Post job
Major best colleges logo
Using science and data we decided to determine which programs offer the best career opportunities for architecture Majors. Here are the set of the top colleges for architecture Majors in US for 2021:
  1. Rice University
  2. University of Virginia
  3. University of Notre Dame
  4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  5. Yale University
  6. University of Florida
  7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
  8. University of California, Berkeley
  9. Georgia Institute of Technology
  10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
If you go to one of these schools, chances are, you're not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

25 best colleges for architecture majors in the US

1. Rice University

Location
Houston, TX
Admission rate: 11%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $68,300

2. University of Virginia

Location
Charlottesville, VA
Admission rate: 26%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $56,800

3. University of Notre Dame

Location
Notre Dame, IN
Admission rate: 18%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $69,700

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Location
Ann Arbor, MI
Admission rate: 23%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $55,900

5. Yale University

Location
New Haven, CT
Admission rate: 6%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $67,800

6. University of Florida

Location
Gainesville, FL
Admission rate: 39%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $47,700

7. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Location
San Luis Obispo, CA
Admission rate: 30%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $54,700

8. University of California, Berkeley

Location
Berkeley, CA
Admission rate: 15%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $57,600

9. Georgia Institute of Technology

Location
Atlanta, GA
Admission rate: 22%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $66,100

10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Location
Cambridge, MA
Admission rate: 7%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $99,600

11. Cornell University

Location
Ithaca, NY
Admission rate: 11%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $76,300

12. Princeton University

Location
Princeton, NJ
Admission rate: 5%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $73,600

13. Lehigh University

Location
Bethlehem, PA
Admission rate: 22%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $67,300

14. University of Texas at Austin

Location
Austin, TX
Admission rate: 39%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $52,200

15. Washington University in St Louis

Location
Saint Louis, MO
Admission rate: 15%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $63,400

16. University of Maryland - College Park

Location
College Park, MD
Admission rate: 47%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $50,100

17. Tufts University

Location
Medford, MA
Admission rate: 15%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $56,600

18. University of Pennsylvania

Location
Philadelphia, PA
Admission rate: 8%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $91,200

19. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Location
Minneapolis, MN
Admission rate: 52%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $46,000

20. Harvard University

Location
Cambridge, MA
Admission rate: 5%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $91,300

21. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Location
Blacksburg, VA
Admission rate: 65%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $50,400

22. University of Washington

Location
Seattle, WA
Admission rate: 49%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $50,300

23. University of California - Los Angeles

Location
Los Angeles, CA
Admission rate: 14%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $52,000

24. Clemson University

Location
Clemson, SC
Admission rate: 47%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $48,100

25. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Location
Troy, NY
Admission rate: 43%
Mean earning of students 6 years after entry: $66,700

How we determined the best architecture colleges

We looked at the following data from the NCES (National Center For Education Statistics) and College Scorecard data from ED.gov to understand what architecture departments offer the best career opportunities:
  • Percentage of Graduating Class That Are Business Majors
  • Mean Earnings After 10 Years
  • Mean Earnings After 6 Years
  • Admission Rate (More selective the better)
  • Average cost of attendance (Lower is better)
  • Median amount of debt
  • Ratio of people working to not working after 10 years