Dean of the School, 120 Vol Walker Hall, 575-4945
Associate Dean, 209 Vol Walker Hall, 575-4705
Dean: Daniel D. Bennett, M.Arch. in Urban Design, Rice University
Associate Dean: Michael J. Buono, M.Arch in Urban Design, Washington University
The School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas houses the two professional design programs of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The Architecture program was founded in 1946 and has been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) since 1958. The Landscape Architecture program was established in 1975 and has been accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) since 1983.
The School's two programs are designed to combine traditional models of professional education with innovative teaching and a broad range of course offerings to equip graduates with the knowledge required for the challenges of a changing world. Design studio instruction through a carefully planned sequence provides for the educational experiences which allow students to pursue both traditional and non-traditional forms of practice. Through exposure to fundamental principles of problem solving techniques, the curriculum strives to bring to each student the concept of architecture or landscape architecture as a creative and relevant pursuit through which the graduate can enrich the general culture. Studio work surveys issues of design in built and natural settings as the context for complex social, physical, and cultural relations.
Urban studios are offered during the fourth year of study in a variety of settings away from the campus. Options include a semester in the school's facility near the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, and exchange programs with Brighton University, the University of Central England in the United Kingdom, and Anahuac University in Mexico City, Mexico.
The School of Architecture is comprised of two academic departments: Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
The Architecture Department and the School's administrative offices are housed in Vol Walker Hall, the former university library building which has been extensively remodeled to meet the needs of the departments and School. The Landscape Architecture Department is located in Memorial Hall. Both departments share lecture and studio space in both buildings.
The university location in a relatively undeveloped area of northwest Arkansas now experiencing rapid growth and change affords unusual opportunity to study the impact of urbanization in a rural setting. The School includes as part of its program field trips, guest lectures, research assignments, and other teaching techniques oriented toward major urban and rural problems as a means to broaden the educational base of its students.
The School of Architecture also houses the University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC). The Center was founded in 1995 through a gift to the School of Architecture by the Harvey and Bernice Jones Charitable Trust. The center utilizes students, faculty, and professional staff to provide technical assistance to the towns and communities of the State of Arkansas in such areas as town and environmental planning, low and moderate income housing, and community and policy development. In addition to providing design leadership, the center also gives students the opportunity to work directly with leaders throughout the state to solve real problems in the context of actual situations and conditions.
The School holds memberships in the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), organizations comprised of North American schools of architecture and landscape architecture.
The design studio sequence is the core of each discipline of the School of Architecture. Fifty-five percent of the total number of required professional credit hours are contained in this sequence of courses. Each student spends three afternoons in a design studio, and complementary lecture courses are arranged and taught so that knowledge gained in lecture transfers to the work in design studios. This method is designed to develop and nurture the intellectual and creative skills of students in such a way that they can approach problem solving in a logical, analytical, systematic, and creative manner.
The architect must be able to communicate with clients and conceptualize their needs, to present ideas graphically, to maintain technical knowledge of building materials and construction, to negotiate with contractors, to administrate construction, and to develop new commissions. One must fulfill a multitude of roles, whether practicing alone or as a team member in a large organization.
The design studio consists of a series of projects of increasing complexity, all requiring three-dimensional problem-solving, conceptualization, and final presentation to the studio critic, other faculty members, and fellow students. The amount of material to be covered, the fast pace of assignments, and the pressure of critical reviews by faculty and other students all combine to produce a highly-charged and energetic studio atmosphere.
Landscape architects approach the design of outdoor space from the same highly organized point of view that architects use to shape buildings and interior spaces. Design solutions are determined by the intended function, natural, physical, and climatological attributes, and the appropriate aesthetic character of each outdoor environment. Projects are broad in scope and range in scale from residential to urban and regional complexity.
The School of Architecture's publication collection is housed in the Fine Arts Library and located in the Fine Arts Building. This library contains approximately 50,000 catalogued volumes relating to architecture and areas of environmental design, art, music, and other related subjects. Approximately sixty-five professional journal subscriptions are housed in the library. The University of Arkansas library system (Fayetteville campus) contains over one million volumes including a number of which are pertinent to environmental issues.
A collection of over sixty-five thousand slides relating to architecture, architectural history, landscape, and urban design is housed in the School's slide library which is located in Vol Walker Hall.
The School of Architecture offers five-year professional programs in Architecture and Landscape Architecture; each program culminates in a professional degree, the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) or Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (B.Landscape Arch.). This structure offers students from other majors and those from other institutions of higher education the option of transferring into the professional programs after approximately one year of undergraduate study.
The School cooperates with the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences in offering major course work leading to a four-year, non-professional Bachelor of Arts degree in Architectural Studies.
All entering students (including freshman, international, and transfer students) admitted to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, are eligible for admission to the pre-professional program in the School of Architecture. The requirement for completion of the Environmental Design I and II pre-professional design studios may be fulfilled by a two-semester fall-spring sequence, or by an equivalent and intensive twelve-week summer program. Students may elect either, but enrollments in the fall studios are limited with selection based on fulfillment of prerequisites and application dates. Currently 40 students are selected from all applicants interested in Architecture, and 20 students are selected from all applicants interested in Landscape Architecture. Priority will be based on high school or transfer GPA, ACT, or SAT scores and given to those who make application prior to March 1. Applicants selected for the fall studio are encouraged to attend the first scheduled School of Architecture orientation to ensure a space in the fall-spring environmental design studio sequence.1 Students who are identified as requiring developmental work because of low ACT or SAT scores or university administered math placement examinations or who are identified as requiring courses to remove deficiencies may not register for courses carrying ENVD, ARCH, or LARC departmental designations.2 Upon completion of required developmental work and maintaining a grade-point average of 2.00 or more on at least 12 credit hours, students may enroll in environmental design (ENVD), architecture (ARCH), or landscape architecture (LARC) courses.
Applicants to either of the School's professional programs, at the second year, must have completed at least 30 hours of college level work from an accredited institution acceptable toward degree credit (exclusive of remedial, orientation, or repetitive course work). For the Architecture program, these 30 hours must include six hours of English composition, four hours of physics I, four hours of physical science with laboratory (physics II recommended), three hours of mathematics, Theory of Environmental Design I and II, and the first two Design Studios. For the Landscape Architecture program, these 30 hours must include six hours of English composition, three hours of mathematics, Theory of Environmental Design I and II, and the first two design studios.
Admission to the professional programs is limited and is based upon grade-point average and a faculty review of work accomplished in ENVD 1015 and 1025 or equivalent courses. Applicants who have grade-point averages below 2.00 are not accepted. Currently up to 54 students are accepted into the Architecture Program every fall semester. A maximum of 18 students are accepted each year into the Landscape Architecture Program. Grade-point averages will include grades from work at other institutions which are accepted toward degree credit.
Grade-point averages for applicants to the Professional programs are based upon an overall grade-point average or upon equal evaluation of (a) overall grade-point average of all academic work accepted toward degree credit, and (b) grades in Theory of Environmental Design I and II, and the first two Design Studios. No applicant may be accepted with a grade-point average below 2.00 in either (a) or (b).
Applications to the professional program should be completed as early as possible but not later than July 1st preceding the Fall semester for which admission is sought (requirements being completed over the summer sessions will be acknowledged). Applications may be made by mail or in person at the Office of the Associate Dean, School of Architecture, 209 Vol Walker Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701. The School will notify applicants who have been accepted one week prior to the beginning of classes or sooner.
Students may elect to begin the year of pre-professional work at the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas, or at any accredited institution of higher education. Students who choose to complete this year of work at other institutions in the State of Arkansas should take the required English composition, physics, math, social science, and fine arts/humanities courses.
Regardless of where the pre-professional work is done, 30 hours or more of course work must be completed to qualify for admission to a professional program of the School of Architecture. See "Admission to the Professional Program," page 153. Only work acceptable toward degree credit in the School curriculum will be accepted as part of the 30 hours of course work required. Students who desire to attend other institutions must still take 12 credit hours of pre-professional environmental design courses at Fayetteville. (See NOTE below.)
The following program is recommended in planning a year of pre-professional work. (Course numbers refer to courses at the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas.)
6 hours English composition (ENGL 1013, 1023).
3 hours Mathematics (MATH 2043 or 2053).
12 hours Environmental Design (ENVD 1015, 1025, 1211, and 1221).
3 hours American National Government, U.S. History, or Social Science (WCIV 1003, 1013; PLSC 2003; HIST 2003, 2013; ANTH 1013; ECON 2013, 2143; GEOG 2103, 2203, PSYC 2003; SOCI 2013, 2033).
8 hours Science Core Requirement (PHYS 1044/1040L is required and PHYS 1054/1050L is highly recommended)
NOTE: The specific courses shown as Design Studio I and II, Introduction to Theory of Environmental Design I and II in this catalog must be taken at the School of Architecture prior to acceptance into the professional program; see "Admission to the Professional Program," page 153. Alternate courses recommended for students at other institutions may be utilized as electives in the curriculum.
Persons who have attended other accredited schools of architecture or landscape architecture should apply to the Associate Dean's office in the School of Architecture enclosing a transcript of work completed and arrange an interview. Studio placement of transfer students will be made only after completion of a personal interview. To become eligible for advanced design studio placement, a transfer student must present a 3.00 grade-point average in all design studio work from another accredited program of architecture or landscape architecture. Exemptions from any curriculum requirement, as well as the transfer of professional course work, will be considered by the appropriate faculty upon examination of a portfolio and/or other pertinent materials. Consult the Associate Dean's office regarding submittal requirements. School policy requires that, as a minimum, the last two years of Design Studio be completed at this School of Architecture.
Acceptance into the professional programs in the School of Architecture is contingent upon admission to the University of Arkansas as outlined in "Admission to the University." International students must present a TOEFL score of 550 to become eligible for acceptance into the School. Lack of knowledge or misinterpretation of policies and/or regulations on the part of individual students will not be considered a valid reason for not fulfilling requirements. Ultimate responsibility for completion of entrance requirements rests with each student.
In addition to meeting the requirements for the architecture professional program, students must have satisfied the MATH 2043 (Survey of Calculus) or MATH 2053 (Finite Mathematics) requirement prior to taking ARCH 2124.
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