The current Architecture Department is the continuation of the department of Architectural Engineering that was first established at Yarmouk University in 1979 as a part of the College of Engineering. In 1987, the College of Engineering was relocated to JUST's permanent location, and the department of Architecture continued to be one of its departments. In 2008, a decision was made to disjoint the department and to establish the College of Architecture and Design as an independent College. Hitherto, the College would initially contain two departments: The Department of Architecture (DA) and the Department of Urban Planning and Design. The separation from the College of Engineering was accompanied by essential changes in the structure of the educational curriculum. The goal was to expand the architectural education with an emphasis into the topics that target architectural educational outcomes. In the first semester of the academic year 2020-2021, the DA embraces 378 students in the undergraduate program. In the graduate program, the number of students is 68, nearly 40% of them are still in the coursework phase, while 60% are preparing their thesis proposal or thesis writing.  

Seeking the production of highly qualified architects to satisfy Jordan's national needs and help in materializing its development plans is one of the DA goals. Since its beginnings, the architecture program produced highly qualified architects who have demonstrated a successful practice in the Jordanian market and development planning policy. The DA provides its graduates with the education and skills they need to work and compete locally, regionally, and globally in various relevant areas, including, but not limited to, architectural design, project management, and modeling and rendering.

The faculty members of the DA are highly qualified academics. In addition to setting high standards in recruiting policies, a reliable, and rigorous scholarship program is adopted at the department. Qualified recipients are sent abroad to top universities in the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom to obtain their M.Sc., M. Arch, and Ph.D. degrees. 

Students enrolled in the undergraduate program are chosen among the top 20% of secondary school graduates. The DA's programs are all in English, including their textbooks, assignments, reports, and in-class instruction. The overall setup regarding the semester system, teaching methods, advising, and student performance assessment are similar to that applied in most USA universities.

In the current curriculum, there are no tracks or specializations within the architecture department. However, the curriculum allows students to choose 8 Credit Hours (C.H.) of elective courses from two lists; the first contains the elective courses offered by the department, and the second includes the courses offered by the College.