The AA offered places to students from schools of architecture overseas who wished to participate in the activities of the AA as a year away from their home institutions. Students were accepted into the Second, Third or Fourth Year, depending on their previous experience and the portfolio of work they submitted as part of the application process. Students were expected to stay for the entire three terms of the AA’s academic year, which begins in October and concludes the following June.
The three-term, 32-week programme involved students in all aspects of undergraduate life at the AA, including participation in Intermediate or Diploma School units, Complementary Studies courses and the AA’s evening lecture series, exhibitions and other special events. As part of the programme students had access to the full range of resources at the AA, including the workshops, libraries, digital prototyping, computing and
audio-visual labs and other facilities.
During the four-week break between terms, students (subject to their visa status) were able to travel abroad, experiencing the architecture and cities of Europe. Many overseas schools were prepared to grant credit to their students during their study at the AA, and arrangements for this should be made by the students prior to their arrival in the programme. This will help to clarify the kinds of Complementary Studies courses, in addition to the unit work, they will be required to attend.