Included in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for the first time this year is a new ranking of the world’s top architecture schools. If you’re looking to study architecture at university and want to find a school with a strong global reputation in the field, read on for an overview of the world’s 100 top universities for architecture, categorized by region. For the full interactive ranking table, click here.
Top 10 Architecture Schools in the World Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015
The US has a total of 14 universities ranked among the world’s top 50 for architecture, and a further 8 ranked within the top 100. Aside from the three featured in the top 10 – MIT, University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University – other US universities in the top 30 include Columbia University (11th for architecture; 14th in the overall QS World University Rankings®), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, 18th for architecture; 37th in the world rankings), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (25th for architecture; 63rd in the world rankings), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech, 26th for architecture; 107th in the world rankings), Cornell University (27th for architecture; 19th in the world rankings) and Stanford University (30th for architecture; 7th in the world rankings).
Four of Canada’s leading architecture schools are also ranked within the top 100 worldwide. These are the University of British Columbia (20th for architecture; 43rd in the world rankings), the University of Toronto (36th for architecture; 20th in the world rankings), McGill University (51-100 for architecture; 21st in the world rankings) and the University of Waterloo (51-100 for architecture; 169th in the world rankings). For more information about studying in North America, visit our regional guide.
Top architecture schools in Europe
A total of 32 European institutions are ranked among the world’s top 100 for architecture, with 11 of these based in the UK. As well as UCL and the University of Cambridge – both among the world’s top 10 universities for architecture – other UK representatives include Cardiff University (29th for architecture; 123rd in the world rankings), the University of Salford (39th for architecture; 701+ in the world rankings), the University of Sheffield (44th for architecture; 69th in the world rankings) and Oxford Brookes University (48th for architecture; 379th in the world rankings).
Outside of the UK, Germany claims four of the world’s top 100 architecture schools, led by Technische Universität München which ranks 46th for architecture (54th in the world rankings). Up next is Sweden, with three entrants, of which the leader is KTH, Royal Institute of Technology in 21st place (110th in the world rankings).
Four more European countries are each home to two of the world’s top universities for architecture. These include Italy, which boasts Politecnico di Milano in 14th place (229th in the world rankings, and Spain, whose Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya appears in joint 22nd place (337th in the world rankings). Switzerland is home to ETH Zurich, which ranks among the top 10, and also Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in 24th place (17th in the world rankings). The Netherlands offers Delft University of Technology in 3rd place, and the Eindhoven University of Technology in 28th (147th in the world rankings)
Three Asian universities – Singapore’s National University of Singapore, China’s Tsinghua University and Japan’s University of Tokyo – are ranked within the global top 10 for architecture. A further 20 Asian institutions feature in the top 100.
Excluding those already mentioned, five more leading architecture departments are claimed by mainland China, including Tongji University (16th for architecture; 393rd in the world rankings) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (41= for architecture; 104th in the world rankings). Hong Kong brings a total of four schools to the table, of which The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (12th for architecture; 162nd in the world rankings) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU, 13th for architecture; 28th in the world rankings) are the highest ranked.
South Korea also boasts four top architecture schools, with its highest entrant, Seoul National University (SNU), in 19th place (31st in the world rankings).
Both Japan and Malaysia have three schools in the running, while Taiwan and Thailand offer one apiece. Heading west of mainland Asia, Israel also has one entrant: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (190th in the world rankings).
Top architecture schools in Australia & New Zealand
Eleven universities in Australia are featured in the architecture subject rankings, led by the University of Melbourne (15th for architecture; 33rd in the world rankings), followed closely by the University of Sydney (17th for architecture; 37th in the world rankings) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW, 22nd for architecture; 48th in the world rankings).
Neighboring New Zealand boasts one top architecture school, The University of Auckland, which places 45th for architecture and 92nd in the world rankings.
Find out more about studying in Australia and New Zealand with our country guides.
Laura is a former staff writer for TopUniversities.com, providing advice and guidance for students on a range of topics helping them to choose where to study, get admitted and find funding and scholarships. A graduate of Queen Mary University of London, Laura also blogs about student life.
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New Ranking of the World’s Top Architecture Schools
By Laura T
Updated March 26, 2021 Updated March 26, 2021Discover the top architecture schools based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.
Included in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for the first time this year is a new ranking of the world’s top architecture schools. If you’re looking to study architecture at university and want to find a school with a strong global reputation in the field, read on for an overview of the world’s 100 top universities for architecture, categorized by region. For the full interactive ranking table, click here.
Top 10 Architecture Schools in the World
Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015
Rank
Name of Institution
Location
1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
United States
2
UCL (University College London, Bartlett School of Architecture)
United Kingdom
3
Delft University of Technology
Netherlands
4
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
United States
5
Harvard University
United States
6
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore
7
ETH Zurich
Switzerland
8
Tsinghua University
China
9
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
10
The University of Tokyo
Japan
See the full architecture ranking >
Top architecture schools in the US & Canada
Four of Canada’s leading architecture schools are also ranked within the top 100 worldwide. These are the University of British Columbia (20th for architecture; 43rd in the world rankings), the University of Toronto (36th for architecture; 20th in the world rankings), McGill University (51-100 for architecture; 21st in the world rankings) and the University of Waterloo (51-100 for architecture; 169th in the world rankings). For more information about studying in North America, visit our regional guide.
Top architecture schools in Europe
Outside of the UK, Germany claims four of the world’s top 100 architecture schools, led by Technische Universität München which ranks 46th for architecture (54th in the world rankings). Up next is Sweden, with three entrants, of which the leader is KTH, Royal Institute of Technology in 21st place (110th in the world rankings).
Other European countries represented among the world’s 100 top universities for architecture include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and Norway. For more information about studying in Europe, visit our European country guides.
Top architecture schools in Latin America
Two more Latin American universities feature. These are Argentina’s Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, 198th in the world rankings) and Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, 175th in the world rankings).
To discover more of the top universities in Latin America, see the latest QS University Rankings: Latin America, or visit our full range of Latin American country guides.
Top architecture schools in Asia
Excluding those already mentioned, five more leading architecture departments are claimed by mainland China, including Tongji University (16th for architecture; 393rd in the world rankings) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (41= for architecture; 104th in the world rankings). Hong Kong brings a total of four schools to the table, of which The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (12th for architecture; 162nd in the world rankings) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU, 13th for architecture; 28th in the world rankings) are the highest ranked.
Both Japan and Malaysia have three schools in the running, while Taiwan and Thailand offer one apiece. Heading west of mainland Asia, Israel also has one entrant: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (190th in the world rankings).
To discover more of the top universities in Asia, see the latest QS University Rankings: Asia, and visit our Asian country guides.
Top architecture schools in Australia & New Zealand
Also within the top 50 are RMIT University (304th in the world rankings), the University of Queensland (43rd in the world rankings), the University of Newcastle (257th in the world rankings) and Monash University (70th in the world rankings).
Neighboring New Zealand boasts one top architecture school, The University of Auckland, which places 45th for architecture and 92nd in the world rankings.
Find out more about studying in Australia and New Zealand with our country guides.
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This article was originally published in April 2015 . It was last updated in March 2021
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Laura is a former staff writer for TopUniversities.com, providing advice and guidance for students on a range of topics helping them to choose where to study, get admitted and find funding and scholarships. A graduate of Queen Mary University of London, Laura also blogs about student life.
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