| DIRECTOR: |
Paul
Byard |
|
THE
HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM
|
| The
Columbia Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation is the oldest
degree of its kind in the United States. The program is comprehensive, providing
specialized training for those who wish to be professionally active in any
aspect of the field of preservation. The fundamental concerns of the program
are for (1) the accurate understanding of the vital contributions of surviving
architecture, townscape, and landscape to the identity and well-being of
living communities; and (2) the protection of those contributions through
the scrupulous conservation of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes
that express meanings from the past to us and to the future. |
| Like
the field of historic preservation itself, the Columbia program encompasses
diverse professional activities. It offers training in the management of
cultural resources, including the identification and protection of valuable
surviving elements of the past ranging from interiors and furnishings to
entire urban and rural regions. It considers not only physical acts of protection,
but also the development of institutional means, both legal and economic,
to support those acts. It pursues proven and innovative techniques for the
management of change in conservation treatments, building services, adaptive
uses of historic fabric, and proposals and controls for appropriate designs
for new building complexes. |
| At
the heart of our program lies the belief that training for professional
practice must combine a sound footing in basic techniques and a firm grasp
of theory, with appropriate specialization. In pursuit of this goal the
Columbia program offers a core curriculum that introduces the broad range
of preservation issues and techniques to all in the program before students
move on to their special area of concentration in one of four sectors that
correspond to the major subdivisions of the field: architectural design,
history, building conservation, and preservation planning. Design focuses
on analysis of protected buildings, townscapes, and landscapes, and on the
development of a capacity to recognize appropriate new design work within
historic settings; history focuses on the identification, documentation,
and understanding of significant artifacts and trends of the past; building
conservation focuses on the analysis and stabilization of specific materials
of the past; and preservation planning focuses on the analysis of appropriate
legal and financial procedures for the protection of historical buildings,
townscapes, and landscapes. |
|
Coursework
|
60
points are required. During the first year, all degree candidates study
methods of documentation and building conservation, American architectural
and environmental history, and the theory and practice of historic preservation
planning, and participate in two design studios, one of which focuses on
preservation planning policy. Before beginning their second term, students
are required to select the sector that represents their area of concentration
or focus. Submission of a thesis topic is a requirement for registration
in the autumn of the second year. Research for the thesis in the autumn
of the second year culminates in a report to the thesis adviser; the completed
thesis is presented in the spring term. |
|
|
The
remainder of the work consists of lectures, seminars, preservation studios,
and laboratory courses in conservation. |
|
Registration
|
Students
must attend the program on a full-time basis, registering for at least 12
credit points per semester. In unusual circumstances the director will consider
petitions for leaves of absence. |
|
Related
Activities
|
Local
community involvement is encouraged whenever appropriate. Special ties are
maintained with New York City institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Landmarks Conservancy,
the Municipal Art Society, Architectural League of New York, the Temple
Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, and the Center
for Preservation Research and its laboratory. These ties provide additional
educational opportunities and further enrich the program. |
|
Field
Trips
|
Second-year
students are eligible for a grant from the William Kinne Fellows Traveling
Fellowship Fund. These grants are to support travel that will advance a
student? knowledge of architectural history and preservation. |
|
Internships
|
All
students are required to complete an internship before receiving the degree.
Students are individually responsible for securing internships but are assisted
in this by a special committee within the program. Internships should be
approved in advance by the director and are recognized as completed upon
receipt of a letter of evaluation from the internship supervisor sent to
the director and a brief report from the student summarizing the work. In
certain cases, work done before entering the program is accepted in lieu
of an internship. |
|
Prerequisites
|
For
all students, at least one undergraduate survey in architectural history.
|
|
|
For
students who do not hold an architectural degree, one basic drafting or
drawing course; such a course is generally available at a vocational or
community college. It does not carry credit toward the M.S. degree.
|
|
|
For
students in the design sector, a professional degree in architecture.
|
|
|
For
students in the conservation sector, at least one undergraduate course
in chemistry, physics, biology, or earth science.
|
|
ADMISSIONS
|
| Applications
are due February 15. Applicants for admission to the M.S. degree in the
Historic Preservation Program must first hold a professional degree in architecture
or a bachelor? degree in art history, American studies, urban studies,
history, or another related field. All applicants are required to take the
Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Information may
be obtained from the Graduate Record Examination, Educational Testing Service,
Box 955, Princeton, NJ 08540. Applicants may enter only in the autumn term.
|
| INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS |
| In
addition to the general admissions requirements, international students
(1) who can understand rapid idiomatic English and can speak, write, and
read English with a high degree of facility and (2) who can prove their
ability to support themselves financially while in the United States are
eligible for admission to Columbia. For a single student, a minimum of $36,000
for living and tuition expenses for each academic year (early September
to mid-May), plus travel money, is considered essential. Since an international
student holding a student visa (F) or exchange visa (J) is required by the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to carry a full program
of study, students should not plan to depend on income from outside employment.
Note: All students with non-resident visas will be charged a fee of $50
per term (autumn and spring) to support the University? services to international
students. |
| Students
whose native language is not English or who did not receive their education
in an English-speaking country should make arrangements to take the Test
of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Inquiries about this test, which
is administered four times annually throughout the world, should be addressed
to TOEFL/TSE Service, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, U.S.A.; telephone
(609) 771-7100. Applicants are urged to make arrangements to take either
the November or the February examination. |
|
PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS
|
| The
course requirements in the Historic Preservation Program are divided into
three categories: core, sector, and electives. All first-year students share
a required ten-course core curriculum. Three of these courses, Design principles
for preservation: studio, I; Documentation; and Historic preservation studio,
II, focus the work of the core on a common site within the metropolitan
region. In the second semester, program specialization begins with enrollment
in one course beyond the core sequence. This will consist of a specialized
seminar or course in history, design, planning, or conservation. For students
concentrating in the conservation sector, this advanced seminar will consist
of a required 3-point laboratory section connected with the core conservation
science course. The second year is primarily committed to specialized course
and thesis work within the student? chosen sector of concentration. Beyond
American architecture survey, a fourth-semester preservation case study
colloquium, and the two-semester thesis project, students will enroll in
courses totaling a minimum of 12 credit points within their sector during
the second year. The courses that meet this threshold requirement for sector
concentration must be approved by a member of the full-time faculty. In
order to ensure the timely and successful completion of thesis projects,
students are encouraged to minimize course work in the fourth semester,
taking only one elective course beyond the courses listed below. |
|
[1]
|
Urban
Theory |
|
[2]
|
History
and Theory of Planning |
|
[3]
|
Research
Methods in Planning |
|
[4]
|
Sector
specialization |
|
[5]
|
Related
Discipline or Field |
| At
the center of the Ph.D. curriculum are the two seminars on planning theory
and planning history (Planning A8931 and Planning A8930). Planning theory
xprovides students with advanced knowledge of theories that inform planning
practice and theory. There are three broad areas from which planning theory
draws and upon which the seminar must rest: (1) theories of urban form,
(2) theories of the state and of collective decision making, and (3) theories
of planning action. The first area of theory draws from architectural and
social scientific theories of built form and space. The second area draws
almost exclusively from the social sciences, in particular political science,
sociology, and economics. It seeks to explore the ways in which collective
decisions evolve in complex urban societies and the role of public action
at the urban level. The final area of theory attempts to provide understanding
of how planning is actually done in various institutional settings. This
final field draws heavily on the planning literature and literature about
planning in related disciplines. The Planning History seminar focuses on
major works in planning history and major themes and issues in the history
of planning. These two courses, in addition to the Ph.D. research colloquium
(Planning A8900-A8901), are taught by senior faculty in planning. |
| Students
are required to take two courses in advanced methods. One of them should
be taken in the Urban Planning Department. The other may be taken in another
department in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. |
| Finally,
students are expected to take one or two advanced seminars in specialized
planning fields, such as housing, urban land markets, comparative urbanization,
or comparative physical planning. Students may and are encouraged to take
courses in their field of specialization or related fields in other departments
of the University. |
| M.
PHIL. EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS |
| There
are comprehensive examinations in history and theory of planning and in
the sector specialization. These are written exams read by a committee of
the Doctoral Program Subcommittee in Urban Planning. Students must pass
these exams satisfactorily before they can present and defend their dissertation
proposal. The exams are normally taken at the end of the spring term or
in the summer. Any student who has satisfactorily passed the comprehensive
examination and has had a Ph.D. dissertation proposal accepted will be awarded
the M.Phil. degree. |
| Dissertation
proposals must be approved by the main adviser and are presented and defended
in front of at least three members of the Ph.D. Program Steering Committee,
including or in addition to the adviser. Completed dissertations must be
approved by the main adviser before they can be defended in front of a dissertation
committee. |
| PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS |
|
Requirements
for H.P. Program
|
First
Semester |
|
A4210
Basic principles of traditional construction |
3
pts |
|
A4510
Design principles for preservation: studio, I |
4
pts |
| |
A6740
Theory and practice of historic preservation |
3
pts |
| |
A6745
Documentation |
3
pts |
|
A6764
Conservation science |
3
pts |
|
A6767
Preservation planning |
3
pts |
|
Second
Semester |
|
A4341
American architecture after 1876 |
3
pts |
|
A4339
American architecture and urbanism before 1876 (either second or fourth
semester) |
3
pts |
| |
A6734
The classical language and literature of architecture |
3
pts |
| |
A6738
Investigative techniques for historic structures |
3
pts |
| |
A6750
Historic preservation studio, II |
4
pts |
|
AXXXX
Course in sector of specialization |
3
pts |
|
A6777
Conservation science laboratory (for conservation sector only) |
3
pts |
| |
Third
Semester |
| |
A6751
Thesis, I |
1
pt |
| |
AXXXX
Courses in sector of specialization and electives |
9
- 15 pts |
| |
Fourth
Semester |
| |
A6753
Thesis, II |
9
pts |
| |
A6790
Preservation case study colloquium |
3
pts |
| |
AXXXX
Courses in sector of specialization and electives |
3
- 6pts |
|
DESIGN
SECTOR
|
| This
sector provides students with the increased historical and technical knowledge
needed by architects for the successful solution of design problems involving
historic structures. It also enhances aesthetic sensitivity through exposure
to problems of restoration, adaptive use, and infill design of differing
scales. These problems are addressed in course work and in the thesis, which
must contain research and design for a particular problem of preservation.
|
|
Completion
of a thesis is a requirement for those students who, after satisfactorily
completing the stated prerequisites, choose to pursue the design sector.
Preparation of the thesis occurs in Architecture A6751?hesis, I, where
written analysis of the thesis project, a proposed program, and all appropriate
base drawing and other relevant materials are prepared. The thesis is
executed and brought to completion in Architecture A6753?hesis, II, under
the direction of a studio critic or thesis adviser.
|
|
HISTORY
SECTOR
|
| The
history sector relates academic studies in architectural and urban history
to preservation practice. The sector aims to complement the dominant focus
of architectural history, which is generally upon the relations among original
clients, architects, and forms and their meanings by investigating the ways
in which later generations assign meaning and value to older structures.
The School offers a full range of graduate courses and seminars on the history
and theory of architecture and on decorative arts, urbanism, and related
developments. Courses on the history of architecture and urbanism are also
available in the related departments of the University, including, but not
limited to, the Departments of Art History and Archaeology, and History.
The thesis allows students to pursue original research in the history of
architecture and urbanism, the history and theory of preservation, and the
interrelation between history and preservation practice. |
|
CONSERVATION
SECTOR
|
| This
sector provides students with the technical and theoretical knowledge required
for the examination, documentation, and analysis of historic structures
and materials. It also establishes a background for the diagnosis and treatment
of building pathology. These issues are addressed through a synthesis of
lectures, laboratory work, field studies, and the trade techniques workshop
designed to combine a range of special architectural and scientific skills.
These skills, which are required for maintaining the integrity and quality
of the built environment, include the history of architecture and building
technology, graphic and written documentation, materials science, and analytical
laboratory and field techniques. |
|
PLANNING
SECTOR
|
| The
preservation planning sector combines two strategies. The first stresses
the historical and planning analyses, contextual evaluation, and physical
design of the built environment. The second focuses on
|
|
