The Amsterdam Academy of Architecture offers students from all over the world a Dutch study programme (in English) with a global perspective. We firmly believe that Dutch design has a great deal to offer the international professional community.
Any study programme preparing students for a sustainable career needs to provide possibilities for them to gain first-hand experience with and within a diversity of cultures and conditions. This will aid students in developing their own vocabulary and determining their position within the field.
We aim to make students not only internationally competent, but also internationally fluent in their future practice as architects, urbanists and landscape architects. Our main focus is on International classroom, Curriculum content, Strategic partners and Student and staff mobility.
International classroom
We try to realise an organisational culture in which everybody feels at home. The international classroom is central to our educational philosophy and practical approach. It is the backbone for all activities aimed at maximising the impact and outcome of our study programme. Currently, our international classroom host a dynamic mix of individuals from many different cultural and social backgrounds, across all disciplines.
We have identified the following segments:
• Local students: they are able to interact with international students, can benefit personally from these intercultural encounters in their home country and can build a network of international contacts;
• Foreign students: they will spend several years in a foreign educational system;
• Local teachers and staff: they interact with foreigners in their professional work;
• Foreign lecturers: some of them live and work in the Netherlands, while others live and work abroad, and travel to Amsterdam to teach.
International curriculum
The Academy include quite a few international and intercultural elements in the curriculum (guest lectures, design studios, Summer schools, excursions). Taking part in our international programmes and Summer Schools helps students to acquire international skills. Landscape Architecture offers an annual joint-degree programme through EMiLA (European Master in Landscape Architecture), with Summer School workshops as well. Projects, study visits, workshops abroad are:
• Cross-border design project locations
• Cross-border study visits (Eurotour)
• Cross-border workshops (Summer Schools)
Strategic partners
The Academy is an active member of several international networks, such as the EAAE, ECLAS and IFLA. Our goal is to safeguard the international profile of our institute. We have recently joined AESOP and ISOCARP. Within the EAAE, we actively participate in the Education Academy.
Today the Academy is part of an exclusive network of predominantly European institutes. Examples include:
Curriculum partners:
• EMiLA: European Master in Landscape Architecture/joint degree), (Landscape Architecture: since 2013).
Multi-year cooperation partners:
• Wood - Structure & Expression: Strategic Partnership Erasmus+ (Architecture: 2018–2020);
• Design in Urbanism: The Big Reset in Neighbourhood Design: (Urbanism: since 2015);
One-year collaboration partners:
• Gdansk University of Technology, Architectuur
• The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation
• Lund School of Architecture
• Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
• University of Copenhagen, Denemarken
• Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Nature et du Paysage, Blois
• Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
• BAC - Boston Architectural College