Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best General Architecture Schools

2023 Best General Architecture Schools

81 Colleges
$49,005 Avg Salary
$26,624 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best General Architecture School for You

General Architecture is the #130 most popular major in the country with 4,982 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best General Architecture Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best General Architecture Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for architecture majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best General Architecture Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the United States for general architecture students. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

While working on their degree, architecture majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $24,500 in student debt.

Full General Architecture at University of Notre Dame Report

Request Information

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a great place for general architecture students. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full General Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Report

Request Information
#3

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Out of the 81 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Yale University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.

Full General Architecture at Yale University Report

Request Information
#4

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best General Architecture Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

Read full report on General Architecture at Harvard University

Request Information

Out of the 81 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, architecture graduates from Georgia Tech carry an average student debtload of $30,750.

Full General Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Report

Request Information
#6

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for general architecture students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that architecture majors at Virginia Tech take out is $31,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $799, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on General Architecture at Virginia Tech

Request Information

University of California - Berkeley landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best general architecture programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

Architecture majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full General Architecture at University of California - Berkeley Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #8, North Carolina State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for general architecture students. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

After completing their degree, architecture graduates from NC State carry an average student debtload of $24,250.

Full General Architecture at North Carolina State University Report

Request Information
#9

Rice University

Houston, TX

Rice University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best General Architecture Schools ranking. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.

Read More…

Request Information

The University of Texas at Austin came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best General Architecture Schools ranking. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.

On average, architecture graduates from UT Austin take out $21,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $266.

Read More…

Request Information

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best General Architecture Schools ranking. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

While working on their degree, architecture majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $25,127 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $454.

Read More…

Request Information

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranked #12 on this year’s Best General Architecture Schools list. Located in the city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that architecture majors at RPI take out is $31,000.

Read full report on General Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Request Information

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Architecture Schools award.

Rank College Location
13 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
14 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
15 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
16 California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA

General Architecture by Region

View the Best General Architecture Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

General Architecture is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Architecture

Related Major Annual Graduates
Architectural Sciences & Technology 6,781
Urban & Regional Planning 2,419
Landscape Architecture 905
Environmental Design 741
Interior Architecture 728

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Danichou.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.