Three Policies Department of Architecture and Environmental Design
Purposes and Educational Goals (Diploma Policy)
The Architecture and Environmental Design Department aims to convey understanding of the relationships and roles of the areas of interior design, architectural design and landscape design in current urban and living environments, which are growing more diverse and complex, fostering a broad understanding of relationships among these areas. We aim to cultivate human resources such as designers and architects who can work from such broad perspectives.
The curriculum of this department is common across the above three design courses, and comprises “practical design skills,” “hand-drawing exercises,” “life-size study,” “hands-on material exercises,” “CAD,” and “history of design and architecture.” In addition, the curriculum is structured so that these areas can be flexibly combined, cultivating thinking ability, planning ability, capacity to imagine inside and outside space, expressive capacity and design ability.
Students in this department can take the national examination for first-class architects and first-class landscaping construction management technicians or other equivalent qualifications, after fulfilling certain work requirements after graduation. Based on the above curriculum, the course aims to develop artists who can achieve the educational and research goals of the Faculty of Art and Design, build knowledge of general architectural and structural design, the ability to observe and imagine for design needs and the ability to conceive and implement ideas in real space and communicate these ideas. Students who have achieved these goals satisfactorily receive bachelor’s (BFA) degrees.
Curriculum Policy
The Architecture and Environmental Design Department systematically organizes and implements a curriculum based on the following policies so that students can achieve the goals indicated in the Diploma Policy.
The first and second years consist of basic classes, and the third and fourth years of applied education. In the first-year introductory classes, students undergo hand-drawing training and build actual tactile sense through hands-on three-dimensional visual arts exercises. Similarly, in the first year, all students work on design in the areas of interior, architecture and landscape, building practical design skills and a broad range of knowledge while identifying personal aptitudes. Students also learn CAD, and absorb the basics of a wide range of thinking approaches and expressions from real to virtual.
From the second year, students make their own course selections from three areas, but in order to have broad perspectives on all three areas and learn the characteristics of the design methods of each course, students' practical assignment choices are not limited to specific courses. Unlimited flexibility is a key feature of our department.
In the second and third years, practical assignments with a common theme are assigned for each of the three courses, and each assignment is characterized by solving problems from the specific perspective of each course.
In the fourth year, students learn about design in each faculty member's field of specialization, and in the second semester, they belong to laboratories and carry out graduation projects as the culmination of the four-year courses.
In addition, by actively incorporating joint industry-academic assignments into the curriculum throughout the academic year, we emphasize comprehensive evaluations from society and companies as well as in education.
When evaluating the results of study, teachers can give direct feedback on the good points and areas in need of improvement of presentations, while cultivating abilities to plan, propose, think, and apply their idea in space, etc., and the results of study are evaluated based on criteria clearly specified in advance.
Admissions Policy
Based on the Diploma Policy and Curriculum Policy, the Architecture and Environmental Design Department actively seeks all students who are interested in either interior design, architectural design, or landscape design, or in creation of spaces involving interpersonal interaction.
This department aims to create a learning environment like the real world, with diverse human resources and diverse ways of thinking, where students can complete assignments alongside one another in a stimulated and aware manner, and deepen their understanding and command of design. Therefore, we seek students who enjoy drawing spaces, who take an interest in the spaces they inhabit (both interior and exterior), who are interested in geometry and form, and with communication and presentation skills.
Specialized examinations use various testing methods to assess the basic and applied skills necessary for environmental design, such as the ability to observe and analyze objects, the imagination and modeling skill to reconstruct objects, and ability to depict space.
In addition to students with good practical skills, we offer opportunities for those who excel at math to take exams through a different process. And because they learn how to observe and express things through drawing training and solid modeling exercises from the first year onward, those who enroll without taking specialized examinations are able to develop equivalent levels of skill.
We look forward to having students aspiring to work in interior, architectural and landscape design and design of various societal spaces and environments enroll in this program.