the areas of knowledge that are of particular interest to them while including a set of courses that lead to an understanding of the broad range of issues essential to the education of every architect. Graduates of the program are qualified to take the state professional licensing examination after the completion of a required internship. The four-year doctoral program focuses on the history, theory, and criticism of architecture and urbanism, landscape, and building technology. The approach is interdisciplinary, covering a range of possible areas of concentration. Working closely with the faculty of the school and appropriate departments at the University, students build individual programs of study leading to the General Examination, which is normally administered at the end of the second year, and then to the research and writing of the dissertation. Students at the School of Architecture benefit from its small size and thorough integration with the University community. In recent years, the school has enrolled approximately 70 graduate students and roughly the same number of undergraduates. Its curriculum has always responded to changes in the profession and in architectural education, providing a flexible academic framework. The School of Architecture has remained committed to its original goals: providing undergraduates with a well-rounded liberal arts education and a strong basis for additional studies in architecture, and offering graduate students a comprehensive education in design, technology, and the history and theories of architecture. Most of the school's facilities are housed in the Architecture Building, including undergraduate and graduate design studios, seminar rooms, Betts Auditorium, an exhibition gallery, faculty and administrative offices, the School of Architecture Library, the Audio-Visual Library, and the Computer-Aided Design and Imaging Facility. Additional facilities for work related to building and construction technologies are located in the Architecture Laboratory, a facility separate from the Architecture Building. |