Savannah College of Art and Design

SCAD exists to prepare talented students for professional careers, emphasizing learning through individual attention in a positively oriented university environment. The goal of the college is to nurture and cultivate the unique qualities of each student through an interesting curriculum, in an inspiring environment, under the leadership of involved professors. SCAD offers 38 majors and minors and awards Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts, and Master of Fine Arts degrees. The international faculty and student body have come from each of the 50 U.S. states and from more than 80 countries. Class sizes at SCAD are kept small to allow each student to receive individual attention from the faculty. Located in the Southeast coastal region of the United States and served by the Savannah-Hilton Head international airport, SCAD Savannah Campus is in close proximity to natural and historic sites and landscapes, yet well connected to major metropolitan areas. The semi-tropical conditions of the region provide mild climate and rich vegetation, which contribute to the unique built environment of the city of Savannah. The urban campus of SCAD in historic Savannah is composed mostly of renovated buildings that are fully integrated with the city's pedestrian friendly fabric. The architecturally rich setting of Savannah's Historic District is an ideal living laboratory for architecture and design students. The city streets, squares, and residential and public places are based on one of the most admired urban plans in the world. Because students experience the architecture and the city plan directly, they develop an intuitive understanding of the built environment. The college has been a recognized leader in restoring and adaptively reusing many of the city's architectural treasures. SCAD's School of Building Arts includes the departments of architecture, interior design, and historic preservation which offer both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the three fields in addition to courses in urban design, electronic design, and cultural landscape.

School Philosophy

Architectural education at SCAD continues to be responsive to the challenges posed by architecture as a discipline and as a profession in the United States and around the world. The architecture department remains agile and flexible to face global environmental, economic, technological, social, and cultural realities of the 21st century. The school is committed to design excellence—to build a nationally recognized scholarship agenda in art and design, digital technology and design, sustainable design and interdisciplinary design. The school mandates global awareness—to educate our students to establish a humanistic understanding of architecture and related disciplines and their relationship to a broader global perspective. The school demands critical thinking—to facilitate and foster our students' ability to engage in multiple modes of thinking through their architectural education and apply such thinking to a wide range of challenges and opportunities. The school advances ethical value—to commit to a holistic education which encompasses honoring of a social contract to advance basic human values. It includes life-long learning and the application of that knowledge to a richer, fuller life for our students as future practitioners and professionals. The school builds on communication skills—to prepare our students with the necessary means, methods, and attitudes to be effective communicators while pursuing many spheres of creative activity.The school promotes leadership—to provide a strong and instrumental relationship with the profession to educate our students for leadership roles in future practice.