History and Overview
The college provides education, research and service for the built and natural environments of Florida, the nation and the world. Established as a school in 1925, the college has grown to be one of the largest design, planning and construction institutions in the country. A unique aspect of the college is the scope of its professional disciplines that include architecture, building construction, interior design, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning. The School of Architecture, the Department of Landscape Architecture and the M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction each have celebrated over fifty years of service to the citizens of Florida. Graduate programs at both the masters and Ph.D. level are available in all of our academic units.
The college's teaching, research and community service philosophy recognizes the interdependence of these professional disciplines. A number of required and elective courses are open on a space-available basis to all majors (e.g., ARC 1701; BCN 1210, 4012, 4237, 4464, 4471; IND 1020, 2100, 2130; LAA 1920, 2710, 4935; URP 3001, 4000, 4905). In addition, the first one and one-half years of design course work are common to the three undergraduate design disciplines (architecture, landscape architecture and interior design). Research and service projects conducted through the research centers and institutes often entail multidisciplinary, cross-campus student input and effort. Although the Department of Urban & Regional Planning does not offer an undergraduate degree, undergraduate courses (URP 2931-Honors, URP 3001, URP 4000, URP 4273, URP 4715, and URP 4905) are available that meet general education requirements.
The Architecture and Fine Arts Library and the Visual Resources Center are the largest collections of their kind in the Southeast. They provide books, government documents, American and foreign periodicals, subject files, microtext, slides, photographs, reproductions and other materials. The AFA Library maintains its own Rare Book Collection for scholarly research. Services include a professional reference service ready to assist in guidance and information searches. Students may use additional resources in the university libraries.
Students considering application to the college should anticipate budget planning expenditures for computers, travel, equipment and tools essential to their education as design, planning or construction professionals. For further information contact the appropriate department/school.
Research/Education Centers
The college contributes to community, state, regional and national efforts to conserve and improve the quality of the natural and built environments through these research centers:
- Florida Architecture and Building Research Council (FABRIC)
- Research and Education Center for Architectural Preservation (RECAP)
- Center for Tropical and Subtropical Architecture Planning and Construction (TROPARC)
- Geofacilities Planning and Information Center (GEOPLAN)
- Center for Architectural Technology Research (ARCHTECH)
- Center for Community Redevelopment (CCR)
- Center for Construction and Environment
- Center for Fire Testing and Research
- Center for Construction Safety and Loss Control
- Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing.
The college established teaching and research programs of national and international prominence that include the Preservation Institute: Nantucket, the Vicenza Institute of Architecture: Italy and the Preservation Institute: Caribbean. The latter program is part of the college's mission to develop teaching, research and service programs with institutions in the Caribbean Basin and Latin America.
