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International Programs

The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design offers its graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to study in various countries. Students participating in one of our study abroad programs can expect to be immersed in the local culture, on-site visits and studio experience to further their studies in architecture and design.

The college offers both faculty-led and exchange programs for students to participate.

The college's study abroad programs include travel and studies in Austria, Chile, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Vietnam, and many other international destinations.

The exchange programs offer students the opportunity to study for up to one year in another country. Exchange programs are ideal for students who are self-directed, motivated and can quickly adapt to diverse and unfamiliar settings. Foreign language proficiency is recommended.

Students interested in attending one of the offered study abroad programs must complete an application form and submit it along with a portfolio.

For additional information, questions or concerns, contact Assistant Dean Trang Phan at trangphan@uh.edu or call 713-743-3463 to schedule an appointment.


Pan-Asian Studio

The Pan Asia International program considers ways in which local and global cultures interact and affect each other.  Sites in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phnom Penh, as well as other destinations across Asia, offer an immersion into rapidly developing urban contexts and complex cultural histories for students to reflect upon known histories and culture in the United States.  A dynamic and simultaneous analysis of architecture, urban development, landscape, and infrastructure is necessary for each city where the built environment is constantly changing.  These studies provide a critical background for a future global practice necessary for architects today. Studio, history, and seminar courses are offered each year to undergraduate and graduate students.

Pan-American Studio

This faculty-led program allows students to travel to a different city in the Americas every summer to complete part of their professional curriculum while learning from that built environment. The research agenda focuses on the documentation and analysis of urban form and housing typologies of selected cities, resulting in a series of publications on cities in the Americas. This design studio is supplemented by history/seminar courses that support specific research agendas.

Italy

This faculty-led program allows students to travel to Italy for two months during the summer. Students are exposed to lectures ranging from history/seminar electives to classical and contemporary design. Studio project sites are selected in Italian cities and students are encouraged to think critically about pre-existing context as constraints on design. While in Italy, students spend half their time traveling to different cities, including Venice and Rome. The studio component of the program is based in the Santa Chiara Study Center, located in Castiglion Fiorentino.

Additional Opportunities to Study Abroad

Please contact Assistant Dean Trang Phan at trangphan@uh.edu or call 713-743-3463.