Top 10 Architect Schools in California

The New School of Architecture and Design

• Undergraduate degree programs include a bachelor's in architecture, arts in architecture, digital media arts and construction management. Graduate degree programs include masters' in architecture I and II, master of science in architecture, and landscape architecture.

  The New School of Architecture and Design
  1259 F St.
  San Diego, CA 92101
  619-235-4100
  newschoolarch.edu

University of California, Los Angeles

• University of California, Los Angeles' School of the Arts and Architecture offers a graduate program in architecture designed for "exceptional artists, architects, and scholars" seeking art as a future career path. Courses include architecture and urban design, art, design and media arts. The UCLA campus is home to three internationally known arts institutions--the Hammer Museum, the Fowler Museum and UCLA Live Performing Arts Museum.

  UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
  303 E. Melnitz, Box 951427
  Los Angeles, CA 90095
  310-206-6465
  arts.ucla.edu

University of California, Berkeley

• University of California, Berkeley offers five degree programs: A.B. architecture, master of architecture, master of science in architecture, Ph.D. architecture and M.A. design (visual studies). Courses include city and recreational planning, environmental design, landscape architecture and environmental planning, and visual studies.

  University of California, Berkeley
  228 Wurster Hall #1850
  Berkeley, CA 94720-1850
  510-642-3256
  arch.ced.berkeley.edu

Westwood College

• Westwood College has two California campuses--Inland Empire in Upland and Anaheim. Both schools offer associate and bachelor's degrees, which can be earned in as little as 20 months up to four years. With 17 other campuses across six states, students have access to many resources. Faculty are all working professionals. Degrees can be obtained in architectural design to include animation, game and art, graphic, interior and visual communications.

  Westwood College
  20 W. 7th St.
  Upland, CA 91786
  877-852-6608
  westwoodcollegecalifornia.com

California Polytechnic State University

• California Polytechnic State, located in San Luis Obispo, is a residential campus with more than 6,000 students living on campus. It is its own village with a pool, city center plaza with shops and markets for convenient campus living. The School of Architecture and Environmental Design offer degrees in architectural engineering, architecture, city and regional planning, construction management and landscape architecture.

  California Polytechnic State University
  One Grand Ave.
  San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
  805-756-1314
  caed.calpoly.edu

City College of San Francisco

• A large, urban college with more than 100,000 students, the City College of San Francisco offers degrees in architecture, fashion and product design. Through its Center for Applied Competitive Technologies, students take coursework like architecture fundamentals and product design. Students can receive certificates, associate degrees or bachelor's degrees.

  City College of San Francisco
  50 Phelan Ave.
  San Francisco, CA 94112
  415-239-3000
  ccsf.edu

San Francisco Institute of Architecture

• Recipient of the 2009 First Award from the National Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, the San Francisco Institute of Architecture offers a cutting-edge educational path for budding architects. Degrees are offered in ecological design and project management, and it even offers a green MBA program as well as a master of science in green building.

  San Francisco Institute of Architecture
  Box 2590
  Alameda, CA 94501
  800-634-7779
  sfia.net

Southern California Institute of Architecture

• The Southern California Institute of Architecture offers undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture, with coursework that includes a rounded curriculum of humanities, social sciences, natural science and mathematics. The emphasis is placed on personal development and growth, self-reflection and rounded knowledge of architectural design issues. Sustainable practices are also emphasized, with cutting-edge coursework that includes building technology and applications of theory using "intelligent" resources.

  Southern California Institute of Architecture
  960 E. Third St.
  Los Angeles, CA 90013
  213-613-2200
  sciarc.edu

University of California, Santa Barbara

• The UC Santa Barbara offers an innovative curriculum rich in architecture, art and history. Undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees can be earned through programs that invoke an "interdisciplinary understanding of architecture within a complex matrix of social, geographical, and political factors." Studies include architectural history, ancient, medieval, early modern, modern/contemporary, African-American and pre- and post-Columbian studies.

  History of Art and Architecture, University of California
  Santa Barbara, CA 93106
  805-893-8710
  arthistory.ucsb.edu

California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture: Cal-Earth

• Located in Hesperia, Cal-Earth is a nonprofit institution that offers an innovative and cutting-edge workshop curriculum geared for the new-age architect who wants to remain on the cutting edge. Theories are grounded in "equilibrium of the natural elements of earth, water, air, fire." Cal-Earth workshops include principle of the arch, superadobe basics, soils practicum, plaster workshop with stabilized earth, learning to read blueprints and elements of design.

  California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture--Cal-Earth
  P.O. Box 1977
  Claremont, CA 91711
  760-956-7533
  calearth.org