The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in historic preservation in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah, Georgia.
Preservation design is an extraordinary field that combines history, planning and conservation with business, entrepreneurship and design innovation to elevate and revitalize the built environment.
SCAD empowers students to be leaders in this rapidly evolving profession. Within a studio-based curriculum, students push boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration, crafting artful solutions that upcycle the community and the built environment. Pursue your passion at a school that has been at the vanguard of preservation for more than three decades.
Students learning preservation design in Savannah live and study in one of America’s most significant National Historic Landmark Districts. Their work with the local historic architecture forms the lessons of present-day preservation and offers valuable experience with issues of preservation advocacy, restoration, conservation, economics, project management and renewal.
The Savannah College of Art and Design was founded in 1978 by Richard G. Rowan, Paula Wallace, May L. Poetter, and Paul E. Poetter to provide college degree programs not previously available in southeast Georgia and to create a specialized professional art college to attract students from throughout the United States and abroad.
The curriculum was established with dual goals of excellent arts education and effective career preparation for students. Today, with multiple locations and online distance education offerings, SCAD continues to assiduously adhere to these goals.
In the spring of 1979, SCAD purchased and renovated the Savannah Volunteer Guard Armory to serve as the first classroom and administration building. The historic significance of the 1892 structure was recognized by its nomination for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Named Poetter Hall in honor of two of the founders, the building remains in active use by SCAD today.
See various degree programs related to historic preservation design + image credit.