Building Arts Degree Programs
The objectives of our building arts degree programs are clear and ambitious. Our focus is centered on creating the academic environment necessary to produce multidimensional educated artisans; artisans who have the skills to create and design with their hands, reason and question with their minds and contribute to and preserve the world around them.
In order to provide this unique educational experience our students complete an intensive, integrated liberal arts curriculum. This curriculum has been developed in such a way that all courses, both academic and artistry, build upon each other and missing any portion of the curriculum provides an incomplete education. This integrated approach creates a highly focused learning environment which students find both challenging and rewarding.
Incorporated throughout the curriculum is an educational philosophy that binds all the subjects together as much as is possible. For example, the same building studied in architectural history may be written about in English class, rendered in architectural drawing, discussed in civics engagement and its details re-created in the trade workshop. By encouraging these cross-discipline discussions, the college develops a student who will understand the importance of each subject area and how it impacts every aspect of the building arts and society as a whole. The small class size facilitates this discussion and provides an educational experience that focuses on the individual student. Classes are typically 10-15 students or less.
Each building arts major is designed so students build upon their knowledge each successive year. During the freshman and sophomore years students learn the foundational skills needed to work and create with the materials. In the junior and senior years, students are asked to take these skills and push the boundaries of their chosen fields. Each building arts major encompasses not only traditional methods and designs but also the newest techniques and technology available. Students spend two days a week learning and mastering their art in the workshops and the other three days in academic classes, or completing research in the library or in our living laboratory of Charleston, S.C.
Students who complete our baccalaureate program are truly educated artisans. They are able to undertake projects requiring the highest level of artisan skills, knowledge of historic preservation techniques, a strong understanding of architectural design and construction and a world view of the impact on our society. Our graduates have the education to be productive, creative and passionate individuals who possess the talents to change the face and the future of all our communities for the better.
