School: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Location: New York, New York
Undergraduate program: None
Graduate program: Master of Architecture
Number of students: 250
Number of faculty: 24 (full- and part-time)
Notable alumni: Charles Renfro, Ricardo Scofidio, Peter Eisenman, Minsuk Cho, Sylvia Lavin, Antoine Predock, Mabel O. Wilson
Website: arch.columbia.edu
Strengths: Honing critical focus on the complexities of global urbanization through relational problem-solving across cultures and contexts
The overview: The master program offered by Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation weaves together “the highest level of disciplinary expertise with the critical and technical skills necessary to recast the boundaries of the discipline.” Fundamentals in this professional program focus on analytical thinking in concert with progressive visualization, representation and a culture of making. Studios and seminars push boundaries with innovations in housing, infrastructure, urban ecology and preservation, all with an eye to sustainability, social equity and evolving technologies. Students are also undeniably influenced by its world-class setting. Located on Columbia’s Morningside campus, the school incorporates an array of academic research centers, experimental labs and initiatives, including the Avery Library (a top collection of architecture books, archives and drawings), the Fabrication Lab and the Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, plus the GSAPP Incubator (downtown at the New Museum). Learning is also done remotely via extensive travel opportunities, studio trips and the Studio-X Global Network (in Amman, Beijing, Johannesburg and other cities).