University of Washington
Department of Architecture
The faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Architecture value excellence in research and teaching, the traditions of architecture within the context of social and technological change, the continuing legacy of craft in the making of architecture, an activist and community-based design process, and ethical action used to address human and environmental concerns. The department provides leadership in contemporary issues of design to the college, the university, and the region through innovative research and teaching and interdisciplinary collaboration.
http://arch.be.washington.edu/
Setting
Founded 4 November 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the Pacific coast. Located between Lake Washington and Lake Union, the Seattle campus and environs form a distinctive enclave within a city that is one of the most picturesque innovative and rapidly growing in the nation. The campus is within minutes of downtown Seattle, which is the central business district and cultural hub for a vibrant metropolis of approximately 3 million people. The University is comprised of three campuses: the Seattle campus includes sixteen schools and colleges whose faculty offer educational opportunities to students ranging from first-year undergraduates through doctoral-level candidates. There are over 4,000 teaching and research positions at the University of Washington and a total faculty and staff of 27,600. Student enrollment at the university's main campus in Seattle is over 39,000, of which about one fourth are graduate and professional students. The University of Washington Libraries system is one of the largest research libraries in North America, with one of the most innovative and well integrated electronic campus information networks in the world. Members of the university's teaching and research faculty are known nationally and internationally.
School Philosophy
The core value of the department is design, a fundamentally integrative activity that incorporates ethical, cultural, and ecological values with emerging technologies and advanced areas of research. We believe in a culture of creative research and teaching where design is a vehicle for research, and research is a vehicle for design. We value our presence in a multidisciplinary college within a public research university, and critically engage our city as a physical, cultural and ecological system. We also recognize the importance of diversity broadly construed to include the range of our research and teaching interests as well as the composition of our faculty and student body. The Department of Architecture is a community of educators, scholars, and professional architects. We advance the discipline and practice of architecture by educating architects who are responsive and responsible to society, culture and the environment. We advance architectural knowledge through research, scholarship, and critical practice, and use this knowledge to benefit local, regional, national and global communities.
Programs
The Department of Architecture is the largest of four departments in the College of Built EnvironmentsÑalong with Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction ManagementÑwith approximately 200 students, and more than 30 permanent faculty. The department offers a B.A. in Architecture, a B.A. in Architectural Design, an accredited M.Arch. for 2+ and 3+ year students, a 1+ year post-professional M.Arch. in High Performance Building, an M.S. in Architecture, certificates in Design Computing and Lighting Design, undergraduate dual degree program with Construction Management, and a graduate concurrent degree program with Landscape Architecture. The department also contributes to interdisciplinary certificate programs in Historic Preservation and Urban Design as well as a college-wide Ph.D. in the Built Environment. The B.A. in Architecture is an undergraduate degree program in architecture that can prepare students for graduate study in architecture and related fields such as construction management, landscape architecture, real estate, and urban planning, as well as careers in other fields. The goal for students in the Architecture major is to develop a liberal arts foundation in the discipline of architecture, which covers spatial reasoning, aesthetics, political and economic structures, socio-cultural influences, urbanism, landscape, and ecology and gives students the opportunity to concentrate their studies through history and theory, materials and making or sustainable technologies. The B.A. in Architectural Design is a pre-professional program that prepares students for graduate work in architecture and a wide variety of opportunities in other fields. It is comprised of two, two-year sequences. In the first two years students take preparatory architectural coursework and courses devoted to satisfying general education requirements. There is a competitive admissions process for the second two-year sequence. At this level, coursework focuses on architectural design, theory, the technology of human comfort, building systems, assemblies and materials and structures. Of particular importance are the sequential architectural design studios, where architectural problems are emphasized and other courses are strongly integrated. The accredited M.Arch. degree program educates students already grounded in the liberal arts and sciences to become registered, licensed architects who assume enlightened, responsible, and imaginative roles in society. Design studio projects in the M.Arch. program are often set within urban environments in the Puget Sound region and respond to and foster its distinctive sense of place. In addition, many studios focus on issues surrounding the making of architecture--tectonics, design/build, wood and metal craft--this reflects a strong craft heritage in the region. Studios frequently include a significant community service component, reflecting the department's commitment to the people of the city and the region. The requirements of the M.Arch. vary depending upon the candidate's academic and professional background. The M.S. in Architecture offers an advanced degree with research concentrations in Design Computing or History and Theory. Students in Design Computing work in the Design Machine Group (DMG), a collaborative research studio environment aimed at developing ideas that will shape the future of design and information technology. Students in History and Theory develop a research concentration in the architectural, cultural, and political forces that have shaped architecture.
of Focus
1. Community Design
2. Cross-Cultural Contexts > Human Experiences
3. Digital Design & Visualization
4. History | Theory | Criticism
5. Materials and Construction
6. Urbanism
Opportunities
Study Abroad
Facilities
Large-format Printer
Laser Cutter
Woodshop
3D Printing
Metalshop
CNC Milling
Fabrication Lab
Policies
Transfer Policies
Transfer students are an important part of the University of Washington Seattle community. Whether you are a prospective applicant, in the process of applying to the UW, or a current transfer student, this site will connect you to the resources and information you need to be successful: (http://webster.uaa.washington.edu/transfer/)
