Yale School of Architecture


The Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered to be one of the best architecture schools in the United States.

History

Yale's architecture programs are an outgrowth of a longstanding commitment to the teaching of the fine arts in the university. "Art was first taught at an American college or university in 1869 when the Yale School of the Fine Arts was established. Yale alumnus and educator Andrew Dickson White was offered the post as the first dean of the school, but turned it down to be the first president of Cornell University. Even earlier, in 1832, Yale opened the Trumbull Art Gallery, the first college-affiliated gallery in the country. The Department of Architecture was established in the School of the Fine Arts in 1916. In 1959 the School of Art and Architecture, as it was then known, was made into a fully graduate professional school. In 1972 Yale designated the School of Architecture as its own separate professional school."
The School is housed in the masterwork of its former Architecture Department Chair, Paul Rudolph. Rudolph Hall, formerly the Yale Art and Architecture Building, was rededicated and reoccupied in November 2008 following an extensive renovation and addition carried out by a team which included renowned New York architect and Yale alumnus Charles Gwathmey.

Programs

The school awards the degrees of Master of Architecture I, a three-year professional degree for students holding undergraduate liberal arts degrees; Master of Architecture II, a two-year post-professional degree for students holding a professional degree in architecture; Master of Environmental Design, a nonprofessional research-based degree; and Doctor of Philosophy in architectural history and criticism. The school also offers joint-degree programs with the School of Management and School of Forestry. Additionally, a course of study for undergraduates in Yale College leads to a Bachelor of Arts.
Yale's core program has always stressed design as a fundamental discipline. While initially associated with Beaux Arts pedagogy, the school adopted a close affiliation with other modes of fine art, including sculpture, graphic design, painting and furniture design. One of its most illustrious early graduates, Eero Saarinen, produced a wide variety of student projects ranging from medals and currency to campus and monumental buildings. When the Art and Architecture Building became its home, Paul Rudolph's design reflected this close integration between various fine art departments. The Graphic Design department consistently contributed to architecture posters, publications and exhibits, particularly to Perspecta, Yale's ground-breaking student journal.
Another distinguishing element in the Yale core program has been the Yale Building Project, a first-year studio and summer program. Particularly under Dean Charles W. Moore, first-year students were pushed to design small buildings that ameliorated the life of poor or disadvantaged Americans, working as VISTA volunteers in the Appalachia. In later years the program focused more on New Haven and Southern Connecticut. A recent book on the subject documents the extraordinary breadth and significance of the work produced by students, many of whom went on to become renowned architects and educators.
Yale's M.E.D., one of the first of its kind, made it possible for architects and planners to pursue a wide range of research connected to the betterment of the entire environment. Only recently have the design professions embraced this wider field of study, spurred by the movement towards sustainability and inter-disciplinarity. Notable recipients of the degree included William J. Mitchell, later dean at MIT, and Steven Izenour, a partner with Venturi, Scott Brown Associates.
The Yale Urban Design Workshop is a community design center affiliated with the Yale School of Architecture. It was established in 1992 by School of Architecture professor Alan Plattus, who continues to direct the workshop.

Rankings

As of 2016, the program's ten-year average ranking, places it 4th, overall, on DesignIntelligences ranking of programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.
DesignIntelligences ten-year median ranking places the program 3rd.
YearDesignIntelligence ranking
20194th
20185th
20175th
20163rd
20153rd
20142nd
20133rd
20122nd
20113rd
20102nd
20094th
200813th
20073rd
20068th

* denotes tie

Publications

The school maintains an active publications program. It supports two student-edited journals, Perspecta and Retrospecta; a biannual news magazine, Constructs. Perspecta is the oldest student-edited peer reviewed architectural journal in the United States. The school also publishes books.

Noted faculty and alumni

Alumni

Present faculty members

Former faculty members


†Indicates Priztker Prize laureate

#Indicates Driehaus Prize laureate