School History

Overview

Architectural education at the University of Hawai‘i began in 1946 with a Pre-Architecture Program offered in the College of Applied Science. In 1965, Pre-Architecture was changed to a four-year program B.A. in Pre-Architecture.  In 1967, the Department of Art became the Department of Art and Architecture, and the B.A. was replaced by a B.F.A. in Environmental Design.  In 1969, a new Department of Architecture was formed within the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. A Master of Architecture Program was approved in 1971 with emphasis in Design Technology, Urban/Regional Design, and Tropical Development Studies; the program received initial accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in 1972. 

The Department of Architecture was reorganized in 1976 and a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) degree was developed. The program was accredited by the NAAB in 1978, and in 1980, the School conferred the first B. Arch. degree.

The School of Architecture (SoA) was established in 1980 led by Dean Elmer Botsai. Raymond Yeh, assumed the deanship in 1993.  The School’s present building was completed in 1994. In 1996, the SoA received full-term NAAB reaccreditation for its existing B. Arch. first professional degree and its M. Arch. first professional degree. 

In 1999, a seven-year, 212-credit first professional Architecture Doctorate (Arch.D.) degree program was approved by the University Board of Regents to replace the existing M.Arch. and B.Arch. degree programs.  In 2004 (retroactive to 2001) the program was accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The SoA was the first in the nation to offer an accredited professional architecture doctoral degree.  In 2008 at the request of the NAAB, the School changed the title of the degree from Arch. D. to Doctor of Architecture (D. Arch.). Clark Llewellyn assumed the deanship in the summer of 2007.

The SoA has 16 full-time faculty and approximately 60 part-time adjunct, lecturer, and affiliate faculty.  There is a diverse student body of approximately 280 students.  The School is the only U.S. school of architecture in the middle of the Pacific region and the only school of architecture in the nation where a majority of the student body consists of Asians and Pacific Islanders. The School of Architecture has had more than 1,400 graduates since its beginning.  The School has developed a reputation for its strong connections to Hawaii and the Asia Pacific region, and its integration of theory and practice.