The Contribution of Higher Education to the Accumulation of Human Capital in the Romanian Architecture Field During Communism

This article evaluates the contribution of higher education to the accumulation of human capital in the Romanian architecture domain of activity during the communist regime. Based on statistical data, legislative acts and archival documents from National Institute of Statistics, National Archives as well as other sources, a reconstruction of the accumulation of specialists in the architecture field is attempted, from presenting the corresponding higher education organization to types of specialists trained, number of graduates, constraints and other important aspects not only for architecture, but also for the evolution of higher education during the communist regime. The architects and sub-architects, were the two type of specialist trained in the higher education system, the latter closely resembling the characteristics of sub-engineers and dentists. Between 1948-1989 there was a period of important accumulation of specialists for architecture field, especially in 1970s, mostly due to the introducing of short term education, and with a highest number of specialist graduating in 1975. Beside this new type of specialist trained from the beginning of 1970s, the sub-architect, after last of them graduated and from the middle of 1980s, architects were trained for the first time at evening form of education, attending 7 years of studies, the longest study time in the Romanian higher education. All these specialists were trained at “Ion Mincu” Institute of Architecture from Bucharest, and at sections of architecture (only for sub-architects) at polytechnics institutes from Iasi, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara. Although the architecture higher education is not a complex type of education in terms of presenting its evolution, the contribution to the accumulation of human capital in the architecture domain of activity was not an easy task and not only because of the missing statistical data. The introduction of sub-architects education revealed many interesting aspects of the process of training specialists through the higher education.