education and the traditional building arts skills. Students choose from among six craft specializations: timber framing, architectural carpentry, plaster, classical architecture, blacksmithing and stone carving.
Current students come from more than 30 states. One quarter of the student body is female and one fifth are veterans. The majority of students have secured employment in their respective trades prior to graduation.
== Academics ==
American College of the Building Arts combines a traditional liberal arts education with programs in trade education that are based on European and other models. The framing and plaster programs are based on the French “les Compagnons du Devoir,” a trade guild offering high-skill vocational and educational training rich in culture and humanity. The stone program is based on programs at Lincoln Cathedral and Wells Cathedral in the United Kingdom. The iron program has a long association with Colonial Williamsburg and also with the work of Philip Simmons, famed Charleston ironwork …
