Lawrence W. Speck
MArch
Dean

D. Andrew Vernooy
MSE, MArch
Assistant Dean

General Information

The School of Architecture is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. The professional degree programs, Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture, are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board and satisfy the registration requirements of the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. The Bachelor of Science in Interior Design is accredited by the Foundation of Interior Design Education and Research. The Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning is accredited by the American Planning Association.

Purpose

The School of Architecture seeks to assist those who wish to develop knowledge, sensitivity, and skill in design, planning, and construction so that as architects and interior designers they may improve the human environment. The curriculum offers opportunities for a broad education in professional subjects as well as in the arts and the humanities. Through avenues that stress solving actual and theoretical problems, the school seeks to enhance the knowledge and skill necessary to link understanding to experience, theory to practice, and art to science in ways that respond to human needs, aspirations, and sensibilities. Through its consortium of architects, architecture educators, and architectural researchers, the school provides a service to society and to the architecture profession by advancing the state of the art in architectural design and technology.

History

The University began offering professional degrees in architecture in 1910 within the College of Engineering. The School of Architecture was established in 1948 as a division of the College of Engineering and became an autonomous school of the University in September, 1951. Graduate study in architecture began at the University in 1912. More than four thousand undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture and planning have been conferred.

Education in community and regional planning was first offered as an undergraduate study option in the School of Architecture from 1948 to 1957. The Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning was formally approved in October 1959; the Doctor of Philosophy, in April 1995.

Education in interior design was first offered in 1939 within the degree of Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. In 1992 the College of Natural Sciences created the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design degree program; in the fall of 1998 this program will be revised and transferred to the School of Architecture.

Facilities for Study and Research

The School of Architecture is centrally located on campus in three adjacent and historically significant buildings: Battle Hall (1911) and Sutton Hall (1918, renovated in 1982), designed by distinguished American architect Cass Gilbert; and Goldsmith Hall (1933, expanded and renovated in 1988), designed by noted French architect Paul Philippe Cret, one of the planners of the original forty-acre campus.

The Architecture and Planning Library, a branch of the General Libraries, maintains more than 45,000 volumes and bound periodicals, several thousand professional reports, all major architecture and planning journals, and the Architectural Drawings Collection of more than 120,000 drawings and photographs. The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, one of the world's foremost institutions for literary and cultural research, houses a large collection of rare architecture books, including the classics of architectural literature.

The Architecture Reference Center contains audiovisual equipment, technical and design reference material, and almost 200,000 photographic slides of architectural and related works.

The Center for American Architecture and Design, established in the School of Architecture in 1982, provides support and resources for the scholarly study of American architecture, particularly that of the Southwest. Through lectures, exhibitions, seminars, symposia, fellowship support, and the collection of research materials, the center encourages a community of architecture scholarship.

Computer-aided design and research opportunities are provided by the school's computer laboratory, which maintains microcomputer equipment and several terminals interfaced with the extensive academic computing facilities of Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services. The Winedale Historical Center, a museum of cultural history housed in restored nineteenth-century buildings eighty miles east of Austin, provides in-residence research opportunities in Texas architectural history, preservation, and restoration. The proximity of Austin to Latin America and the resources of the University's Institute of Latin American Studies and Benson Latin American Collection provide exceptional opportunities for the study of Latin American architecture.

Study Abroad

The School of Architecture offers several opportunities to study architecture, planning, and urban design in settings very different from those familiar to United States residents. Students may participate in these programs after completing the third year of their degree programs. The school offers a broad range of scholarships to help students take advantage of these programs.

The summer study abroad programs take place in Oxford and the United Kingdom and at the Santa Chiara Study Center near Florence. Fall semester programs allow students to travel to Europe or Japan; in the spring, students may study in Mexico, Italy, or Tokyo.

More information on these programs is available in the office of the associate dean for undergraduate programs.

Student Organizations

The Architecture and Planning Student Council represents the student body. All students are automatically members, with representatives elected to the executive committee, including the school's representative to the American Institute of Architecture Students and the student representative to the American Planning Association. Components of the student council include the Architecture Graduate Student Association and the Planning Student Organization.

Tau Sigma Delta is the national honorary society for architecture students. Alpha Rho Chi is the national architecture fraternity, and Alpha Alpha Gamma is the national architecture fraternity for women.

Honors

University Honors

The designation University Honors, awarded at the end of each long-session semester, gives official recognition and commendation to students whose grades for the semester indicate distinguished academic accomplishment. Both the quality and the quantity of work done are considered. Criteria for University Honors are given in chapter 1.

Graduation with University Honors

Students who, upon graduation, have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement are eligible to graduate with University Honors. Criteria for graduation with University Honors are given in chapter 1.

School of Architecture Recognition Awards

Award: Alpha Rho Chi Medal

Donor: Alpha Rho Chi, honorary architectural fraternity

Eligibility: Graduating student who has shown an ability for leadership, has performed willing service to the school, and gives promise of professional merit through attitude and personality

Award: American Institute of Architects' Medal

Donor: American Institute of Architects

Eligibility: Graduating student, in recognition of scholastic achievement, character, and promise of professional ability

Award: Architecture books

Donor: Robert Leon White Memorial Fund, established by Mrs. Robert Leon White

Eligibility: Outstanding graduating students selected by the faculty

Financial Assistance Available through the School of Architecture

Scholarship funds established by individuals, foundations, and the University are available to students currently enrolled in the School of Architecture. These include the Robert Leon White Memorial Fund (for student awards), the Jorge Luis Divino Centennial Scholarship, the John S. Chase Presidential Scholarship, the Janet C. and Wolf E. Jessen Presidential Scholarship, the Hal Box Fellowship in Architecture, the John Buck Company and First Chicago Investment Scholarship in honor of architect Thomas H. Beeby, the Drury Blakeley Alexander Traveling Fellowship in Architecture, the Mike and Maxine Mebane Endowed Traveling Scholarship in Architecture, the Philip Creer Student Fellowship in Historic Preservation, the Jack H. Morgan Scholarship, the J. M. West Texas Corporation Fellowship, the Max Brooks Memorial Scholarship, and several scholarships provided by the American Institute of Architects, the American Architectural Foundation, the Texas Society of Architects, and the Texas Architectural Foundation. Additional information is available in the Office of the Dean.

Incoming students may wish to contact local chapters of the American Institute of Architects and of the University of Texas Ex-Students' Association, as well as other civic organizations, for information about locally sponsored scholarships.

Admission and Registration

Admission

Admission and readmission of all students to the University is the responsibility of the director of admissions. Information about admission to the University is given in General Information.

Undergraduate admission to the School of Architecture is limited to the number of students to whom a professional education of high quality in a design studio atmosphere can be provided. Because of enrollment restrictions dictated by the availability of faculty members and facilities in the School of Architecture and limitations on nonresident enrollment imposed by the Board of Regents, some applicants may be denied admission even though they meet the general requirements of the University. Students who are not admitted to the School of Architecture may not pursue any degree offered by the school. Applicants to the School of Architecture should request an information packet from the School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1160.

Freshman Admission Requirements

Texas-resident high school students have priority over nonresidents in admission decisions. All applicants are considered on the basis of their SAT I or American College Testing Program score, their high school class rank, and the information provided on the Application for Freshman Admission. All applicants must fulfill the high school unit requirements given in General Information. Texas-resident high school students in the lower half of their graduating class are not eligible for freshman admission to the School of Architecture; nonresidents in the lower three-quarters of their graduating class are not eligible for freshman admission to the School of Architecture or to the University.

Application Procedures for Freshman Admission

The freshman application procedure is initiated by designating the University of Texas at Austin as a recipient of SAT or ACT scores. All students are required to submit an entrance examination score regardless of high school class rank. When scores are received from the testing agency, the Office of Admissions sends the student a freshman application form to be completed and returned with an official high school transcript showing class rank. To be considered for admission to the School of Architecture, applicants should enter 909200 (architecture) or 908000 (architecture/interior design) as their major code on the application. All application materials must be submitted to the Office of Admissions by the deadline to apply for admission to the University for the fall semester; this date is given in General Information. Applicants to the dual degree program offered with the Plan II Honors Program must meet an earlier deadline.

Students in Other Colleges of the University

Students currently enrolled in other University degree programs who wish to enroll in a degree program in the School of Architecture must submit a Change-of-Major Application to the associate dean for undergraduate studies, School of Architecture, by March 1 to be considered for admission for the following fall semester. To be considered for change-of-major admission, the student must have completed at least twenty-four semester hours of University coursework and must have a University grade point average of at least 3.25.

Transfer Admission

Students applying to transfer from other universities to the School of Architecture should use 909200 (architecture) or 908000 (architecture/interior design) as their intended major code in completing the Application for Transfer Admission to the University. All application materials must be submitted to the Office of Admissions by the deadline to apply for admission to the University for the fall semester; this date is given in General Information. To be considered for transfer admission to the School of Architecture, the applicant must have completed at least thirty semester hours of college coursework and must have an overall grade point average of at least 3.00 on a four-point scale.

Summer Entry

The School of Architecture considers students for admission once a year, for the following fall semester. A student who is admitted for the fall semester may enroll in the preceding summer session, provided the student asks the Office of Admissions to change his or her admission date from fall to summer. An admitted student who is unable to attend in either the summer session or the fall semester must reapply for admission to enroll at a later time. A student may not enter the School of Architecture in the spring semester.

Transfer Credit

Transfer students with design studio credit from another school must submit samples of their design work to the associate dean for undergraduate programs before they may register for a design studio. On the basis of this work, the associate dean determines the level at which the student enters the design sequence and assigns credit toward the degree if appropriate. Transfer students must also meet all requirements prescribed for the degree, including those described in the sections "Registration for Advanced Architectural Design Courses" and "Third-Year Portfolio Requirement." Additional information is available from the School of Architecture.

Duration of Programs

The Bachelor of Architecture degree program is structured around a core of nine semesters of design coursework and normally requires five years of study. (The dual degree program with architectural engineering normally requires six years; the dual degree program with the Plan II Honors Program normally requires five years, including three summer sessions.) Only one studio may be taken at a time, and few are offered in the summer. Architectural design studios are open only to students accepted into an architecture degree program. To complete the Bachelor of Architecture degree, students without transfer credit in architectural design should plan to be in residence ten semesters from the time they are admitted and enrolled in Architecture 310K.

The Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies degree program normally requires four years of study. Since this program includes six semesters of architectural design coursework, students without transfer credit in architectural design should plan to spend at least six semesters in residence.

The Bachelor of Science in Interior Design degree program normally requires four years of study. Since this program includes eight semesters of design coursework, students without transfer credit in interior design should plan to spend at least eight semesters in residence.

Registration

General Information gives information about registration, adding and dropping courses, transfer from one division of the University to another, and auditing a course. The Course Schedule, published before registration each semester and summer session, includes registration instructions, advising locations, and the times, places, and instructors of classes. The Course Schedule and General Information are sold at campus-area bookstores. They are also published on the World Wide Web and are accessible through the registrar's Web site, http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/.

Students should carefully verify that they have completed all course prerequisites, should consult the staff of the associate dean for undergraduate programs before registering, and should be sure to include in the semester's work the courses that are prerequisites for those to be taken in later semesters.

Minimum Number of Hours in the Long Session

Students must register each semester for at least twelve semester hours of coursework prescribed for the degree. Registration for fewer hours must be approved by the staff of the associate dean for undergraduate programs.

Registration for Advanced Architectural Design Courses

To register for advanced design courses, a student seeking the Bachelor of Architecture degree must have completed all of the work prescribed for the preceding years, with the exception of electives, and must satisfy the third-year portfolio requirement. The student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.50 and must meet the prerequisite for each course.

Third-Year Portfolio Requirement

All students, whether continuing in or transferring to the School of Architecture, must obtain written authorization from the office of the associate dean for undergraduate programs to enter advanced design courses. Authorization is gained by submitting to the faculty a satisfactory portfolio. This portfolio should include the student's best work completed in design and visual communication courses. Supplementary material that will provide useful information to the reviewing committee in evaluating the student's progress toward the Bachelor of Architecture degree may also be included. The portfolio is submitted by continuing students during the second semester of the third year and by transfer students before registering. Guidelines for submission of the portfolio, including the submission deadline, are provided to first-semester third-year students; they are also available from the office of the associate dean.

The reviewing committee, at its discretion, may require a student to take additional coursework before being permitted to register for advanced design courses or may require the student to undertake specific courses in the fourth and fifth years.

Advising

In the School of Architecture, the office of the associate dean for undergraduate programs is responsible for providing information and advice to undergraduate students. An important aspect of the advising system is the third-year portfolio requirement described above. The student should also consult the sections "Sequence of Work" and "The Degree Audit."

Contents  |  Next File

Undergraduate catalog

Contents  |  Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4
Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6  |  Chapter 7  |  Chapter 8  |  Chapter 9
Chapter 10  |  Chapter 11  |  Chapter 12  |  Chapter 13
Texas Common Course Numbering System (Appendix A)
Appendix B

Related information

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