Inclusion of Architectural Design Content in Civil Engineering Programs: Analysis in Federal Higher Education Institutions in Brazil and in International References
Architectural Design Education; Civil Engineering Education; Architectural Design
This dissertation investigates the inclusion of architectural design in Civil Engineering undergraduate programs at federal higher education institutions in Brazil. The research is organized around three axes: the historical, regulatory, and comparative contextualization of the relationship between architecture and engineering; the quantitative and qualitative mapping of the Pedagogical Course Plans of 125 federal institutions; and the examination of international experiences of integration between the two fields, including dual-degree programs. The results show that courses with architectural design content are present in 87 of the 125 programs analyzed, with significant variation in terms of workload, mandatory or elective status, thematic approaches, and the broader context in which this teaching takes place. The analysis of course syllabi reveals the diversity of content covered in these courses and the different ways in which architectural design is addressed across programs. The configuration observed is associated with a historical and regulatory ambiguity that grants each institution considerable latitude in defining the role of architectural design within the curriculum. Drawing on the articulation between empirical findings and international references, the study organizes a set of curricular insertion possibilities, arranged by levels, with the aim of broadening the debate and opening new horizons for programs that wish to deepen the presence of architectural design in their curricula.