UTSA master of architecture program receives accreditation
(Nov. 21, 2001)--The UTSA School of Architecture master of architecture program (preprofessional plus two years) was granted an initial term of accreditation at the October 2001 meeting of the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
"This is an impressive milestone for UTSA's architecture program," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "San Antonio and South Texas will benefit for many years because of the work of professionally trained architects who learn their skills in the very region where many will choose to practice."
The Master of Architecture is a first professional degree in architecture in preparation for becoming a licensed architect. It consists of a two-year sequence of courses preceded by a preprofessional, four-year degree, such as the UTSA undergraduate bachelor of science in architecture degree. The program gives students a thorough background in the principles and techniques of architectural design and theory related to contemporary practice and focuses on the profession’s expanding knowledge base.
Students in the program can select one of two specialization areas: international practice or historic preservation. International practice focuses on design and development, addressing sustainable design and professional practice within the context of international issues. Historic preservation acquaints students with preservation theory and techniques, including new construction and adaptive use approaches in community design. Both specializations place particular emphasis on the architecture of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley on both sides of the river.
The UTSA School of Architecture first began as a program in 1979 offering a four-year, preprofessional bachelor of fine arts degree in art and design with a concentration in architecture. The B.F.A. became a bachelor of science in architecture degree in 1993. The Division of Architecture and Interior Design was created in 1995 with the architecture program as the major division component. The master of architecture degree was approved in August 1995, and it formally began in January 1996.
NAAB first granted candidacy to the UTSA architecture program in June 1997 and renewed it in the fall of 1999. As a result of major administrative reorganization in the fall of 2000, the School of Architecture was formed from the Division of Architecture and Interior Design as part of the new College of Liberal and Fine Arts.
The School of Architecture takes advantage of the unique culture in South Texas and the borderlands of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. San Antonio offers a laboratory setting in which the architecture program focuses on the threshold between the particulars of an historic setting and the universal ideas as exemplified by contemporary theory. The teaching philosophy equips the students to be effective practitioners with the ability to judge and the confidence to ask the right questions.
For more information about the UTSA School of Architecture call Julius
M. Gribou, AIA, director, at (210) 458-4299 or visit the School
of Architecture Web site.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
2001
Winter Commencement set for Dec. 15
Graduate
research colloquium to be conducted Nov. 29
Rally
and Spirit Day tip off UTSA men's basketball season
Coach
Katrinka Crawford dies after fight with cancer
UTSA master of architecture program receives accreditation
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