University of Notre Dame School of Architecture

I just spent a semester teaching at the School of Architecture at Notre Dame. For those considering applying to the school, here's a report: Notre Dame is the only school of architecture in North America or Europe with Classical architecture and traditional urban design at the core of its curriculum. The school offers a professional undergraduate degree, graduate degrees in architecture or urbanism for those who studied architecture as undergraduates, and graduate degrees for students with no undergraduate training.

It's an excellent school. The university has risen to number eighteen in U.S. News & World Reports' ranking of national universities, and the students are good. They're thoroughly grounded in principles of Classical architecture and traditional urbanism, starting with drawing and watercolor in the first year, and moving on to principles like composition and the orders in the second year. After studying Italian in the second year, the entire undergraduate class lives in Rome during their third year. Graduate students live in Rome for a semester during their second year.

This is unique in modern education. As a result, when students take part in a job fair near the end of their time at Notre Dame, there are twice as many offices at the Fair looking for employees as there are students looking for jobs.

All of the architects considered Modern Masters were trained not as Modernists, but as Classicists and traditionalists. Whether one practices traditional design or not, the principles of Classical architecture and traditional urbanism are an excellent grounding for architectural design.