Syracuse University School of Architecture
The School of Architecture at Syracuse University (Syracuse Architecture) offers bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture that are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The school, established in 1873, is the fourth oldest architecture program in the country.
![]() Slocum Hall | |
Type | Private |
---|---|
Established | 1873 |
Parent institution | Syracuse University |
Dean | Michael Speaks |
Undergraduates | 700 |
Postgraduates | 120 |
Address | 201 Slocum Hall , , , 13244 , United States 43.0377°N 76.1317°W |
Campus | Urban |
Website | soa |
History
The architecture school was one of the early schools on Syracuse campus, starting in 1873, just three years after Syracuse University was founded. The school was created as one of two new departments within the College of Fine Arts by George Fisk Comfort served as the dean of the new College of Fine Arts. He later founded Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Prominent local architects, including Horatio Nelson White, Archimedes Russell, and Ward Wellington Ward were recruited as professors.[1] The original College of Fine Arts was the first institution in the United States to offer both B.A. and M.A. degrees in architecture, painting, sculpture, music, and other. The college was dissolved in 1945, with many new schools forming in its place.[2]
The first female student enrolled at Syracuse architecture in 1877, in process becoming the first female in the United States to study architecture as a profession.[3] Frances Whipple Bigelow became the first female graduate in 1898.[1]
Facilities

The program was first housed in the Hall of Languages, and was moved to the newly built Crouse College in 1883, then to Steele Hall in 1908. It finally found its permanent home in newly designed, skylit Slocum Hall in 1919.[1] The school has long been housed in Slocum Hall on the university's main campus, but in January, 2006 the School of Architecture moved to a temporary home in a converted warehouse in downtown Syracuse so that Slocum Hall could undergo massive renovations. As of fall of 2008, the school has returned to its home in Slocum Hall.[4][5]
Academics
The undergraduate enrolls nearly 700 students, representing 46 countries. The graduate program enrolled 120 students in 2021, and offers MArch and MS in Architecture programs.[6]
Rankings
The Bachelor of Architecture program was ranked 5th nationally in both the most Hired from and most admired categories by the journal Design Intelligence in its 2019-20 rankings.[7][8] The graduate program was ranked 16th in the nation by DesignIntelligence on their 2019 list of top architecture schools.[6]
In 2017, both undergraduate and graduate programs ranked among the best in the country (B.Arch - #3 and M.Arch #8, according to "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" published by DesignIntelligence.
References
- "School History". soa.syr.edu. Syracuse Architecture. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- "The George Fisk Comfort Society". Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- "Syracuse University School of Architecture First Female Student in the United States". Star Tribune. 10 November 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2021 – via Newspapers.com
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- "Slocum Hall". soa.syr.edu. Syracuse Architecture. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- "Slocum Hall - Answers". answers.syr.edu. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- "Graduate Admissions". soa.syr.edu. Syracuse Architecture. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- "Most Hired from Architecture Schools". DesignIntelligence. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- "Most Admired Architecture Schools". DesignIntelligence. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.