USC Architecture shapes visionary future designers & leaders through a rigorous, interdisciplinary education.
106
#1
Years since the school’s founding in 1919 at the University of Southern California
Ranked by students as the best college for Architecture in America by NICHE 2025
4 Distinct disciplines: Architecture, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism, Building Science, & Heritage Conservation
50K
Square feet of space for design studios, workstations, classrooms, galleries, & fabrication workshops
$2M+ In external faculty funding was awarded in grants, fellowships & prizes in 2025–26
Students
677
Undergraduate & graduate students from the US and abroad
25% Are the first in their family to attend university
76%
Receive scholarships, financial aid or other forms of university support
22% Are international students from 32 countries
7K
Alumni living in 42 countries worldwide
2 Pritzker Prize winners— Frank Gehry USC ’54 and Thom Mayne USC ’69
60 +
LA & SoCal architecture and & design firms participate in our Spring Firm Fair
67 Years of partnership with the USC Architectural Guild—a network of hundreds of alumni and non-alumni volunteer leaders & their companies—providing professional development, mentorship, and fundraising
100 +
70%
Faculty
Faculty who are also leading practitioners
Lead & work at award-winning firms in Southern California
11 Have been named Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)
5 Recognized as Distinguished Professors by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
Our curriculum is rigorous, multidisciplinary, and future-focused
For over a century, the USC School of Architecture has advanced architectural innovation within the University of Southern California − one of the world’s leading research institutions. Our students pursue interdisciplinary studies that include studios, lectures, and seminars in design theories, technologies, and histories, to prepare for the evolving demands of a creative, professional life.
Located the heart of Los Angeles − the world’s largest creative economy
Los Angeles is a global city, a living laboratory like no other. We draw on its vibrant creative communities to advance work that transforms lives and thinking. Our students learn from top professionals and faculty while actively engaging with the city, its diverse landscapes, and the region around them, designing solutions directly connected to real challenges.
Innovation defines our legacy
From introducing early 20th-century modernist planning to midcentury modern design, to today’s most advanced computational design platforms, our faculty and students continue a tradition of innovation, pushing the boundaries of architectural imagination, practice, and living.
“USC Architecture is defined by our commitment to envisioning—and building—better worlds. Our core mission is to deliver education of the highest caliber, advancing architecture and its allied professions worldwide. This is the legacy of our alumni, faculty, and students—and the standard that defines us today.”
Brett Steele, Dean of USC School of Architecture
3
Bachelor’s Degrees
5 5
Master’s Degrees
Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Science In Architecture + Inventive Technologies
Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies
Master of Architecture
Master of Advanced Architectural Research Studies
Master of Building Science
Master of Heritage Conservation
Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism
Dual Master’s Degrees
8
Certificate Programs
Undergraduate Global Studies
Asia Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia
Latin America Mexico City, the Yucatan, Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama
Mediterranean Spain, France, Italy
Graduate Global Studies
Japan Tokyo
France Paris
USA American Southwest
Additional opportunities include Traveling Fellowships, humanitarian and research traveling opportunities through architecture-affiliated student organizations, and international and domestic internships.
USC Architecture is at the forefront of global design education, located in the heart of Los Angeles, the world’s largest creative economy. We are the only architecture school in the Western United States to unite four distinct disciplines in one school: architecture, building science, landscape architecture + urbanism, building science, and heritage conservation.