I also applied to the Department of Architecture and Design. Let's keep our fingers crossed while we attend a response. Please let me know if you hear anything from them!
1) I would think recent graduate would be a bit more close to the 1 year or less period, but I seriously doubt that 2.5 years will hurt your application.
2) They do, the website says that international applicants are welcome and they offer J-1 visa sponsorship, plus 1500 dlls for travel expenses if your selected.
3) I just graduated some 5 months ago, and have brief experience in curatorial assistance, but my most recent being very valuable as I was working in a leading private collection in Latin America, where I was put in charge of a very important traveling exhibition project.
Sorry if it's a little late for a response. Did you apply?