The Royal Danish Academy - Architecture, Design, Conservation

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation - School of Architecture is one of the two Danish School of Architecture and one of the world’s oldest schools of architecture. Founded in 1754 as ’The Royal Danish Painting, Sculpture and Building Academy’, the academy’s purpose was to educate both artists and craftsmen in the three disciplines under the same roof.

In the 1960’s the school became an independent unit with its own management and achieved the status of an institution of higher learning, issuing a diploma equal to a university Master’s degree in architecture, while maintaining its artistic and professional status within the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

The school educates architects in the fields of architectural design and restoration, urban and landscape planning, and industrial, graphic, and furniture design. The tuition takes place within 9 study departments providing instruction on all levels, while the research is organized within 4 institutes.

The diploma is earned through a three-year undergraduate course leading to Bachelor of Architecture and a two-year graduate course leading to Master of Arts in Architecture. There are three formalised examinations: a screening procedure after the first year of study, based on required studio work, the exam for the Bachelor of Architecture degree and the final thesis examination after the two-year Master of Arts in Architecture course. On 2 June 2011, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture merged with the Danish Design School and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Conservation to become the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation.