The Best Architecture Grad Programs & Schools in the South
UL Lafayette is among the best architecture graduate programs in the South, affording students many of the same opportunities they would find at universities like UT Austin, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rice University, Clemson, University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Tulane. In the UL Lafayette School of Architecture and Design, we offer a Master of Architecture degree for all students, regardless of whether you previously studied architecture or not.
Though each of the best architecture schools have features that make them stand above the rest, you should research each program thoroughly to make sure it matches your needs and ambitions in a few key areas.
Curriculum & Faculty
The best architecture graduate programs have their specialties, giving students the chance to focus on specific initiatives through their projects and research, if they choose.
At UL Lafayette, we have an intense focus on community outreach, topic-based studios, place-based design, and sustainability and interdisciplinary projects. Our signature initiatives aim to provide professional services to our communities and society through studios and year-round development. These initiatives include:
- Community Design Workshop, which assists in urban design and planning projects and small town and neighborhood redevelopment efforts;
- Building Institute, which leads sustainable develop-design-build projects;
- Coastal Community Resilience Studio, which leads a transdisciplinary effort with collaborators across campus to address the complexities of restoring and preserving the Louisiana coast; and
- Sustainable Development Lab, which integrates design research and entrepreneurship for design-driven economic development.
Through these institutes, our students have:
- Designed and built Habitat for Humanity homes;
- Worked to place a Lafayette neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places;
- Redesigned the University’s Quad;
- Help with research and designs for the I-49 Connector project;
- Designed and built the Lafayette Strong Pavilion, a gridshell structure in the city’s first sculpture park; and
- Designed and built a home for the 2009 Solar Decathlon that won first place in market viability.
Even among the best architecture graduate programs, it is rare to find so many opportunities for students to serve their communities through thoughtful and responsible design. Because we emphasize community outreach through our program, we also work with a range of stakeholders in the area. We address their concerns and desires in our designs, which adds another facet to the educational environment.
While you’re reviewing the curriculum and opportunities at any university, you should also learn more about the faculty members you’ll be working with. At the best architecture schools, you’ll get to work with a range of different licensed architects and architectural scholars who work to advance the architectural field while remaining dedicated educators.
On our faculty, we have a Gorham P. Stevens Rome Prize for Architecture winner, a Governor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education winner, and a Fulbright Hays Fellowship awardee, and an ACSA Diversity Achievement Award recipient. We are constantly welcoming visiting professors and architects from all fields to critique and lecture in our classrooms.
Accreditation
Obviously, all of the best architecture graduate schools should be accredited. In order to become an architect licensed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), you have to earn a degree sanctioned by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB). UL Lafayette’s Master of Architecture program received the maximum full-length accreditation term of eight years after its most recent comprehensive review by the NAAB in 2014.
Professional Development
In the UL Lafayette School of Architecture, our emphasis is on preparing you for the professional world of architecture. That doesn’t mean just teaching you how to create great designs—it means preparing you for the challenges you’ll face on the job every day after you graduate.
According to the DesignIntelligence 2015 survey, a graduate’s personality and attitude are the most important qualities that firms consider when interviewing job candidates. Beyond creating and potentially building your own designs while in the Master of Architecture program, you’ll learn how to act professionally, ethically, and critically for the good of your client, society, and the public, so you’ll know how to handle yourself in the workplace when you have to answer to a client or collaborate on designs with your colleagues. All of our students are required to take a professional practice course, which teaches you the ins and outs of management, contract services and administration, and professional ethics and relationships.
Also according to the DesignIntelligence survey, the architecture profession’s biggest concerns are sustainability and climate change, and it’s the responsibility of the best architecture graduate schools to teach the intricacies of sustainable design and environmental stewardship. One of our core values in the School of Architecture and Design is environmental responsibility, meaning we have a responsibility to be stewards of the buildings we make and the environments in which they interact with their surrounding environment.
We encourage our students to get real-world experience while they’re in school, and we work to connect students with local and international firms for internships. We are proud of the work our alumni have done, and many of them still support our programs by hiring interns. Our students work closely with stakeholders in their real-world studio projects, often converting the classroom experience into internships after graduation. Our graduates’ professionalism, skill sets, and creative problem solving have been recognized by firms across the country, which is why those firms that hire one of our graduates often come back to hire more. Recently, one of our graduate assistants worked with the consulting team Stantec on the I-49 connector project and was hired for a position in Dallas. After only two weeks on the job, Stantec was already encouraging more UL Lafayette graduates to apply.
Cost
Attending the best architecture graduate school doesn’t require taking tens of thousands of dollars out in student loans. UL Lafayette is one of the most affordable universities in the country, giving you the opportunity to earn your degree without worrying about paying for it for the next few decades.
In Spring 2016, tuition and fees for a graduate student and Louisiana resident taking nine hours was $4,504 per semester. For out-of-state students, tuition and fees were $11,368. However, it’s rare for our students to pay that amount out of pocket—many of our students work as graduate assistants in the School of Architecture and Design or in offices across campus. Most often, these assistantships come with a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend.
Size of the Program
When you’re choosing a graduate program, it’s important to know how much you’ll be competing for your professors’ attention. At UL Lafayette, our student-to-teacher ratio is about 8:1 in our studios—and all of our faculty are full time, so they are completely dedicated to the studio and your success. We have about 15 graduates every year, and 90% of our students who finished in the last five years were employed within the field of architecture within three months of graduating.
Regardless of size, you should also choose a school with a commitment to diversity. At UL Lafayette, we seek to include all perspectives and voices to make sure we are designing for all populations.