Learning Goals in the Architectural Studies Major

Architectural Studies program embraces a broad understanding of architecture as inseparable from the cultural landscape - the intersection of natural landscapes with built forms and social life. Its structure prompts majors to deepen their understanding of cultural landscape by integrating insights from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

When they graduate, Architectural Studies majors will:

• Be able to interpret individual buildings in light of their larger settings (building site, neighborhood, city, and even region), while also paying attention to the furniture and fittings that mediate the inhabitants' occupation of a given space.
• Use a variety of disciplinary approaches to investigate the ways in which the cultural landscape shapes our sense of ourselves, our interactions with others, and our understanding of the wider world.
• Be able to communicate effectively about architecture verbally and in writing, applying complex forms of analysis in oral presentations and essay-length papers using clear and concise prose.
• Be able to design and execute a research project: define a question; employ appropriate technologies to locate pertinent primary and secondary sources; identify a suitable analytical method; and apply that method to write a well-argued, fully-documented interpretive paper.
• Be able to contextualize their discipline-based knowledge and experience outside the college setting.