The American College of the Building Arts is a traditional Liberal Arts college that was founded to teach the building arts. This requires a new approach to trade education, one that makes use of all the best traditions of the liberal arts.
Our students do not simply learn a trade, they study a trade. The difference is huge. Our students are taught the history, theory and variety of the building arts, not just trained in contemporary practices. They conduct research and write papers in their major just as students do at any other college, and it is this intellectual approach to the building arts that we hope will allow these time honored skills and practices to advance into the 21st century and beyond.
The objectives of our degree programs are clear and ambitious. Our focus is on creating the academic environment necessary to produce liberally educated artisans; artisans who have the skills to create and design with their hands, reason and question with their minds and contribute to the world around them.
Incorporated throughout the curriculum is an interdisciplinary philosophy that binds all subjects together. For example, students study the architecture of Ancient Greece, they read its literature and they recreate its designs in the studio and in the workshop. Students approach non-ferrous metals in their trade classes, in their science classes and in their preservation class. This approach encourages students to think about the relationship between different fields and different classes, applying what they learn in one class to what they are studying in another.
Our approach to instruction in the building arts follows the same path as most college majors, the exception being that students choose their major as soon as they arrive on campus. During the freshman and sophomore years students learn the foundational skills needed to work and create with tools and materials. In the junior and senior years, students are asked to take these skills and push the boundaries of their chosen field.
Each trade encompasses not only traditional methods and designs but also the newest techniques and technologies available. Students are exposed to a variety of viewpoints on their trade not only from faculty, but also through the summer internships required of all students. These paid internships allow students to apply what they have learned in the classroom and observe professional practices within their trade. These internships also help the student understand how skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom might be put to work after graduation.
Students who complete our baccalaureate program are truly educated artisans. They possess a high level of artistic skill, a broad knowledge of culture and history, a strong understanding of science and design and a good sense of what they are capable of doing to make an impact on our society. Our graduates have the education to be productive, creative and passionate individuals who will our communities for the better.
