AA Director Ingrid Schroder has been featured in Architects’ Journal this month, writing on the challenges involved in balancing the books of ‘one of the world’s most famous architectural schools’ and the financial difficulties that universities are facing everywhere. In the opinion piece, which is titled ‘The Big Squeeze: What Are the Real Costs of a Viable Architectural Education?’ Schroder writes:

‘At a moment when state-funded institutions face drastic budget cuts, redundancy and threat of closure, we need to be transparent and direct about the real costs of a responsible professional education.

First of all, yes, for UK students, we are expensive. The AA does not receive government funding and therefore does not have a home-student fee cap. All students pay the same, no matter where they come from, and we offer scholarships and bursaries to those with financial need without national bias.’

Schroder provides an honest and direct breakdown of the costs associated with running the AA, including staff costs, property leases, financial aid, the AA’s public programme and resources. She also explains the financial, ethical and qualitative dynamics of student–tutor ratios, as well as numbers of design units and administrative support, comparing the pressure of financial savings against the risk of lessening the academic experience for both staff and students.

Read Ingrid Schroder’s piece on the Architects' Journal