Many people seeking a guide to architecture schools want a list of the top ten schools in the United States. Unfortunately the top architecture schools change rapidly due to shifting faculty and architectural pedagogy. Instead of blindly choosing from a list, plan on spending some time researching the degree you want as well as the schools that offer it in order to find the best school for you.
Types of Architecture Degrees
Licensed architects hold a Bachelor or Master of Architecture. Both degrees allow you to practice architecture, making it a personal decision which degree to pursue. The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) is a five year degree program, and at 150 required credit hours, the quickest path to obtaining a degree that will allow you to practice architecture. The Master of Architecture (M.Arch) requires 168 credit hours, 30 of which must be obtained at the graduate level. Most students seeking a M.Arch will obtain a Bachelor of Arts or Science in Architecture, the Built Environment, or Architectural Studies.
Choosing a Top Architecture School
Once you know which degree you want to pursue, start researching different schools of architecture. First, check with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) for a list of accredited architecture schools that offer your chosen degree. Unlike other degrees programs, the pool of accredited architecture schools is relatively small, with about fifty colleges offering an accredited B.Arch degree. If you are seeking a top architecture grad school, there are nearly a hundred accredited architecture programs that offer the M.Arch in the United States.
Armed with this list of accredited architecture schools start making another list. This list should contain contemporary architects whose work you admire. Find out where these architects went to school and if they currently teach at a particular school of architecture. Many top architects will become visiting professors at some point in their career- finding out where they teach is a good indication of the type of architecture that school values.
Once you’ve gotten a list of about twenty prospective schools, start visiting school of architecture websites. Each school of architecture should showcase the work of its students and faculty online. Examine this work for clues about the pedagogical leanings of each school. One look at the Notre Dame school of architecture website, for example, should tell you that this school is a proponent of neoclassical architecture. This means if Frank Gehry is your architectural idol, you should probably avoid this school, despite Notre Dame’s sterling academic reputation.
Narrow down your list to a reasonable amount of architecture schools that you can apply to. Three to five is usually a good number to consider. Keep in mind that most top architecture schools require a portfolio of work to be submitted as part of an overall application. Deadlines to apply to a school of architecture may also be earlier than the deadlines for other college departments. If you dream about attending a top architecture grad school, don’t be afraid to apply if you have an unrelated major. Be sure, however, that you do have basic skills and understanding of design.
