Pre-Architecture

The pre-architecture advising at the University of Richmond is advising intended to help students prepare for most graduate programs related to the built environment, including architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, urban planning, historic preservation and architectural history. Though the requirements for each graduate program will vary from one to another, with careful advising and course selection, students will have the materials and background to make a successful application. 

Students can select any major offered at the University of Richmond so long as the minimum requirements are met. One year of calculus and at least one semester of physics are preferred, in particular for architectural design programs. In addition, students should take at least two courses in art/architectural history. Remaining requirements can be fulfilled by the general field of study distributions in the School of Arts & Sciences. 

A strong portfolio will be required for graduate design programs. This can be assembled from work created in visual and media arts practice courses in the Department of Art and Art History. Students will also need to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). 

Students are encouraged to study abroad, take summer pre-architecture classes and/or serve as summer interns at design firms, museums, planning offices and the like. We have had students participate in the Harvard University’s Career Discovery Program in the Graduate School of Design and Cornell University’s Introduction to Architecture Summer Program in Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP). Students interested in architecture have also taken courses in architecture at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark.  

Questions regarding the pre-architecture can be directed to Professor Erling Sjovold.