Program Overview

Introduction to Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) offers a wide range of programs for students interested in pursuing a career in architecture, planning, and preservation. The school is committed to providing students with the highest level of disciplinary expertise, as well as the critical and technical skills necessary to succeed in their chosen field.

Programs at GSAPP

• Master of Architecture: A three-year professional degree that weaves together the highest level of disciplinary expertise with the critical and technical skills necessary to recast the boundaries of the discipline.
• M.S. Advanced Architectural Design: A three-term program that provides outstanding young professionals who hold a B.Arch or M.Arch the opportunity to enter into an intensive, postgraduate study.
• M.S. Computational Design Practices: A program that focuses on the use of computational tools and methods in architectural design.
• M.S. Critical, Curatorial & Conceptual Practices: A two-year, full-time course of intensive academic study and independent research.
• Ph.D. in Architecture: The doctoral program addresses the development of modern architectural form and ideas as they have been affected by social, economic, and technological change.
• Intro Program: A summer pre-professional program designed to introduce students to the field of architecture.

The Shape of Two Cities: New York / Paris Program

The Shape of Two Cities: New York/Paris Program is a two-semester program designed for undergraduate students and recent graduates from colleges and universities around the country. The program's goals are to introduce the fields of architecture, planning, and preservation, and to encourage their exploration in the contexts of history, theory, and practice.

Curriculum

The program offers a two-semester curriculum that immerses participants in the rich physical and intellectual urban environments of New York and Paris. Instruction draws on the resources of Columbia University and its faculty, and the architectural communities of New York and Paris.

First-Term Core Courses

1. A4000 Design Studio or A4043 Workshop in Urban Studies
2. A4027 Architecture, Planning and Preservation: New York
3. History Requirement: New York or American History elective

Second-Term Core Courses

1. A4030 The Development of Paris
2. A4029 Architecture, Planning and Preservation: Paris
3. A4031 History of the European Cities

Options

Students in the program enroll in either the Architecture Option or the Urban Studies Option and share in a core of courses while embarking on their specializations.

Fall 2025 Courses

A list of courses offered in the Fall 2025 semester, including:

• ARCH4000-1: NYP Design Workshop
• ARCH4027-1: Architecture, Planning & Preservation
• ARCH4043-1: Workshop in Urban Studies
• ARCH4341-1: Traditional American Architecture
• ARCH4385-1: Arab Modernism(s): Experiments in Housing, 1945-present
• ARCH4388-1: (Re) Inventing Living: Modern Experiments in Latin American Housing

Recent News

• Incubator Prize recipient Adam Susaneck '20 M.Arch publishes "Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Highway" in NY Times
• Faculty Thomas de Monchaux writes "The Original Shock of the Pompidou Center" for the New Yorker
• Faculty Thomas de Monchaux publishes "Notre-Dame and the Paradoxes of Historical Preservation" in The New Yorker

Other

• Architecture: Programs at GSAPP, including the Master of Architecture, M.S. Advanced Architectural Design, M.S. Computational Design Practices, M.S. Critical, Curatorial & Conceptual Practices, Ph.D. in Architecture, and Intro Program.
• Columbia University: Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, located at 1172 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, New York 10027.