University of Florida
College of Design, Construction & Planning
School of Architecture
Gainesville, Fla.
dcp.ufl.edu/arch

B.Des., M.ARCH., M.S. in Acoustics, M.S. in Architectural Pedagogy, Doctorate

Many schools have a strong urban design/planning focus, and others emphasize natural ecologies and landscape as architectural context; the University of Florida—located in a state where mass tourism meets sensitive habitats like the Everglades and climatic threats—integrates the two into a single holistic approach. Accordingly, the school’s two preservation institutes, in the Caribbean and on the island of Nantucket, investigate both the cultural and ecological heritage of each place. UF also maintains the Vicenza Institute of Architecture in Italy.

Undergraduate Admissions: Avg. SAT: 1963 (out of 2400 points); Avg. ACT: 29.6; Avg. GPA: 4.1; Applied: 220; Accepted: 50; Enrolled: 50
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: N/A; Female: 50%; International: 1–2%; Financial aid: 90%
Graduate Admissions: Avg. GRE: 1123 / Min.: 1000; Avg. GPA: 3.55
Tuition and Fees: Undergraduate, $4,340 (resident), $23,710 (nonresident); Graduate, $9,470 (resident), $26,860 (nonresident)

University of Maryland
School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation
College Park, Md.
arch.umd.edu

B.S. Arch., M.ARCH., M.S. Arch., M.ARCH./Master of Community Planning, M.ARCH./Master of Historic Preservation

“Urban Design and building craft are the two primary strengths of the architecture program, with sustainability as a theme in both areas,” comments a member of Maryland’s faculty. One of just a few architecture programs in the Washington, D.C., metro area, UMD has its policy-wonk side, in the form of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, a collaboration with the schools of engineering, public policy, and agriculture and natural resources. Students can choose from a long menu of study-abroad options.

Undergraduate Admissions: Middle 50% SAT range: 1280 to 1380; Avg. GPA: 3.93; Applied: 689; Accepted: 168; Enrolled: 56
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: 27%; Female: 44%; International: <1%; Financial aid: 62%
Graduate Admissions: Avg. GRE: 1160; Avg. GPA: 3.5; Applied: 218; Accepted: 82; Enrolled: 39
Student/Faculty Ratio: 11:1
Tuition: Undergraduate, $8,053 (resident), $23,990 (nonresident); Graduate, $471 (resident) per credit hour, $1,016 (nonresident) per credit hour

Louisiana State University
College of Art + Design
School of Architecture
Baton Rouge, La.
design.lsu.edu/architecture

B.ARCH., M.ARCH.

The name of the LSU School of Architecture’s student-run journal, Contexture, says it all: This is a program in which context in all its forms—historic (LSU is strong in preservation), socioeconomic (community design), and environmental (the much-admired landscape architecture school is a frequent collaborator)—really matters. Special programs include a concentration in heritage conservation, knitting together design, historic preservation, and economic development.

Undergraduate Admissions:Avg. SAT: 1175; Avg. ACT: 25.3; Avg. GPA: 2.94; Applied: 192; Accepted: 102; Enrolled: 89
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: 33%; Female: 64%; International: 5%; Financial aid: 73%
Graduate Admissions: Applied: 37; Accepted: 10; Enrolled: 10
Student/Faculty Ratio: 14:1
Tuition and Fees: Undergraduate, $5,215.40 (resident), $14,365.40 (nonresident); Graduate, $5,947.40 (resident), $15,097.40 (nonresident)

Pennsylvania State University
College of Arts and Architecture
School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Department of Architecture
State College, Pa.
arch.psu.edu

B.S. Arch, B.ARCH., M.Arch.

There are windfalls, and then there are windfalls. Late last year, Penn State architecture alum “Cal” Stuckeman committed $20 million to his alma mater to enhance cross-disciplinary learning between architecture and landscape architecture. The gift will help Penn State’s SALA bolster its already strong reputation with new faculty positions and opportunities for collaborative research. Stuckeman is also the donor behind the school’s new LEED-Gold facility.

Undergraduate Admissions: Avg. SAT: 1250; Avg. ACT: 27; Avg. GPA: 3.99 / Min.: 3.16; Applied: 980; Accepted: 205; Enrolled: 70
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: 16.5%; Female: 48%; International: 3%; Financial aid: N/A
Graduate Admissions: N/A
Student/Faculty Ratio: 11:1
Tuition: Undergraduate, lower division, $13,604 (resident), $25,134 (nonresident); Undergraduate, upper division, $14,708 (resident), $26,412 (nonresident); Graduate, $15,466 (resident), $27,398 (nonresident)

University of Utah
College of Architecture + Planning
School of Architecture
Salt Lake City
arch.utah.edu

B.S. Arch Studies, M.ARCH., Master of Architectural Studies, Historic Preservation Certificate

The only architecture school in Utah is joined to an ambitious, fast-growing urban planning department—a recent hire is noted Smart Growth expert Arthur C. Nelson, who is creating CA+P’s new Metropolitan Research Center. The design/build tradition is thriving here as well: DesignBuildBLUFF sees first-year M.Arch. students building an off-the-grid, net zero house for a family in the Navajo Nation in Bluff, Utah.

Undergraduate Admissions: Avg. ACT: 25.8 / Min.: 17.8; Avg. GPA: 3.5 / Min.: 2.7; Applied: 91; Accepted: 40; Enrolled: 37
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: 14%; Female: 27%; International: 6%; Financial aid: 37%
Graduate Admissions: GRE: not required; Avg. GPA: 3.36 / Min.: 3.0; Applied: 101; Accepted: 69; Enrolled: 44
Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1
Tuition: Undergraduate, lower division, $5,444 (resident), $17,155 (nonresident); Undergraduate, upper division, $5,500 (resident), $17,360 (nonresident); Graduate, $9,504 (resident), $23,758 (nonresident) for 28 credit hours (estimated)

Woodbury University
School of Architecture
Burbank-Los Angeles and San Diego (two campuses)
architecture.woodbury.edu

B.ARCH., B.F.A. Int. Arch., M.Arch., M.Arch. in Real Estate Development

A pedagogical focus on landscape urbanism has grown out of, and reinforces, this school’s close engagement with the megalopolis of Southern California—whose ecology is the subject of research by Woodbury’s Arid Lands Institute. The school also boasts the Center for Community Research and Design and the Julius Shulman Institute; a robust study-abroad program; and expertise in design entrepreneurship, as attested by the Master’s in Real Estate Development. All this, and an impressively diverse student body.

Undergraduate Admissions: Avg. SAT: 958; Avg. ACT: 18; Avg. GPA: 3.2 / Min.: 3.0; Applied: 379; Accepted: 148; Enrolled: 140
Undergraduate Demographics: Minority: 60%; Female: 32%; International: 5%; Financial aid: 84%
Graduate Admissions: GRE: not required; Avg. GPA: 3.2 / Min.: 3.0; Applied: 43; Accepted: 33; Enrolled: 21
Student/Faculty Ratio: N/A
Tuition: Undergraduate, $29,086, Graduate, $34,500