Architectural Studies
The Five College Architectural Studies Program embraces the complexity of the process and practice of architecture and attempts to convey—to students and to the community—the many sides of design.
What is architecture? The objective of the Five College Architectural Studies program is to cultivate concerned architectural designers and thinkers through a flexible yet rigorous interdisciplinary course of study. Our cross-disciplinary approach to architectural education introduces students to a multitude of ways of thinking about design in history, in theory and in the studio. The program encourages students to explore a broad cross-section of courses—both in and beyond the architecture discipline of architecture across the Five Colleges—and introduces students to a diverse collection of faculty members, methodologies and design approaches.
On This Page
Faculty
Gabriel Arboleda
Associate Professor of Architectural Studies, Art and the History of Art, Amherst College
Member of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
garboleda@amherst.edu
Dwight A. Carey
Assistant Professor of Art and the History of Art, Amherst College
dcarey@amherst.edu
Nicola M. Courtright
Professor of Architectural Studies, Art and the History of Art, and European Studies, Amherst College
nmcourtright@amherst.edu
Karen Koehler
Professor, Architectural and Art History, Hampshire College
Visiting Professor of the History of Art; Chair of Art and the History of Art, Amherst College
kkHACU@hampshire.edu; krkoehler@amherst.edu
Thom Long
Associate Professor, Architecture and Design, Hampshire College
Member of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
tlHA@hampshire.edu
Naomi Darling
Five College Associate Professor, Sustainable Architecture, Mount Holyoke College Five College Associate Professor of Architecture, UMass Amherst
Chair of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
ndarling@mtholyoke.edu
Jessica Maier
Associate Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies, Mount Holyoke College
jmaier@mtholyoke.edu
Ajay Sinha
Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies, Mount Holyoke College
asinha@mtholyoke.edu
Elisa Kim
Assistant Professor of Architectural Studies, Smith College
Member of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
emkim@smith.edu
Frazer Ward
Professor of Art, Art Department Chair, Smith College
fward@smith.edu
Caryn Brause
AIA LEED-AP
Associate Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
cjbrause@umass.edu
Carey Clouse
Associate Professor, Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UMass Amherst
clouse@umass.edu
Jordan Kanter
Assistant Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
jkanter@umass.edu
Joseph Krupczynski
Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
josephk@umass.edu
Sandy Litchfield
Associate Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
slitchcfi@umass.edu
Ray Kinoshita Mann
Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
rkmann@umass.edu
Ann Marshall
Lecturer, Architecture, UMass Amherst
awmarshall@umass.edu
Patricia McGirr
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, UMass Amherst
mcgirr@larp.umass.edu
Pari Riahi
Associate Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
priahi@umass.edu
Stephen Schreiber
Professor and Chair, Architecture, UMass Amherst
Member of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
schreiber@umass.edu
Eldra-Dominique Walker
Assistant Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
eldrawalker@umass.edu
Robert Williams
Assistant Professor, Architecture, UMass Amherst
roblwilliams@umass.edu
Erika Zekos
Senior Lecturer, Architecture, UMass Amherst
Member of the 5 College Architectural Studies Committee
ezekos@umass.edu
About the FC Architectural Studies Program
About the Program
The Five College Architectural Studies program encourages a serious commitment to the study and practice of architecture. It also opens students to discovering the ways in which architecture effects change in—and is affected by—its surrounding environment. Students are strongly encouraged to explore, study and analyze elements of the design process, including urban fabrics, social structures, environmental systems and economics of building. While immersed in a diverse cross-section of courses in a multitude of disciplines, students are encouraged to identify and develop their individual role as designers and thinkers. The impact of their actions on an individual, community and national level are probed.
The Five College architecture program embraces the complexity of the process and practice of architecture and attempts to convey—to students and to the community—the many sides of design. We explore architecture through: art, technology, environmental studies, history, theory, psychology, physiology, physics, media design, sociology, semiologylinguistics, politics, science and math; we consider creative modes of operation while we look at creativity, patterns, actions, weight, power, force, light, memory, time, sound, color, language, programming, syntax, form, environment, resources, humanity, struggle, infrastructure, consciousness, perception, networks, materials, transport, commodities, community, marketing, family, public-ness and private-ness. Students will find a personal connection to architecture by investigating the many ways in which the built environment impacts their lives and the ways in which they as students of architectural history, theory and practice might, in turn, change that world.
The Major
Amherst College, Hampshire College and Mount Holyoke College participate in the Five College Architectural Studies (FCAS) major.
Please contact your advisor for more information about how the major works at your school.
Contact Us
Program Chair:
Naomi Darling, Five College Associate Professor of Sustainable Architecture, Mount Holyoke College
Five College Staff Liaison:
April Shandor, Academic Programs Coordinator
Connect with us:
Amherst College Architectural Studies Facebook page
Join our email list! The Five College Architectural Studies email list is open to faculty, staff and students interested in Architectural Studies to share announcements and information.