School of Architecture
Heather Flood
Dean
Jennifer Peterson, PhD
Associate Dean
Galina Kraus
Administrative Coordinator
Hannah Martin
Administrative Assistant
Marina Zakarian
Activities Director
Rebekah Albrecht
Design Director
Wil Strickland
Career Services and Outreach Coordinator
Hans Wendel
Making Complex Manager
Elizabeth Wood
Making Complex Associate Manager
Shenaia Turner
Robotic Prototyping Specialist
The Woodbury University School of Architecture has a clear mission: to prepare students for the future of practice. We do this by offering a broad range of degrees that address the needs, values, and potentials for the built environment. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that, upon graduation, students take leadership roles in the profession. To be a leader, however, requires more than skill and knowledge. It also requires directed vision and the belief that good design can improve the human condition.
Our undergraduate and graduate programs include Architecture, Interior Design, Applied Computer Science Media Arts, Computer Science Design Computation, Construction Management, and Sustainable Practices. Each program infuses technical ability with ethical inquiry to prepare students to affect positive change. We educate our students as entrepreneurs, citizen designers, and cultural builders equally committed to professional practice, theoretical discourse, social equity, and formal and technological inquiry. Our faculty is comprised of practitioners and academics, actively building, writing, and working across Southern California and beyond.
Woodbury School of Architecture approaches education multidimensionally, teaching a range of methodologies to help students develop their own unique creative voices while recognizing the importance of professional conventions and best practices. Embedded in our curriculum is the ethos that diverse points of view lead to innovative design solutions. We introduce students to collaborative working methods, and we equip them with advanced technical abilities so they can lead in professional environments upon graduation.
All School of Architecture programs are designated as STEM degrees. International students enrolled in these programs can now apply for 24-month extensions of their post-completion Optional Practice Training (OPT) for a total of 36 months.
The Woodbury School of Architecture offers the following degree programs:
- 5-year, National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited Bachelor of Architecture
- 4-year, Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) and National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)-accredited, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design
- 4-year, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Design Computation
- 4-year, Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Practices
- 4-year, Bachelor of Science in Construction Management
- 3-year, NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture with possible advanced standing
- 3-year, Master of Interior Design with possible advanced standing
- 1-year, postgraduate Master of Science in Architecture
Mission
Woodbury School of Architecture prepares graduates for leadership positions in the architecture, design, and construction industries. Our innovative teaching methods, interdisciplinary curriculum, and applied research practices equip students with the skills and knowledge to transform the built environment through sustainable, equitable, and technical design solutions.
Vision
Woodbury School of Architecture affirms the power of design to transform lives and communities through innovative approach to the built environment. Our interdisciplinary curriculum and collaborative learning and teaching practices allow us to tackle complex problems from a wide range of perspectives. We foster an open exchange of ideas where advanced technology and ethical inquiry inform innovative design solutions.
Goals
The School of Architecture community works together to support the following goals:
• Foster dynamic curriculum that transforms students into ethical and innovative design professionals prepared to lead in a world of accelerating change.
• Create an inclusive culture that acknowledges, values, and supports diversity.
• Enrich the student experience through immersive learning in research environments.
• Engage with professional communities to expand the influence and agency of our disciplines.
Location
LOS ANGELES
7500 N. Glenoaks Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91504 818.252.5121
Situated on the Burbank/Los Angeles border, the school continually draws from and responds to the urgent and often conflicting demands of the region. The Burbank campus takes full advantage of the University’s academic offerings, student support services, comprehensive library, and residential campus life. At the same time, it offers specialized facilities, including a wood/metal shop, a materials resource library, a digital fabrication lab, computing facilities, a render farm, and studio spaces with 24/7 access. The School of Architecture occupies several buildings on campus, including a 15,000-square foot studio building built in 2009.
Institutes
Woodbury School of Architecture’s research centers and institutes form a dynamic network that works in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate education to provide public programming to the broader Southern California architecture and design communities.
Agency for Civic Engagement
The Agency for Civic Engagement (ACE) connects students with underserved communities through hands-on design and building projects. ACE is rooted in the belief that learning through experience leads to deeper understanding and lasting impact. Students collaborate directly with community members, who serve as clients and partners throughout each project. Together, they create structures that are functional, beautiful, and responsive to immediate needs. These built works demonstrate how architecture can support dignity, reinforce a sense of place, and strengthen the efforts of grassroots organizations. ACE offers students the chance to learn by doing, while contributing meaningfully to communities often overlooked.
Julius Shulman Institute
Named for the renowned architectural photographer, the Julius Shulman Institute (JSI) provides programs that promote appreciation and understanding of the built environment, particularly as mediated by photography. Focused on Shulman’s enduring involvement in the principles of modernism, the JSI’s mission is informed by Shulman’s sense of social responsibility and his passion for teaching. This mission is carried out through public programming, educational outreach, and research opportunities.
Study Away
Woodbury School of Architecture Study Away Program provides students and faculty with transformative global learning experiences that are academically rigorous, professionally expansive, and personally engaging. Programs are designed to enhance multicultural competencies, socio-political exchanges, and planetary consciousness in an increasingly interconnected world.
Our Study Away Program is committed to inspiring a transformative experience for students and faculty, equipping them with the confidence and intelligence to navigate an ever-changing global landscape. We envision establishing long-term institutional relationships and short-term expeditions in order to provide students with profound international learning experiences that are affordable, safe, and accessible.
Career Development & Outreach
A dedicated School of Architecture Career & Outreach center offers a variety of programs, services, and resources to assist students in exploring careers and securing internships. Staff work individually with students to develop successful internship search strategies and help students connect with employers through internship postings, résumé collections, on- and off-campus interview opportunities, alumni connections, and employer outreach.
Work Experience for International Students (CPT)
ARCH 358
Open to all students in the School of Architecture, ARCH 358 allows international students to gain practical experience in fields directly related to their degree program. The work may be for an architectural or design firm or for an employer whose work is directly related to those fields. Students must apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) through their international student advisor in order to obtain temporary authorization to work.
Pre-requisite: Students must have a confirmed offer of employment at an architecture or design firm approved by the Architecture or Interior Architecture department before applying for CPT. Each student should check with the international student advisor prior to enrolling in this course.
Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure (IPAL)
Woodbury School of Architecture offers a path where students in our professional architecture programs (BArch and MArch) can complete architectural licensure requirements while completing their degree. This new path to licensure prepares highly qualified architects while substantially reducing the time to become a licensed architect.
Woodbury’s IPAL program incorporates time to complete the experience requirement for licensure during summers and a co-op year, as well as time to take the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) before graduating. The IPAL initiative is offered for both our undergraduate (BArch) and graduate (MArch) programs.
Learning and Teaching Culture Policy
The Learning and Teaching Culture Policy describes norms and expectations for student and faculty conduct in the School of Architecture; it is distributed on the first day of studio each semester. The policy is reviewed and revised annually. For all studio policies, see the Student Handbook.
Archiving
The University reserves the right to retain student work for archival purposes. The School of Architecture is required by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) to maintain a current archive of student work demonstrating that its curriculum engages student performance criteria established by these and other collateral organizations. Archived student work may be used for assessment and accreditation purposes and to support future educational pursuits.
Faculty
Woodbury School of Architecture faculty members are accomplished, passionate educators who embody diverse interests and strengths. Professional practice and critical understanding of contemporary design inquiry enable our instructors to infuse academic studies with leading-edge expertise in their disciplines. Combining theory with invaluable learning experiences from outside of the classroom, they prepare students to be articulate, critical thinkers, and innovative and ethical practitioners.
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FULL-TIME FACULTY
Emily Bills, Visiting Associate Professor, PhD, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Laura Bouwman, Interim Assistant Professor, MArch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jeanine Centuori, Professor, MArch, Cranbrook Academy of Art
Kishani De Silva, Associate Professor, MSc in Major Programme Management, University of Oxford
Anthony Fontenot, Professor, PhD, Princeton University
Aaron Gensler, Associate Professor, MArch, Cornell University
Matthew Gillis, Assistant Professor, MArch, University of California Los Angeles
Mamun Hashem, Interim Assistant Professor, MIA, California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Christoph Korner, Professor, MArch, University of California, Los Angeles
Eric W. Olsen, Professor, MArch, Harvard University
Heather Scott Peterson, Professor MArch, Southern California Institute of Architecture
Aviva Rubin, Assistant Professor, MDes, Harvard University
Gerard Smulevich, Professor, MArch, University of California, Los Angeles
Arash Soleimani, Professor, PhD, Clemson University
Randy Stauffer, Professor, MArch, University of California, Berkeley
Joshua Stein, Professor, MArch, University of California, Los Angeles
EMERITUS FACULTY
Jay Nickels, Los Angeles, BArch, University of Southern California
Ewan Branda, Los Angeles, PhD, University of California Los Angeles
Hector M. Perez, San Diego, MS, Architecture Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology