If you want the best education, choose Europe. It is a hub of the best institutes, schools, and universities that can ensure that a student’s education is never at stake. And if you have an interest in studying architecture, here’s a little help for you. After extensive research, these are noted as the ten best architecture schools in Europe, which promise to provide their pupils with the best schooling.
Now, with so many options in hand, it is pretty tough to make a call. While making a choice, you should keep four points in mind- admission procedure, courses available, exchange programs, and lastly, opportunities for internships leading to employment after graduation, an important thing to keep in mind is that these schools are no walk in the park, one does not simply submits on online essay for its admissions or exams, the architecture school is one that requires the attention of the pupil 100%.
If you are uncertain whether architecture is the right path, we highly encourage you to discuss it with an architect or architecture student before enrolling in the universe.
1. The Architectural Association, AA
The Architecture Association has no comparison when it comes to architectural education. It receives approximately 80 students every year. The best part about this school is it encourages the pupils to explore their imaginations and come up with innovative ideas.
The school provides various exchange programs for their students, which gives them an opportunity to apply for further studies in renowned institutions or universities. AA also has a hold of quite some architecture firms where students can earn experience through jobs or internships after schooling.
Coming to the admission procedure, all you have to do is choose the course, check the requirements for entry, and find out if you are eligible. Once that is done, you would have to visit the school for application procedures and deadlines. After that, the interview and assessment will take place. Finally, you need to wait for their decision.
If you are in, go through the financial aspects, get your CAS [if required], set the accommodation, and start your new life at the Architectural Association or AA.
2. Roma Tre University
With so many excellent architectural schools in hand, The Roma Tre University has just taken the competition to a whole new level by focusing on correlating the history and the present architectural situation. This school has an international reputation for being on the list of best architectural schools. The motto of this school is to focus on three primary areas- urbanism, architectural design, and restoration.
An average of 230 students take admission per year since the requirements are not as strict as the Architectural Association. All you need is a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree along with proficiency in the Italian language. The school has a vast network that helps in bagging opportunities for exchange programs, jobs, and internships for their students after graduating.
3. Universidade do Porto
Here’s one more to the list of best architecture schools in Europe- Universidade do Porto. This school is located in Portugal and was founded in 1979. Needless to say, they provide students with a wide range of programs during the course. Firstly, they believe in using freehand drawing and pedagogy of traditional methods to start with. Then, they move forward to software programming during the third year of the course.
About 150 students get admitted to this school per year. They try to make the students focus on various aspects of architecture and not just one in particular. That is not the only thing; they also engage the students with the city architecture so that they can understand their field better. And that helps in boosting their potential to bag opportunities for employment in various architecture firms after schooling is over.
The faculties collaborate or build up great networks with various firms to help their students with all of these. The requirements to get into this school are mild. You just have to provide a High School Diploma or an equivalent and proficiency in the Portuguese language.
4. Technical University Delft
The Technical University Delft, located in the Netherlands, was started in 1904 and is known for its fantastic faculty and the perfect environment to study architecture. They undoubtedly provide the pupils with various exchange programs, but their specialty is urbanism. The primary motto is to let the students focus on particular studies, be it anything from urbanism to science. In that way, students can specialize in their matter of interest.
They feel students can learn a lot about architectural facts from urbanism and with such prestigious urban conditions of the Netherlands, studying in this school has proven to be extremely helpful with all the experiments and urban planning of the country they get to engage themselves with. The faculty supports all their pupils with strong networks to build professional as well as personal connections with various firms that could help them earn jobs in the future.
This school receives almost 450 students every year, in both grad and undergrad levels. To apply for admission as an undergraduate, you would have to supply a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree along with proficiency in English and Dutch.
5. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Although the schools listed above are already the best ones, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid is rated to be one of the most prestigious schools in Europe, explicitly located in Spain and founded in 1848. The finest architects have studied as well as taught in this very school. Since the school is one of the most popular ones, it is highly competitive there, and students take time to use tools in preparation for various projects. But this competition helps students to prepare themselves for the real world out there.
The faculty consists of well-known architects, and thus, when it comes to education, this school has a standard of its own. They also provide the students with a wide range of exchange programs so that they can gain experience and learn about various architectural facts. Although the school does not take the initiative in promoting networks, students themselves have a full obligation to build up relationships with the outside world and ensure jobs after graduating. The school enrolls around 3900 to 5000 students every year and has high expectations from them. Hence, the admission procedure is not easy.
Firstly, you would have to pre-register yourself, and then, your admission would be consulted by the authorities. If you come across these, your file will be transferred for the admission procedure to continue. They also have the option to access studies carried out abroad and the visiting students can only be Spanish university students. Needless to mention, there are a hundred rules and restrictions you would have to follow if you want to be a part of this school.
6. Politecnico di Torino
The Politecnico di Torino School, founded in 1925, needs no introduction at all. This school provides significant attention to the relationship between context and architecture. And that encourages students to choose a course of their wish which will help them expertise on those specific topics while still getting engaged with the overall aspects of architecture.
They enroll around 630 students per year, and the requirements are quite simple. All you need is a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree, and you can take the admission test, which shall be followed by a few procedures before starting the program.
For under graduation, students get limited opportunities for employment, but once they enter the master’s program, they are offered jobs from various architecture firms. The students are also supplied with a wide range of exchange programs, which help them gain experience and interact with other students.
7. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, DARCH
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, DARCH is one of the best schools in the world when it comes to learning architecture. This school helps students to prepare for the latest technology and construction techniques. They admit around 1060 students per year, and this massive student body helps them promote interactions as well as exchange ideas among themselves.
The undergraduate program allows students to gain experience and practice architecture within various firms as well as exchange programs. The master’s programs provided by this school are rigorous and are considered to be one of the most respected ones in the world. The requirements for admission are pretty simple; all you need is a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree and proficiency in the German language to take the entrance exam.
8. Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts is another of the most exceptional schools of architecture, and it was founded in 1754. This school provides various choices of courses and has a wide range of programs for the students to choose from.
The requirements for application are a little demanding compared to other schools. You would have to provide a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree along with proficiency in Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish language. They allow an average of 1050 students out of 1700 applications to enroll in this school every year.
But the most impressive part about this school’s management is that they provide lots of areas to specialize in as a part of their course such as sustainability, advanced digital designing, urban planning as well as construction. In addition to that, students find it highly beneficial to take part in multiple exchange programs and acquire experience from architecture firms within the school’s networks.
9. The Bartlett School of Architecture
Referring to history, the Bartlett School of Architecture is one of the most prominent architecture schools in Europe. It is located in Central London and was founded in 1841. The atmosphere of this school is perfect for educating students with the help of experiments and theoretical research. Students are provided with excellent support by invoking the unit system, which allows them to specialize or show interest in particular areas within the courses the school has to offer.
They enroll an average of 200 students in the program per year; that speaks to how vivid their search is in the lot. The admission procedure is pretty simple; all you would have to do is provide the authorities with a High School Diploma or an equivalent degree along with proficiency in the English language. They also allow great networking and collaboration with various firms so that students can rest assured about their future employment.
Courtesy of Andrew Neel
Coming to the end of the list, here’s one suggestion for you- all of these schools are brilliant when it comes to studying architecture but know your priorities before choosing one. It is you who would have to decide what you want to explore or what you want to specialize in and how you want to proceed with the same in your career.
