American College of the Building Arts

Private · Selective · SC

Photo: Jason W. Kaumeyer (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationSC · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads155

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate55.2%

6-yr grad rate62.1%

Drop-out rate25%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$22k

Out-of-state tuition$22k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity9.7%

Gender diversity17.4%

International0%

Identity—

Overview

The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina is the only college in the country granting bachelor's degrees in traditional building trades — timber framing, blacksmithing, stone carving, plasterwork, masonry, and carpentry — combined with a genuine liberal arts core. It was founded in the late 1990s partly in response to Hurricane Hugo's damage to Charleston's historic buildings, which exposed just how few skilled tradespeople remained who could restore them properly.

Academics

Students train as craft artisans through hands-on shop and studio work in their chosen trade, paired with academic coursework in history, design, and the liberal arts, producing graduates who can both execute and understand historic construction techniques. Class sizes are necessarily small given the intensive, apprenticeship-like nature of trade instruction.

Campus & student life

Being situated in Charleston, a city built on and famous for historic preservation and fine craftsmanship, means students train in an environment where their trade is visibly and constantly in demand around them — a restoration project is never more than a few blocks away as a living example of the work they're learning.

Getting in

Admission looks for genuine interest in craft and manual trades alongside academic ability, since the program demands serious physical and technical commitment few applicants pursue by accident. Portfolios or demonstrated hands-on experience can matter as much as a standard transcript.

After graduation

Graduates go into historic preservation, high-end custom construction, and specialty trades where their combination of craft skill and formal education is rare and highly valued. Many are recruited directly by preservation-focused firms and contractors who specifically seek out the college's graduates for jobs that require both artistry and technical precision.

Worth knowing

This is a tiny, mission-specific institution unlike any conventional college — students spend as much time in workshops as in classrooms, and the degree is a real, recognized credential in the historic-preservation and specialty-trades world specifically, even though it carries little name recognition outside it.

acba.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate44.4%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1130–1290 · ACT 20–27

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying