Education Abroad

The School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s tradition of international education began in 1971, when founding Dean John Hill, Professor Roger Lewis, and Kea Distinguished Professor Charles Moore led 17 members of the School’s first graduating class on a study of habitation throughout  Europe and the Middle East. Traveling through the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia, homes they visited and discussed ranged from single houses and apartment complexes to grand palaces and underground troglodyte dwellings. Since that inaugural trip, international education has been an intrinsic part of the student experience, with faculty leading study abroad programs to destinations in five of the seven continents. We offer a semester abroad at our Maryland in Florence program every spring, along with a changing series of short-term programs reflecting faculty interest and expertise in summer, winter session, and spring break. Destinations have included Italy, France, Spain, Scandinavia, Russia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Japan, and South Africa. Our ongoing archaeological project, Restoring Ancient Stabiae, grew out of a graduate student’s Master of Architecture thesis. The Global Classroom Initiative extends our ability to connect students with their counterparts around the world through virtual courses. Current virtual seminar and studio offerings link Tsinghua University in China and Al-Nahrain University in Iraq with the University of Maryland.