Graduate School of Architecture

The academic programs of the School of Architecture encompass the broad range of concerns, disciplines, and sensitivities expressed in Thomas Jefferson’s timeless design for the University, his “academical village,” which is widely considered to be one of the most significant achievements of American architecture.

Four distinct, yet increasingly interrelated, disciplines provide a rich setting for professional education. Architecture and Landscape Architecture seek to integrate the academic and professional aspects of their disciplines in the belief that design skills must be responsive to cultural, historical, and physical context as much as to functional need. Architectural History aims to develop an awareness of the value of the past. Urban and Environmental Planning addresses community sustainability and the balance between environment, economy, and social equity. The Common Course (SARC 600), a course required of graduate students in all departments, explores themes common to architecture, architectural history, landscape architecture, and urban and environmental planning. In addition to this and other courses regularly offered in each discipline, the curricula provide ample interdisciplinary opportunities for the exploration of such diverse contemporary issues as urbanism, energy conservation, social equity, environmental protection, preservation, and adaptive re-use.

The School of Architecture offers four graduate programs leading to the Master of Architecture, the Master of Landscape Architecture, the Master of Architectural History, and the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning. In conjunction with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, it also offers a Doctor of Philosophy in the History of Architecture. The programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board, and the Planning Accreditation Board; and the school holds memberships in the Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the National Council for Preservation Education, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition to the graduate degree programs, the school offers two interdisciplinary programs of study, one leading to the Certificate in Historic Preservation and the other to the Certificate in American Urbanism.

The full-time faculty numbers about 45, augmented by 20 to 30 visiting lecturers and critics from this country and abroad who bring to students their varied perspectives and wide-ranging experience. The student body averages approximately 530 students, of whom about 200 are graduate students.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professorship in Architecture has been funded since 1965 by an annual grant from the same foundation that has guided the restoration and preservation of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. The foundation also awards an annual medal and honorarium to a practitioner or teacher of international distinction and has established two fellowships that are awarded annually to outstanding graduate students in the School of Architecture.

The Institute for Environmental Negotiation, established in 1981, is affiliated with the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning and has become a major resource for the resolution of land-use and environmental conflicts. In addition, the institute awards three or four assistantships each year that provide graduate students with training and experience in negotiation and consensus building.

Mr. Jefferson’s legacy seems as appropriate and alive today as it did in 1819 when the University was founded; and it is one of the imperatives of that legacy, and a central educational aim of this school, that students understand their culture as well as their profession. Since we expect to play major roles in the analysis, planning, design, development, and protection of the physical environment, nationally and internationally, we are charged with that most difficult of tasks: the development of “the whole person,” one who understands how a craft is connected to a society, who appreciates the larger context of life, and who seeks elegant and practical approaches to its ever-changing needs. Jefferson sought “useful knowledge” and was able to fashion that knowledge artfully. We take that as our tradition also. Seen in this light, “profession” is raised to the level of art, and when that art serves life, lasting culture results.

Address

Graduate School of Architecture
Campbell Hall
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400122
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4122
Admissions: (434) 924-6442
www.virginia.edu/arch

Facilities

Campbell Hall, the School of Architecture building, was completed in 1970 and is part of a complex of buildings forming a Fine Arts Precinct that also includes the Department of Art, the Department of Drama, and the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library. Campbell Hall provides well-equipped studio work areas, exhibition spaces, lecture halls, and seminar rooms. The school has two computer-graphics and computer-aided design laboratories with high-resolution graphics. These facilities support software applications in computer aided design, GIS digital mapping and modeling, site analysis, image processing, rendering, animation, structural analysis, lighting analysis, energy analysis, statistics, word processing, spreadsheet, and other areas. They also contain Macintosh, and Windows computers with Internet access and maintain digital voice and video links with other research laboratories in the United States and Europe. The design studio space has network connections for individual computers. Other research support facilities include digital modeling laboratories, a CNC fabrication laboratory, and a woodworking shop.

The Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library, one of eleven libraries of the University of Virginia Library system, serves the School of Architecture, the Department of Art and Art History and the Department of Drama. The collections include 155,000 volumes, including technical reports, videos, CD-ROMs, and other electronic resources. We also have an image collection of 200,000 slides and a growing digital image collection. The collections cover all aspects related to architecture, landscape architecture, architectural history, urban and environmental planning, and the visual and performing arts. The Fine Arts Library provides patrons with access to all University Library resources, including government documents, maps, rare books and manuscripts, many other online resources, as well as a gateway to the Internet. Special emphasis is placed on teaching students and faculty to conduct research utilizing online resources. Reference services are provided to the entire University community and to practitioners throughout the Commonwealth and the nation.

Student Honors and Awards

Both the school and professional organizations from the fields of architectural history, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and environmental planning recognize outstanding achievements with the following honors and awards.

The Stanley and Helen Abbott Award is awarded by the faculty of Landscape Architecture to graduating students in that program for outstanding promise in the field of landscape architecture.

The Alpha Rho Chi Medal is awarded annually to the graduating student in Architecture who has shown leadership ability, has performed willing service for the school and department, and who demonstrates promise of real professional merit through his or her attitude and personality.

The American Institute of Architects School Medal is awarded annually to the outstanding graduate student in Architecture. The award is supported by an endowment fund established in 1914 in the estate of the late Henry Adams.

The American Planning Association Award is presented annually to the graduate and undergraduate students exhibiting outstanding achievement in urban and environmental planning.

The American Institute of Certified Planner Award is presented annually to a graduate and undergraduate student demonstrating outstanding promise as a professional planner.

The Virginia Citizens Planners Association Award is presented annually to a graduate and undergraduate student exhibiting the ideal of service to the public interest through planning.

The American Society of Landscape Architects Certificates of Honor and Merit are awarded to outstanding graduating students in the Landscape Architecture.

The Architectural History Faculty Book Award is awarded annually to a graduating student from the Department of Architectural History.

The Clark Group Construction, Inc. Award is given each year to a student exhibiting overall achievement and professional promise in the fields of construction and building technologies.

The Paul S. Dulaney Conservation and Preservation Award is given each year to an outstanding student in urban and environmental planning who has contributed to the field through outstanding academic work.

The Benjamin C. Howland Traveling Fellowship is awarded each year to a graduating student in Landscape Architecture.

The Betty Leake Service Award is awarded annually to a graduating student from the Department of Architectural History.

The Sarah McArthur Nix Traveling Fellowship is awarded to a third-year undergraduate or graduate student from Architecture for a summer of study/travel in France.

The Frederick Doveton Nichols Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement is made each year for outstanding academic achievement to a graduate and an undergraduate student in the Department of Architectural History.

The Carlo Pelliccia Traveling Fellowship for study in Italy is awarded each year.

The Lori Ann Pristo Award is made each year to the graduate student in architecture with the highest grade point average.

The RTKL Fellowship is awarded each year to a graduate architecture student.

The Sean Steele-Nicholson Memorial Award, in memory of Sean Steele-Nicholson (BS Arch ‘91), is presented each year at graduation to a student who has exhibited overall excellence in design and scholarship and an enthusiasm, joy, and wonder for architecture, coupled with the ability to instill these qualities in others.

Financial Aid Sources

Some of the available sources of financial aid within the School of Architecture are:

DuPont Fellowship for Graduate Studies
Governor Fellowships
IEN Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Student Assistantships
Work-Study Fund
Special Student Aid
Thomas Jefferson Fellowships
Arts and Sciences Graduate Fellowships (Ph.D. only)

Scholarships and Fellowships:

Anonymous Architecture Scholarship
Boniface Graduate Student
Joseph Bosserman Fellowships
Charles Brown Memorial Scholarship
Center for Palladian Studies Scholarship
Bevin and Vito Cetta Endowed Fellowship
Clark Construction Group Scholarship
Colonial Dames Scholarship in Historic Preservation
William D. Darden Memorial Scholarship
Janet Carlson Duchen Scholarship
Paul S. Dulaney Memorial Fund
Bessie F. and Ernest L. Gilliland Endowed Scholarship
Joseph W. Gold Memorial Scholarship
Ella R. and Milton Grigg Endowed Scholarship
Jefferson C. and Catherine F. Grinnalds Scholarship
Frederic Lord Holloway Endowed Scholarship
Peter R. Kutscha Endowed Memorial Scholarship
James E. Pate Memorial Scholarship
Dana H. Rowe Memorial Scholarship
Scribner Messer Brady Wade Graduate Student Scholarship in Architecture
Lambert Woods Architects Scholarship

Academic Information

Candidates for a degree in one of the four graduate curricula offered in the School of Architecture must hold an approved baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.

Applicants whose previous course work does not include the equivalent of courses listed under the “admission” paragraph for any of the described degree programs must complete those courses before enrollment or, with permission, while enrolled in their respective graduate program.

An explanation of the course numbering system is given in the How to Read Course Listings section of this Record.

Inquiries concerning degrees should be addressed directly to the Dean of the School of Architecture.

Grading System The following letter grade symbols are used for grading graduate students in the Graduate School of Architecture: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, F, S, U. Graduate School of Architecture: students may take undergraduate courses on a CR/NC basis, but those courses may not be offered toward a graduate degree.

Incomplete and Missing Grades A grade of IN (Incomplete) is not a valid final grade and becomes an F ten days after the end of the examination period unless a student requests an extension and obtains approval using a form signed by the course instructor and approved by the Associate Dean for Students. Students with a written doctor’s medical excuse submitted to the Associate Dean for Students will receive an IN for work remaining at the end of the semester for which that excuse is applicable. A grade of IN approved for extension converts to F four weeks after the end of the examination period. Thesis credit deadlines are handled on a case-by-case basis between the student and the thesis chair. Instructors are not authorized to extend the time for completion of course work without the Associate Dean for Student’s approval. Forms for securing extensions are available in the Student Services Office, 120-A Campbell Hall.

A notation of NG (no grade reported) computes as an F and remains on the transcript unless corrected.

Grade Changes No grade may be changed without the approval of the Dean after it has been submitted to the University Registrar. The Dean is not authorized by the faculty to change a grade submitted to the University Registrar except when an instructor certifies that, because of errors in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted. Extra work to raise a grade, once submitted, is not permitted. The School limits the time in which a grade change is approved to the fall or spring semester following the one in which the grade was received, except when there is indication that the student violated the integrity of the course.

Academic Good Standing The lowest acceptable grade for a student in the Graduate School of Architecture is a B-. Students who earn more than two grades lower than a B- are required to leave the program in which they are enrolled. Students failing a studio cannot continue in the studio sequence until they have successfully passed the course. Two failing grades in the same or different studios may result in the student being asked to leave the program.

Course Expectations In each of the degree programs, students should expect that courses may require the purchase of textbooks, materials or equipment or students may incur costs in the form of field trips upon occasion.

Ownership of Student Works

The School of Architecture reserves the right to retain student course work for purposes of exhibition and/or publication with appropriate credits. Professors who wish to retain student work for their own purposes must gain the student’s consent and provide adequate documentation of the work for the student.

Student Owned Computers Graduate students are required to own a personal computer. A list of recommended types of computers is at http://urban.arch.virginia.edu/computing/student_owned.html.

Applications

Deadline for all applications for Architecture, Architectural History, and Landscape Architecture is January 15; for the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, it is February 1. All admissions materials should be sent to the Graduate Admissions Office, School of Architecture, Campbell Hall, P.O. Box 400122, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4122. For information about applying for admission to the Ph.D. program in architectural history, see the description of that program given below.
A non-refundable application fee of $40 must accompany the application. Make the check or money order payable to: University of Virginia School of Architecture. Foreign checks accepted in U.S. dollars only.
If an applicant wants to apply to more than one department he or she must fill out an application, pay the application fee for each department, and submit supporting documents for each application.
The financial aid form serves as the basis for scholarships awarded by the School of Architecture. Other financial assistance in the form of loans and part-time employment is administered by the Office of Financial Aid to Students and must be applied for separately. See The Financial Aid section of this Record.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required.
A non-refundable deposit of $250, made payable to the University of Virginia School of Architecture, is required at the time of acceptance. This deposit is applied to the student’s fees upon enrollment.

Course Descriptions

The following courses are subject to change; certain courses are offered in alternate years or are temporarily suspended when the instructor is on leave or for other reasons. 500 level elective courses are open to students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The Course Offering Directory is available on-line at www.virginia.edu/cod

Faculty

Office of the Dean of the School of Architecture

Karen Van Lengen, B.A., M.Arch., Edward E. Elson Professor of Architecture, Dean
A. Bruce Dotson, B.A., Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academics
Ellen Cathey, B.A., M.Arch., Associate Dean of Students
Elizabeth Fortune, B.S., M.B.A., Associate Dean for Finance and Administration
Susan Ketron, B.A., M.A., Director of Development

Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Architecture

Professors

Warren C. Boeschenstein, B.A., B.Arch., M.Arch/U.D.
W. G. Clark, Jr., B.Arch., Edmund S. Campbell Professor of Architecture
Robin D. Dripps, B.A., M.Arch., T. David Fitz-Gibbon Professor of Architecture
Edward R. Ford, B.S., M.Arch., Vincent and Eleanor Shea Professor of Architecture
Willam R. Morrish, B.Arch, M.Arch./U.D., Elwood R. Quesada Professor of Architecture
Kenneth A. Schwartz, B.Arch., M.Arch
Karen Van Lengen, B.A., M.Arch., Edward E. Elson Professor of Architecture, Dean
Peter D. Waldman, B.A., M.F.A., William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Architecture

Associate Professors

Craig E. Barton, A.B., B.F.A., M.Arch.
Michael J. Bednar, B.Arch., M.Arch.
Maurice D. Cox, B.Arch.
Judith A. Kinnard, B.Arch.
Earl J. Mark, B.A., M.Arch., M.S., Ph.D.
Kirk Martini, B.A., M.S., M.Arch., Ph.D.
Charles Menefee III, B. Arch.
William H. Sherman, A.B., M.Arch., Mario di Valmarana Associate Professor of Architecture, Chair
William D. Williams, B.Arch., M.Arch.

Assistant Professors

Anselmo G. Canfora, B.S.A.S., M.Arch.
Phoebe Crisman, B.Arch, M.Arch./U.D.
Nicholas A. de Monchaux, B.A., M.Arch.
Nataly Gattegno, B.A., M.A., M. Arch.
Sanda D. Iliescu, B.S.E., M.Arch.
Jason K. Johnson, B.S. Arch., M.Arch.
Jenny V. Lovell, B.A., Dipl. in Arch.
John D. Quale, B.A., M.Arch.

Distinguished Lecturer

Lucia B. Phinney, B.A., M.Arch., M.L.A.

Lecturers

Pam Black, B.F.A., M.F.A.
Robert E. Crowell, B.S.
Susan Carpenter, B.S. Arch, M. Arch
Cecilia M. Hernandez Villalon, B.A., M.Arch.
Joseph G. Howe, Jr., B.S.C.E., M.C.E.
Richard Price, B.S., MDeSS.
Azadeh Rashidi, B.S. Arch, M. Arch
Elizabeth Roettger, B.S., M.Arch.

Landscape Architecture

Professors

Willam R. Morrish, B.Arch, M.Arch./U.D., Elwood R. Quesada Professor of Architecture
Reuben M. Rainey, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D., M.L.A., William Stone Weedon Professor of Asian Architecture

Associate Professors

Julie Bargmann, B.F.A., M.L.A., Director of Landscape Architecture
K. Ian Grandison, B.S., M.L.A., University Professor
Elizabeth K. Meyer, B.S.L.A., M.L.A., M.A., Chair
Elissa B. Rosenberg, B.A., M.L.A.

Assistant Professor

Caroline Westort, B.S., M.L.A., Ph.D.

Distinguished Lecturer

Nancy Takahashi, B.S.L.A., M.L.A., M.Arch.

Lecturers

Cole Burrell, B.S., M.L.A., M.S.
Jack Douglas, B.L.A., M.L.A.
Thomas Woltz, B.S. Arch, M.Arch., M.L.A.

Department of Architectural History

Professors

Dell Upton, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Richard Guy Wilson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History

Associate Professors

Daniel Bluestone, B.A., Ph.D.
Lisa A. Reilly, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Chair

Assistant Professors

Cammy Brothers, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
John Maciuika, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Louis Nelson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Lecturers

Yunsheng Huang, Dipl., M.S., M.A., Ph.D.
Fraser Niemann, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Department of Urban and Environmental Planning

Professors

Timothy Beatley, B.C.P., M.U.P., M.A., Ph.D., Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities
William Lucy, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Willam R. Morrish, B.Arch, M.Arch./U.D., Elwood R. Quesada Professor of Architecture
Daphne G. Spain, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., James M. Page Professor of Architecture, Chair

Associate Professors

A. Bruce Dotson, B.A., Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academics
David L. Phillips, B.S.C.E., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Nisha Botchwey, B.A., M.C.P., Ph.D.

Lecturers

Frank Cox, B.S., M.U.P., P.E., AICP
Robert DeVoursney, Ph.D.
E. Franklin Dukes, B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Claudette Grant, B.A., M.U.E.P.
Satyendra Huja, B.A., M.U.P.
Gary Okerlund, Jr., B.Arch., M.L.A.
Richard Price, B.S., B.Arch, M.D.S.

Retired Faculty

Warren T. Byrd, Jr., B.S., M.L.A., Professor Emeritus
Richard C. Collins, B.A., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus
James A.D. Cox, Dipl. Arch., Professor Emeritus
Roger C. Davis, B.S.Arch., Professor Emeritus
Mario di Valmarana, Dott.Arch., Professor Emeritus
Donald E. Dougald, B.A.E., M.S.A.E., Associate Professor Emeritus
Matthias Kayhoe, B.S.Arch., M.Arch., Professor Emeritus
K. Edward Lay, B.Arch., M.Arch., Professor Emeritus
William A. McDonough, B.A., M.Arch., Professor Emeritus
Harry W. Porter, Jr., B.S.L.A., M.L.A., Professor Emeritus
Yale Rabin, B.F.A., B.S.Ed., B.Arch., Professor Emeritus
Jacquelin T. Robertson, B.A., B.A., M.Arch., Professor Emeritus
John L. Ruseau, B.Arch., Professor Emeritus
Theo van Groll, B.A., M.R.P., Associate Professor Emeritus
Robert L. Vickery, Jr., B.Jour., B.Arch., Professor Emeritus
H. Kenneth White, Dipl. Arch.
Dora Wiebenson, B.A., M.Arch., M.A., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus
William Zuk, B.S.C.E., M.S.E., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus