A.B. in Architecture

Students in Princeton’s A.B. in Architecture gain practical experience through design studios, architectural analysis, representation, computing, and building-technology courses, with studio work serving as the primary framework for developing architectural thinking and making. The program combines individual studio workspace with access to professional fabrication equipment, robotics, digital modeling and imaging resources, exhibition spaces, and a specialist architecture library, allowing students to develop ideas through both digital and physical production.

Practical learning opportunities include:

• Design studios: Undergraduate design studios provide the central hands-on learning environment, where students develop architectural projects and practice modes of architectural thought, research, representation, and making. Students enrolled in studio courses receive individual desks and workspace in the Architecture Building.
• Digital fabrication: The School of Architecture Lab (SoA Lab) supports physical prototyping and model making with a CAMaster 4' × 8' CNC router, Zund G3 digital cutter, two 75-watt CO₂ laser cutters, Formech 686 thermoformer, and 3D printers. Students must complete the required equipment training before using the facilities.
• Robotics and computational fabrication: The Embodied Computation Lab (ECL) provides a robotics lab, gantry crane, metal shop, and space for constructing complex architectural mock-ups, giving architecture students opportunities to explore fabrication and building systems through physical experimentation.
• Architectural modeling: Students can use the SoA Lab as a full-service model laboratory, with woodshop equipment, digital fabrication machinery, thermoforming and foam-cutting tools for turning design concepts into physical models and prototypes.
• Computer-aided design and imaging: The Architecture Building includes a Computer-Aided Design and Imaging Facility, alongside computer labs, printers and plotters, supporting students' digital representation and presentation work.
• Research and thesis projects: Architecture undergraduates can pursue senior thesis research and apply for School of Architecture funding of up to $1,000 for research projects; Princeton also directs students toward university undergraduate-research funding and opportunities that can support summer internships.
• Architecture Library: The Architecture Library (UES) provides approximately 30,000 volumes onsite, more than 100,000 architecture-related volumes through ReCAP, over 300 print periodicals, hundreds of digital periodicals, and relevant databases. Its collections cover architecture, landscape architecture, urban studies, planning and design, architectural history, theory, preservation, professional practice, and material science.
• Exhibition and presentation spaces: The Architecture Building includes Betts Auditorium, an exhibition gallery, and review spaces, giving students dedicated environments for presenting and discussing architectural work.
• Interdisciplinary learning: Architecture students can take advantage of courses and collaborations across fields including art and archaeology, civil and environmental engineering, history, sociology, American studies, and European cultural studies, while visiting architects bring diverse professional perspectives into the School. 

The A.B. in Architecture at Princeton provides a rigorous pre-professional foundation combining architectural design, history and theory, architectural analysis, representation, computing, and building technologies within a broad liberal-arts education. Graduates can move into architecture and design-related roles, but Princeton explicitly notes that the undergraduate degree is not a professional architecture degree, so students seeking U.S. architectural licensure generally continue to a professional Master of Architecture.

Typical career roles: Architectural Designer, Design Professional, Project Assistant, Architectural Researcher.

Career progression and opportunities include:

• Career services: Princeton's Center for Career Development provides architecture and design job and internship postings through Handshake, CareerShift and its own listings, along with career advising covering search strategies, applications and interviews.
• Architecture-specific resources: The School of Architecture provides students with resources including ARCHCareers.org, NCARB resources, AIA, AIAS, ACSA and ARE information, helping students understand professional pathways and the transition toward architectural practice.
• Princeternships: Undergraduate students can apply for Princeternships, which have included architecture opportunities with Princeton alumni; selected students connect with alumni hosts for short-term career exploration and professional exposure.
• Professional experience: Princeton's School of Architecture offers paid student positions such as fabrication-lab shop monitor, 3D-printer and plotter monitor, exhibition installer, publication/marketing assistant and faculty research assistant. Summer work-study can also provide practical training and professional experience, including opportunities that may contribute toward licensing experience for eligible students.
• Employment outcomes: Princeton's official undergraduate outcomes report shows that, across the reported classes of 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021, 27% of alumni in Architecture and Engineering occupations were in the Business industry, 4% in Engineering/Health/Science & Technology, 52% in Social Impact, and 18% in Arts/Culture/Media & Entertainment. These figures cover Princeton alumni in the broader Architecture and Engineering occupation family, not only Architecture majors.
• Salary figures: Princeton's official Architecture program sources do not state a program-specific graduate salary figure, so a Princeton Architecture-specific salary should not be inferred from broader university data.
• Alumni and industry connections: Princeton's Career Compass identifies architecture and design as a dedicated career field and connects students with alumni; Princeton's architecture alumni include architects, senior architects, project managers and landscape architects, providing examples of professional pathways.
• Accreditation value: The undergraduate A.B. is not NAAB-accredited and does not itself satisfy the professional-degree requirement for U.S. architectural licensure. Princeton's NAAB-accredited professional pathway is its Master of Architecture, meaning students who want to become licensed architects can use the A.B. as preparation for subsequent professional study.
• Graduation outcomes: Princeton states that Architecture students typically pursue practice and/or teaching, both of which generally require further graduate-level study. The School also identifies the A.B. as preparation for graduate programs in architecture and related areas including landscape architecture, urban planning, architectural history and visual arts.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the A.B., students seeking professional architectural licensure can apply to Princeton's three-year Professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), which is NAAB-accredited and intended for students planning to practice architecture professionally. Students can also pursue graduate study in related disciplines such as landscape architecture, urban planning, architectural history and visual arts, while Princeton's School of Architecture also offers doctoral study for students pursuing advanced research in architecture, urbanism, landscape and related fields.