PROGRAMS & APPLYING
The School of Architecture offers a well-rounded intellectual and technical education at the undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels.
Explore undergraduate education at the School of Architecture.
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For advanced students seeking specialization in specific areas of research.
Six Program Areas shape our curriculum, giving students the opportunity to think about architecture and design at different scales and through different media.
Our courses cover a wide variety of topics, scales, methods, and issues relating to the design fields.
A one-semester residential immersion program for students in the M.Arch programs.
Our Study Abroad program in Barcelona.
We have exchange programs with Munich and Switzerland.
Scholarships, loans, and assistantships.
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The NAAB Accreditation Process
Information about our programs and admissions processes.
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Illinois School of Architecture Instagram
Graduating Students — It’s time to upload your work for Convocation!
Follow the Instructions above ⬆️
Deadline is Wednesday, April 23rd
#archatillinois #wedesign #classof2025
Graduating Students — It’s time to upload your work for Convocation!
Follow the Instructions above ⬆️
Deadline is Wednesday, April 23rd
#archatillinois #wedesign #classof2025
Join us this Wednesday, April 16th at 5:30 in Plym Auditorium for the next segment of our Spring 2025 Lecture Series, “Ecologies of Design”
We welcome Mariona Benedito in presenting “From Plate design to Plaza: Architecture Across Scales”. The Lecture will explore how multiple scales are interwoven with the passage of time and the shifting nature of permanence in architecture. Highlighting the process of scaling up — from individual, detailed elements to the expansive, dynamic fabric of the city, this session will explore how we navigate the tension between the temporary and the lasting.
Join us this Wednesday, April 16th at 5:30 in Plym Auditorium for the next segment of our Spring 2025 Lecture Series, “Ecologies of Design”
We welcome Mariona Benedito in presenting “From Plate design to Plaza: Architecture Across Scales”. The Lecture will explore how multiple scales are interwoven with the passage of time and the shifting nature of permanence in architecture. Highlighting the process of scaling up — from individual, detailed elements to the expansive, dynamic fabric of the city, this session will explore how we navigate the tension between the temporary and the lasting.
1st Place Senior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Alex Montanile (BSAS ‘25) & Hengyang Zhang (BSAS ‘25) from Prof. Erik Hemingway’s Studio
“BOX OF AIR is a project that integrates traditional agricultural practices into cities severely impacted by high pollution and limited space for cultivation. New Delhi, India—the most polluted city on Earth—has faced challenges in crop production for decades. As populations continue to grow, access to clean, healthy crops becomes essential for sustaining human life. However, the greatest obstacle in these areas is the severely polluted air.
BOX OF AIR addresses this by breathing fresh air into communities that desperately need it. Encased in an electro-ionizing steel facade, pollutant particles are positively charged to react and “stick” to the negatively charged facade, allowing clean oxygen particles to flow through. With clean oxygen, the community can grow crops more efficiently and sustainably.
BOX OF AIR is not just a solution for today’s challenges but a forward-thinking proposal for the future. As urban populations continue to swell and pollution levels rise globally, clean air and sustainable food sources will become increasingly scarce. BOX OF AIR is a model for how cities around the world can tackle the dual crises of air pollution and food insecurity, providing a blueprint for resilient urban living in the face of future challenges.”
1st Place Senior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Alex Montanile (BSAS ‘25) & Hengyang Zhang (BSAS ‘25) from Prof. Erik Hemingway’s Studio
“BOX OF AIR is a project that integrates traditional agricultural practices into cities severely impacted by high pollution and limited space for cultivation. New Delhi, India—the most polluted city on Earth—has faced challenges in crop production for decades. As populations continue to grow, access to clean, healthy crops becomes essential for sustaining human life. However, the greatest obstacle in these areas is the severely polluted air.
BOX OF AIR addresses this by breathing fresh air into communities that desperately need it. Encased in an electro-ionizing steel facade, pollutant particles are positively charged to react and “stick” to the negatively charged facade, allowing clean oxygen particles to flow through. With clean oxygen, the community can grow crops more efficiently and sustainably.
BOX OF AIR is not just a solution for today’s challenges but a forward-thinking proposal for the future. As urban populations continue to swell and pollution levels rise globally, clean air and sustainable food sources will become increasingly scarce. BOX OF AIR is a model for how cities around the world can tackle the dual crises of air pollution and food insecurity, providing a blueprint for resilient urban living in the face of future challenges.”
1st Place Junior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Alex Hoffert (BSAS ‘26) & Wesley Heywood (BSAS ‘26) from Prof. Joseph Altshuler’s Studio
Instrumental Inventory uses an architectural strategy that brings together nested, intersecting volumes with a network of acoustic pipes to organize a loanable inventory of musical instruments. By articulating distinct visual language with exuberant geometry, rounded apertures, and split-level connections, the project imagines how a library-of-instruments might encourage people to come together through visual spectacle and shared sounds by creating and discovering new cultures of sound/music as a collective.
The building’s acoustic pipe system allows for the sound produced within the lending library to be broadcast to the nearby train station and broader neighborhood, and vice versa. The nested, interconnected spaces invite visitors to preview other parts of the building through sight and sound. A pipe organ that occupies a triple-height, cylindrical void forms the “heart” of the building in section and plan, becoming a nexus of acoustic pipes that delineate concentric spaces.
Organized categorically by wind instruments versus strings and percussion, instruments are accessed via pulley systems while the network of acoustic pipes loosely points visitors in the right direction. Return visits are encouraged by the community spaces and opportunities provided to come together and create collective music and sound. Instrumental Inventory celebrates sound and music as a universal language that connects people across cultures and communities.
#earlprize #archatillinois #wedesign
1st Place Junior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Alex Hoffert (BSAS ‘26) & Wesley Heywood (BSAS ‘26) from Prof. Joseph Altshuler’s Studio
Instrumental Inventory uses an architectural strategy that brings together nested, intersecting volumes with a network of acoustic pipes to organize a loanable inventory of musical instruments. By articulating distinct visual language with exuberant geometry, rounded apertures, and split-level connections, the project imagines how a library-of-instruments might encourage people to come together through visual spectacle and shared sounds by creating and discovering new cultures of sound/music as a collective.
The building’s acoustic pipe system allows for the sound produced within the lending library to be broadcast to the nearby train station and broader neighborhood, and vice versa. The nested, interconnected spaces invite visitors to preview other parts of the building through sight and sound. A pipe organ that occupies a triple-height, cylindrical void forms the “heart” of the building in section and plan, becoming a nexus of acoustic pipes that delineate concentric spaces.
Organized categorically by wind instruments versus strings and percussion, instruments are accessed via pulley systems while the network of acoustic pipes loosely points visitors in the right direction. Return visits are encouraged by the community spaces and opportunities provided to come together and create collective music and sound. Instrumental Inventory celebrates sound and music as a universal language that connects people across cultures and communities.
#earlprize #archatillinois #wedesign
Join us today, April 10th, for our Spring Lecture Series in the Plym Auditorium Hall at 5:30 PM.
Urban Renewal through Historic Preservation: Mid-Century Housing in Philadelphia’s Society Hill Neighborhood. Part of the Exhibition “Making Place for the Arts at Home: Performance and Midcentury Modern Architecture”
Francesca Russello Ammon, associate professor of city and regional planning and historic preservation at the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, is a cultural historian of urban planning and the built environment.
Reception held in the Temple Buell Hall Atrium at 5:00PM.
Lecture begins in Temple Buell Hall Plym Auditorium at 5:30PM.
For more info: https://arch.illinois.edu/about-us/events/ecologies-of-design-lecture-series/
Join us today, April 10th, for our Spring Lecture Series in the Plym Auditorium Hall at 5:30 PM.
Urban Renewal through Historic Preservation: Mid-Century Housing in Philadelphia’s Society Hill Neighborhood. Part of the Exhibition “Making Place for the Arts at Home: Performance and Midcentury Modern Architecture”
Francesca Russello Ammon, associate professor of city and regional planning and historic preservation at the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, is a cultural historian of urban planning and the built environment.
Reception held in the Temple Buell Hall Atrium at 5:00PM.
Lecture begins in Temple Buell Hall Plym Auditorium at 5:30PM.
For more info: https://arch.illinois.edu/about-us/events/ecologies-of-design-lecture-series/
2nd Place Senior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Deonante Sutton (BSAS ‘25) & Daniel Bogdal (BSAS ‘25) from Prof. Gideon Schwartzman’s Studio
The proposed field house in Bronzesville, Chicago, is envisioned as a transformative urban hub, designed to serve both as a transportation center and a dynamic space for community integration. The building aims to dissolve the longstanding stigmas associated with south Chicago neighborhoods by offering an inviting and transparent architectural experience that encourages interaction visibility, and connection among diverse groups of people. One of the building’s primary function is to act as a transportation hub, serving users of the adjacent Green Line. However, it goes beyond the typical role of a transit station. The design fosters an environment where different communities can coexist, interact, and collaborate. By facilitating these interaction, South + One Future challenges and redefines the negative narrative often linked to the South Side of Chicago. Ultimately, the field house stands as more than just a building, it becomes a social bridge. It offers a space where transportation infrastructure and community life interest coexist, creating new opportunities for positive encounters and shared experience.
2nd Place Senior Earl Prize
Congratulations to Deonante Sutton (BSAS ‘25) & Daniel Bogdal (BSAS ‘25) from Prof. Gideon Schwartzman’s Studio
The proposed field house in Bronzesville, Chicago, is envisioned as a transformative urban hub, designed to serve both as a transportation center and a dynamic space for community integration. The building aims to dissolve the longstanding stigmas associated with south Chicago neighborhoods by offering an inviting and transparent architectural experience that encourages interaction visibility, and connection among diverse groups of people. One of the building’s primary function is to act as a transportation hub, serving users of the adjacent Green Line. However, it goes beyond the typical role of a transit station. The design fosters an environment where different communities can coexist, interact, and collaborate. By facilitating these interaction, South + One Future challenges and redefines the negative narrative often linked to the South Side of Chicago. Ultimately, the field house stands as more than just a building, it becomes a social bridge. It offers a space where transportation infrastructure and community life interest coexist, creating new opportunities for positive encounters and shared experience.
Join us Monday, April 7th, for our Spring Lecture Series in the Plym Auditorium at 6 PM
We welcome Michelle Ryland, who is a dual licensed structural engineer and architect with Klein and Hoffman in Chicago specializing in the adaptive reuse, restoration, and repair of vintage buildings across Chicagoland. She holds a BS in Architectural Studies and a M. Arch from the University of Illinois and holds leadership positions in SEAOI and NCSEA.
Ahead of its centennial year in 2030, Shedd Aquarium unveiled a strategic plan, the Centennial Commitment, to accelerate its mission and prepare the iconic institution for the next 100 years of service. The plan includes an ambitious Experience Evolution that will restore the aquarium’s historic architecture, modernize the experience for guests, upgrade life support technology and create more expansive, realistic habitats for animals.
Reception at5:30PM.
Lecture begins at 6:00PM
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall
Join us Monday, April 7th, for our Spring Lecture Series in the Plym Auditorium at 6 PM
We welcome Michelle Ryland, who is a dual licensed structural engineer and architect with Klein and Hoffman in Chicago specializing in the adaptive reuse, restoration, and repair of vintage buildings across Chicagoland. She holds a BS in Architectural Studies and a M. Arch from the University of Illinois and holds leadership positions in SEAOI and NCSEA.
Ahead of its centennial year in 2030, Shedd Aquarium unveiled a strategic plan, the Centennial Commitment, to accelerate its mission and prepare the iconic institution for the next 100 years of service. The plan includes an ambitious Experience Evolution that will restore the aquarium’s historic architecture, modernize the experience for guests, upgrade life support technology and create more expansive, realistic habitats for animals.
Reception at5:30PM.
Lecture begins at 6:00PM
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall
Graduate Student Appreciation Day!
Meet our new graduate student advisors.
Refreshments will be provided.
Wednesday, April 9
12-01 PM
TBH Atrium
Graduate Student Appreciation Day!
Meet our new graduate student advisors.
Refreshments will be provided.
Wednesday, April 9
12-01 PM
TBH Atrium