America boasts some of the finest architectural structures in the world – the Empire State Building, the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge and Washington National Cathedral, to name but a few - so where better to study architecture than the USA, and in one of its most prestigious institutions?
Here are the Top 7 architectural schools in the country:
1. MIT
MIT is an elite private college in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Boston - a small college with 4,500 undergraduate students. MIT was the first school to offer an architectural study program, its Department of Architecture having been founded in 1865. Today it offers degree programs in Architectural Design, Building Technology, Design Technology, History, Theory and Criticism, and the Visual Arts. “The department is renowned for its brilliant teaching, its attention to how architecture relates to and sits within its wider social context, its high calibre research, and its faculty,” says Lindsey A. Hernandez, a writer at UKWritings and Revieweal.
2. Harvard
Also in Boston, Harvard is an elite private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A mid-size college, it has 7000 undergraduate students. An integral part of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) - a global academic leader in the field - architecture at Harvard is taught in the mythic Gund Hall, which has studio spaces and offices for 800 students and more than 100 faculty and staff. The curriculum includes design studio, theory, visual studies, history, technology, and professional practice.
3. University of California, Berkeley
Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, UC Berkeley is a highly rated public university in Berkeley, California, and is well regarded as an college with a long and lively history of being both culturally and politically diverse. The Berkeley campus is divided up into many colleges and schools with departments offering over 300 degree programs to 30,000 students, aiming to educate architects in both the practice and the discipline of architecture, with a mind to designing revolutionary buildings that are both technologically advanced and attuned to their users and the wider environment.
4. Columbia
Based in Morningside Heights in New York City, with 6,000 undergraduate students, Columbia housesthe Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation - also known as GSAPP – which is regarded as one of the most prestigious in the world. Students study for a renowned Masters of Science program in Advanced Architectural Design, Historic Preservation, Real Estate Development, Urban Design, and Urban Planning. “Columbia also boasts the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, the largest of its kind in the country, which holds some of the very first books on architecture,” explains Jared L. Ouimet, a journalist at University Assignments and Custom Writing.
5. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
UCLA is a highly rated public university in Los Angeles, California - a large institution with over 30,000 undergraduate students. UCLA’s school of Architecture and Urban Design focuses on contemporary urban issues and designing for visionary futures. Studies include the history and theory of architecture, and future contingencies of contemporary culture. The school of Architecture and Urban Design offers two academic graduate degrees: the Master of Arts in Architecture (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture (Ph.D).
6. Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech’s mission is to develop leaders in architecture who can improve lives by design and utilize the best in technology. Right in the heart of Atlanta and part of a Tier 1 research institution, the Georgia Tech School of Architecture offers an education in architecture that fully focuses on the future and combines research, design and technology, ensuring future students make a positive impact on the environment for years to come. Communication, theory, history and design are the areas studied, and incubator workshops are offered to all students.
7. Cornell
Cornell is a prestigious private university located in the college town of Ithaca, New York - a large college with some 15,000 undergrads. Cornell offers one of the oldest and most respected architecture programs in the United States, drawing on robust teaching and research, and with a solid foundation in the history, theory, and practice of architecture, aiming to produce the next generation of forward-thinking architects.
With such a choice of fantastic institutions in which to study architecture in the US, students of future Chrysler Buildings or Lincoln Memorials can be certain of a solid, career-building education.
Emily Henry is a writer at Paper Fellows and Big Assignments. She is also a freelance writer for various online publications and blogs like Best essay writing services. As a content writer, she writes articles about cybersecurity, coding, and computer science.
