The admission process is designed to enroll students of the highest promise while assuring a wide diversity of backgrounds and aptitudes within the student body.
General Admission Requirements
Students matriculate only at the beginning of each academic year. All students are expected to attend full-time.
Notifications of admission and of financial aid award, if applicable, are sent no later than April 1. Acceptance of the offer of admission, including a nonrefundable deposit of $750, must be made electronically by April 15. This deposit will be credited toward tuition. Acceptances may not be deferred.
International students should refer to the chapter International Students for information regarding additional admission requirements.
Visit http://architecture.yale.edu for further information about the School. For admission inquiries, contact gradarch.admissions@yale.edu or telephone 203.432.2296. For financial aid inquiries, contact archfinancialaid@yale.edu or telephone 203.432.2291.
M.Arch. I: Three-Year Program Admission Requirements
The School believes that the educational experience of its program is enriched by students who have diverse educational backgrounds and, therefore, embraces students who in their undergraduate education have majored in a wide spectrum of disciplines, from architecture to any of the arts, sciences, or humanities.
Applicants to the M.Arch. I program must hold a bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent, from an accredited college or university. The following college-level courses are required as prerequisites to this program, all to be completed by June 1 of the year matriculating:
- A studio course such as freehand drawing, sketching, painting, sculpture, or basic architectural design. (Ceramics, photography, graphics, or film will not satisfy this requirement.)
- Two courses in the history of art and/or architecture. It is recommended that one course be a survey, the other a course in modern architecture.
Also recommended, but not required, is a course in classical physics.
Transfer
Students with exceptional promise may be accepted to the M.Arch. I program under one of the following special conditions:
- After completion, in high standing, of at least one year in an accredited graduate program in architecture, a student may receive credit for some or all course work.
- After completion, in high standing, of the fourth year of an accredited five-year undergraduate program in architecture, a student may be accepted into the M.Arch. I program with the following provisions: a minimum of one year to qualify for the B.Arch. degree (retained by the School solely to accommodate those few students needing it as a prerequisite in order to work for the M.Arch. degree, but conferred only upon successful completion of work for the M.Arch. degree) and a minimum of an additional two years to qualify for the M.Arch. degree.
M.Arch. II: Two-Year Program Admission Requirements
Applicants to the M.Arch. II program must hold a five-year bachelor of architecture (B.Arch.) degree, or an equivalent first professional degree (a B.A. or B.S. with a major in architecture is not considered a first professional degree).
M.E.D. Program Admission Requirements
The M.E.D. program accepts qualified applicants with a degree in architecture, or with an undergraduate or graduate degree in a related discipline, who exhibit a strong capability for independent advanced study in a topic related to architecture and environmental design.
Candidates are selected on the basis of academic and/or professional records and individual research proposals. (See details on the submission of the research proposal below and in the chapter Master of Environmental Design Degree Program.)
Ph.D. Program Admission Requirements and Application Process
Applicants to the Ph.D. program should refer to the chapter Doctor of Philosophy Program.
Application Process M.Arch. and M.E.D. Programs
Application to the School is an online process. While completing the online application form, students will be asked to supply information regarding themselves, their education, their test scores, and their references; upload their transcripts, personal essay, and curriculum vitae (résumé); and pay an application fee. In addition, applicants for the M.Arch. programs will be required to upload a portfolio. Applicants for the M.E.D. program will be required to upload a research proposal. See below for more detailed information on each required component of the application process.
The online application can be accessed at https://apply.architecture.yale.edu/apply, when it is available. Applications for programs beginning in the 2021–2022 academic year must be submitted no later than January 2, 2021. Applicants will not be allowed to submit applications after the deadline has passed.
Since all required admissions materials must be uploaded to the online application, applicants should not send any materials directly to the School. Any materials received directly from an applicant will not be added to the applicant’s admission file.
Application fee For the 2021–2022 academic year there is no application fee.
Transcripts A transcript or academic record indicating degree earned or anticipated is required from each college or university attended and listed in the Academic Record section of the online application. Applicants will need to upload a scanned copy of the applicant’s official transcript or academic record to the application (please ensure that the scanned copy is legible). Refer to the detailed instructions within the online application regarding transcripts/academic records and uploading. Do not send a hard copy of a transcript or academic record that has been uploaded to the application.
Applicants who have attended international institutions must submit transcripts or certified attestations of study. If such documents are not written in English, certified English translations are required. Once translated, the original transcript as well as the certified translation should be uploaded to the online application.
Applicants expecting to graduate this academic year but still attending their college or university must upload their current, in-progress college or university transcript to the application.
Applicants who are offered admission and who accept that offer will be required to have their respective institutions directly submit final, hard-copy official transcripts to the School.
Standardized examinations All applicants, including international students, are required to take the General Test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing) of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) of the Educational Testing Service. For information regarding this test, test dates and locations, and/or to arrange to take the test, visit www.ets.org/gre. Although the test may be taken at any time, it should be taken no later than December preceding the application due date.
The Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) is required of all applicants whose native language is not English. The requirement for the TOEFL iBT may be waived only for applicants who have studied in residence for at least three (3) years at a university or college where English is the primary language of instruction and who will have received a baccalaureate degree, or its foreign equivalent, from that institution prior to matriculation at Yale. For further information regarding the test and/or to arrange to take the test, visit www.ets.org/toefl. The TOEFL must be taken no later than December preceding the application due date. IELTS is not accepted as a substitution for the TOEFL iBT examination.
Applicants are required to record their examination scores in the online application for each test date taken. Do not send hard copies. If an applicant retakes either the GRE or the TOEFL iBT after submitting an application and prefers to have the newer scores considered, the applicant should e-mail the Office of Admissions with the new scores at gradarch.admissions@yale.edu.
The Yale School of Architecture institution code number for the GRE and TOEFL iBT is 3985. Please note that this is different from other Yale University code numbers. Unless 3985 is used on the test form, applicants’ scores will not reach the School.
Personal essay An essay, not exceeding one page, that includes a brief personal history and reasons for applying is required and must be uploaded to the online application.
The School of Architecture seeks to draw students from all racial and ethnic groups in society. Applicants who wish to identify themselves as a member of a minority group should do so in this essay.
Curriculum vitae A curriculum vitae (résumé of academic and employment experience) is required and must be uploaded to the online application.
Letters of recommendation Three letters of recommendation are required and must be uploaded by each recommender no later than January 2, 2021. Letters of recommendation should be from individuals with direct knowledge of the applicant’s professional potential and/or academic ability.
Recommendations are submitted only through an online process. When recommenders’ e-mail addresses are inserted into the online application, instructions on how to submit recommendations are automatically sent to the recommenders. Therefore, in order to allow recommenders sufficient time to prepare and upload their recommendations, applicants should insert their recommenders’ e-mail addresses into the online application as early in the process as possible.
Applicants can verify that their letters of recommendation have been received by the School by viewing the status page of their online application.
Portfolio (for the M.Arch. programs only) A digital portfolio (a single pdf document optimized not to exceed 2GB) will need to be uploaded to the online application. The portfolio will be viewed on computer screens.
The portfolio should be a well-edited representation of the applicant’s creative work. Portfolios may not contain videos. Anything submitted that is not entirely the applicant’s own work must be clearly identified as such.
For the M.Arch. I program, the portfolio should demonstrate the applicant’s drawing skills and three-dimensional aptitude. Work represented may include drawings, paintings, sculpture, sketches, furniture and architectural designs, or other materials.
For the M.Arch. II program, the portfolio should demonstrate the applicant’s ability to pursue advanced work in architectural design.
Research proposal (for the M.E.D. program only) A full and specific description of the applicant’s research proposal is required to be uploaded to the online application form. This proposal must include a statement of goals, a proposed study plan, and anticipated results. This submission is weighted heavily during the application review process and is considered in the assignment of faculty advisers. Do not send a hard copy of the proposal that has been uploaded to the application.
Preparation of the proposed study plan is an important part of the application process. As a guide to applicants, the following themes should be included in the proposed study plan:
- Define a specific topic area and the goal of the study plan. List the prior work, publications, or other key references that provide the background or basis of study in the topic.
- Define the key questions that might be answered or the important issues that would be addressed by the study. Describe proposed study methods and expected results.
- List the Yale courses that will support the study. Include a tentative schedule or plan of study over the four terms.
- Describe prior work relevant to the proposed topic, as well as career expectations in undertaking the study. Include examples of written papers, reports, and other documentation that illustrate a capability to carry out the proposed study.
Applicants are invited to submit a draft of the study plan to the M.E.D. program director well in advance of the application deadline, in order to receive comments on it prior to the final application.
Verification of application credentials It is the policy of the School of Architecture to verify all credentials, such as transcripts, recommendations, and standardized test scores, as well as other information submitted in support of an application. By submission of an application, applicants automatically grant consent for such verification. Should it be determined at any time that any credential or other information submitted during the application process has been misrepresented, the University reserves the right to rescind the offer of admission and to prevent registration.