The impact of the popularisation of architectural studies on the number of applicants

Abstract

The Faculty of Architecture and Design at Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia, has a long-term tradition of teaching architecture in Slovakia. However, the number of applicants for subjects, such as Architecture and Urbanism has had a decreasing tendency in the last decade. The reason for this decline can be attributed not only to the recent pandemic but also to an increasing attractiveness of foreign architectural universities. The high school students’ awareness of architecture is insufficient. Students lack soft skills and sufficient ability to express themselves at hand-drawn graphics. Teachers have tried to make education more attractive through various initiatives. In this article, the authors look at the purpose, conception and goals of these initiatives that promote and make studying more attractive. These activities include lecturing about the Faculty of Architecture at secondary schools or providing courses in drawing, modelling or descriptive geometry. The article describes the methods used and evaluate the impact of the activities on increasing interest in studying architecture during recent years. The attractiveness of the courses depends on the level of knowledge of the given subject. Lastly, there is also included a sketch of potential developments that could be expected in the future, and an outline of other necessary activities in terms of study attractiveness