Degrees Explained: The Harvard Architectural Imagination Online Course

15 Nov 2018

As online education gains weight, many international students seek the best distance learning courses that money can buy.

Historically known for its prestigious academic standards, Harvard University is capitalising on this global interest, transferring courses to online study frameworks in the hopes that virtual learners across the world will apply.

Are you interested in online courses at Harvard? Source: Giphy

Harvard offers a wide range of online degrees, so you can choose from an assortment of categories like Art & Design, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Education & Teaching, Engineering, Health & Medicine, Humanities, Mathematics, Programming, Science and Social Sciences.

But here at Study International, we wanted to unravel Harvard’s most viewed virtual degree – The Harvard Architectural Imagination online course.

What is the Harvard Architectural Imagination course?

As the programme introduction states, “Architecture engages a culture’s deepest social values and expresses them in material, aesthetic form. In this course, you will learn how to ‘read’ architecture as a cultural expression as well as a technical achievement. Vivid analyses of exemplary buildings from a wide range of historical contexts, coupled with hands-on exercises in drawing and modeling, bring you close to the work of an actual architect or historian.”

Conducted by the Harvard School of Design, what students love most about this course is that it’s totally FREE!

That’s right, this Harvard-standard online course costs no money at all. What it does cost is time, attention and a passion for the architecture discipline.

Ideal for aspiring students, graduates or employees, this course enables you to further your expertise and progress in the professional world.

Course breakdown

The course is broken into three integral parts that will set your architectural imagination alight.

1) Introduction of the architectural imagination

This is where you’ll be presented with the basic foundations of the topic and asked to complete a few hands-on exercises. You’ll also be introduced to some of the challenges involved in writing architectural history and taught how to tackle them.

2) Addressing technology as a component of architecture’s realisation and understanding

The second stage requires you to pick apart the impact of tech on architecture, reviewing how it has transformed human perceptions into real-life structures. This is where you’ll build on theories and intertwine concepts with the topic as a whole.

3) Confronting architecture’s complex relationship to its social and historical contexts

During the final stage of the course, you’ll learn about architecture’s power of representation and develop the confidence to read and understand different forms of architectural representation.

Once you’ve finished this course, you’ll leave with a deeper knowledge of the topic and a great achievement to include on your CV.