The Faculty of Architecture and Design was established at the University of Petra in 1991-1992, comprising two departments: the Department of Architecture and the Department of Interior Design. Then, the Department of Graphic Design was established in 2003, the Department of Animation and Multimedia in 2016, and the Department of Digital Film Design Technology in 2022. The study is based on the credit hour system. It currently offers the first university degree (Bachelor's) in these five specializations, in addition to a Master's degree in Smart Sustainable Cities and a Master's degree in Interior Design.
The Faculty of Architecture and Design is distinguished by its applied specializations, which give it a specificity that makes it constantly in contact with the labor market, offering realistic projects to train students during their studies and paying attention to the infrastructure of international standards. The faculty has provided advanced facilities including: urban green lab, learning resources lab, two theaters, lecture hall for theoretical courses, seminar hall for graduate students, twenty-one design studio, six computer labs, lighting and acoustics lab, cinematography studio, animation studio, silkscreen lab, ceramics lab, photography lab, workshop for preparing architectural models, three fine arts studios, engineering workshop, permanent exhibition hall for student work, in addition to 'environmental mud building', which includes two seminar rooms and a permanent exhibition for building materials.
The Faculty of Architecture and Design follows a policy of sending students to the best international universities to obtain higher degrees, and candidates are selected accurately, fairly, and on well-studied competitive grounds. The faculty also provides everything necessary to encourage faculty members to pursue scientific research, including support for their attendance at international conferences within and outside the Kingdom, preparation of the required sources, references, and equipment, and securing sufficient financial allocations to meet the requirements of scientific research. The faculty members work on international projects with prestigious universities such as University College London and the universities of Oxford, Berlin, Reading, Leeds, Brighton, Sheffield, Anglia Ruskin, and others, which reflects the high level of faculty research reached, resulting in obtaining the Newton Prize for Scientific Research in 2020 from the British government.
In addition, the Faculty of Architecture and Design, with its five departments, is open to the local community through projects for students that are connected to reality and directed at meeting the community's needs and aspirations in the present and the future. More than fifty memorandums of understanding from various institutions in the local community have opened the way for students to work on real projects, which has enhanced their skills in entering the labor market.
In the academic year 2022-2023, the Faculty of Architecture and Design also began implementing the Integrated Dual Program for students, with support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). This program, which is uniquely implemented by the University of Petra for the first time at the level of Jordanian private universities, aims to combine the theoretical academic aspect with the practical application aspect, improve students' professional skills, better apply theories, and provide them with practical experience accompanying their university studies, as well as to enable the private sector to employ manpower appropriate to the needs of the labor market, by training them for a period of 9 months, distributed over the summer semesters, starting at the end of the first year. Memoranda of understanding were signed with more than 30 local companies in the private sector, ensuring that students are trained within the framework of this program, hone their skills, and gain sufficient experience to qualify them for the labor market after graduation.
The Faculty of Architecture and Design attracts prominent figures to teach and give specialized scientific lectures. Judging committees, comprising distinguished academics and professional practitioners, are invited to evaluate student projects, foster greater market openness, benefit from their expertise, and ensure objectivity and integrity in the evaluation process.
To enrich students' experiences, the Faculty of Architecture and Design organizes artistic competitions and accepts invitations to participate in others held by local and international institutions, in addition to purposeful scientific field trips inside and outside the Kingdom. It also pays attention to holding sports matches that enhance the spirit of competition and stimulate students' physical and mental abilities. The college organizes art exhibitions for students, in addition to exhibitions curated by faculty members, in a way that reflects the diversity of their orientations and the art schools to which they belong, presenting a clear picture of the cultural diversity and artistic momentum that the college abounds with.
Since the local and regional labor market requires the distinguished quality that the Faculty of Architecture and Design at the University of Petra contributes to in various specializations, the Faculty is proud that its students have received many international awards, which has increased the demand for employing its graduates because of their excellent reputation and scientific competence related to the essence of sustainable development and meet the needs of the market.