University of Oregon
Department of Architecture
The University of Oregon Department of Architecture offers accredited undergraduate and graduate professional degrees and research-oriented post-professional degrees in architecture and interior architecture with an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and ecological design. Students are actively engaged in curriculum development, extracurricular programs, and community service. Graduates are broadly educated designers who attain leadership positions in the professions of architecture, interior design and allied fields.
http://architecture.uoregon.edu/Setting
The University of Oregon (UO) is the flagship institution of the Oregon University System and the only Oregon member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. As a comprehensive research university with responsibility for leadership in the arts and sciences and in the professions of architecture and allied arts, business, law, journalism, music, dance, and education with academic support systems including libraries, interdisciplinary programs and research centers the UO provides a rich context for the study of architecture. The main campus, recognized nationally for its proactive stance on environmental issues, is located in the city of Eugene, at the southern end of the beautiful Willamette River valley of Oregon. With a reputation for being one of the top 10 livable college towns and the greenest city in the country, Eugene is an ideal host community for an architecture program with a longstanding commitment to sustainability and community engagement. The UO in Portland is the home to the department's Portland Program where architecture students can study in the center of downtown Portland, one of the world's most progressive urban centers and an international model for environmentally and socially conscious urban development. The value placed upon interdisciplinary linkages in academic life is reflected in the structure of the curriculum as well as in the relationship of the department to the school and to the university. Building on the liberal arts mission of the university, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts (A&AA) has from its founding emphasized the humanistic traditions of architecture. Undergraduate students enrolled in architecture programs have access to a robust menu of general education courses and opportunities to minor in other disciplines. Graduate students with special interests in interdisciplinary studies have access to graduate studies and faculty throughout the university. Academic units within A&AA include the departments of Architecture; Art; Art History; Planning, Public Policy and Management and Landscape Architecture as well as programs in Historic Preservation, Interior Architecture, Product Design, Digital Arts and Arts Administration. The department's place within the school affords architecture students with extensive contact with other design fields. Undergraduate minors and concurrent enrollment in master's degrees in art history, interior architecture, historic preservation and landscape architecture are common.
School Philosophy
A&AA is dedicated to advancing the understanding and quality of visual culture and the built, natural, and social environments through excellent and distinctive teaching, research, and creative endeavors. Grounded in a unique multi-disciplinary structure, A&AA is a diverse, collegial learning community of faculty, students and staff. We seek to enhance the lives of individuals and communities through endeavors that stem from intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and broad inquiry, rooted in the inter-relatedness of theory, history, and practice. In support of this mission, A&AA affirms the following values: Excellence, Open Discourse, Inclusiveness, Cooperation, Inter-Disciplinary Experience and Responsibility. The Department of Architecture is dedicated to recognizing designers' accountability for the impact of their actions on environmental, social, and cultural systems. Students, faculty and staff participate in a tradition where studio teaching serves as the primary means of integrating all design issues e.g., social and behavioral, environmental, contextual, technological, theoretical, economic, political, and professional, that together result in meaningful design achievements. The programs in architecture and interior architecture emphasize collaboration and a noncompetitive but rigorous learning environment. Studio work is evaluated using individualized discussion and written assessments rather than letter grades, and a supportive studio culture is encouraged through facilitated peer teaching and teamwork. Intellectual inquiry is the basis for design exploration and the department promotes design excellence without dictating a specific design aesthetic or ideology. The department is nationally recognized for the achievements of its faculty and students in innovation and environmental sustainability research including the design of buildings, interiors, and communities. Student organizations assume leadership roles in curriculum development, extracurricular programs, and community service. Graduates are broadly educated designers who attain leadership positions in the professions of architecture, interior design and allied fields.
Programs
The curriculum of the department's architecture and interior architecture programs requires the development of detailed professional skills and sound professional judgment. Accordingly, the undergraduate program includes a strong liberal education. Students develop a broad base of knowledge that will enable them to become contributing members of society whose insights are not limited by their professional education. Graduate students are selected for admission on the basis of their previous academic preparation and their potential contribution to the professional program. The primary objective within the professional component of the program is the development of integrative design skills. Every member of the tenure-related faculty teaches both design studio and subject courses. This is one of the unique and most important traditions of the department. Because all faculty members, no matter what subject areas they teach, also teach design studios, not only are design studios more comprehensive, but also subject-area courses stress the implications of the specific topic as an integrative aspect of the design process. The NAAB-accredited degrees (B.Arch., M.Arch. II, M.Arch. III) require ten quarter-term studio courses. The sequential completion of these studios and the associated subject courses defines the length of the graduate programs. In the undergraduate program the studios are distributed two per year over the full five-year period. This structure gives students time to mature as designers as well as opportunities.
of Focus
1. Building Technologies
2. Community Design
3. Urbanism 4. Design/Build
4. Interior Design
5. Urbanism
6. Sustainability & High-Performance Built Environments
7. Resilience
Opportunities
Facilities
Policies
Transfer Policies
Transfer Applicants—Students who have completed 36 or more quarter credits (or 24 or more semester credits) by the time of expected enrollment at the UO. College GPA is used to evaluate academic record—High School GPA and SAT/ACT scores are not required.
Advanced Transfer Applicants—Students who have completed at least one year of architectural design from an NAAB-accredited degree program. College GPA is used to evaluate academic record—High School GPA and SAT/ACT scores are not required.
Note: Transfer applicants should check course equivalencies: (https://registrar.uoregon.edu/transfer-students#transfer-course-equivalencies)