Undergraduate Admissions

We offer the following undergraduate degrees:

• Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch): A five-year, NAAB-accredited undergraduate professional architecture degree.

• Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.): A four-year, pre-professional undergraduate architecture degree.

Our admission process: an overview

A joint admission committee consisting of both the Office of Admission and the School of Architecture evaluates the qualifications of architecture applicants. The undergraduate application to the School of Architecture is a two-part process:

1. Apply to the university through the Office of Undergraduate Admission using the Common Application. The university's admission office receives and evaluates all materials submitted as part of the Common Application to Carnegie Mellon University and the School of Architecture. University admission requirements can be found on the Office of Admission website.

2. Continue your application to the School of Architecture by submitting the Architecture Portfolio using SlideRoom.

The School of Architecture admission committee will review your portfolio submission along with the application materials already received and evaluated by the Office of Admission committee.

early August – Common Application available. Select the School of Architecture as the program(s) to which you intend to apply. Indicate whether you will be applying for Early Decision, Regular Decision, or Transfer.

mid-August – Carnegie Mellon Supplement available. Continue your application by reviewing and submitting the additional application materials required for your application to the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

early October – School of Architecture SlideRoom portfolio submission website is available. Select the School of Architecture portal in SlideRoom to upload your creative work for the Architecture Portfolio.

Early Decision 

November 1 – Common Application deadline for Early Decision

November 1 (11:59pm ET) – Architecture Portfolio submission to SlideRoom deadline

December 15 – Early Decision admission decisions revealed online

February 15 – Early Decision enrollment deposit deadline

Regular Decision or Transfer

January 2 – Common Application deadline for Regular Decision or Transfer to Architecture

January 10 (11:59pm ET) – Architecture Portfolio submission to SlideRoom deadline

February 15 – Financial Aid FAFSA Application Deadline

late March – Admission decisions revealed online

April – Admitted Student Visitation Month

May 1 – Fall 2024 enrollment deposit deadline

Before beginning your application, please be sure to visit the Office of Admission website to review the requirements for undergraduate admission to the School of Architecture.  All undergraduate candidates applying to Architecture and BXA for Architecture must do the following:

1. Begin the Common Application. Identify Carnegie Mellon University as one of "My Colleges." Once you indicate that you are applying to CMU, you will automatically be directed to additional CMU-specific questions. This is also where you will indicate the School of Architecture as the undergraduate program to which you are applying by selecting: a) College - "College of Fine Arts" and b) Department/School - "School of Architecture."

2. Log into the School of Architecture SlideRoom portal to work on your portfolio submission. The Architecture Portfolio consists of the completion of two forms and the submission of ten different creative works submitted to the architecture portfolio portal of SlideRoom.

3. Register to participate in an optional online formal review of your portfolio submission to SlideRoom if you wish to participate in an interview with a faculty member about your final portfolio submission. Online formal reviews are not required for Architecture applicants, but they are strongly recommended.

You may track your Carnegie Mellon Application status online through the Office of Undergraduate Admission's Where Am I In the Process website or by contacting their office. 

As an undergraduate applicant to the School of Architecture, you must submit a portfolio to be considered for admission. The Architecture Portfolio requires you to complete two forms and upload ten different creative works to your account in the architecture undergraduate admission portal of SlideRoom. Regular Decision and Transfer applicants must submit their portfolios to SlideRoom by January 10 (November 1 for Early Decision). Only portfolios submitted to SlideRoom will be reviewed; physical portfolios will not be accepted. 

Preparing Your Architecture Portfolio

In your portfolio, we seek evidence of your curiosity, critical thinking, innovation, problem-solving, spatial reasoning/visual thinking, ability to synthesize, and desire to make and build things. The quality of the portfolio’s overall composition is as important as the quality of any individual piece. You should carefully curate and arrange your portfolio to tell a compelling story about yourself, your abilities and passions, and your commitment and motivation to study architecture.

• How can you best present your abilities, interests, and passions through your creative work?

• Select projects that demonstrate a range of media, 2- and 3-D relationships, and a variety of subject matter while still emphasizing your strongest work.

• Collaborative work that you have created with others is encouraged. You must indicate in the field information in SlideRoom that a particular work is “Collaborative” and list the names of each individual involved. Most importantly, describe your individual role in completing that work.

• Our undergraduate SlideRoom portal accepts image (JPG) and video files. We do not accept PDF files.

• A layout spread of multiple images compromises the ability for us to view your work. We prefer one image per slide. If you want to compose multiple images of one work on one slide, then we ask that you compose a layout of no more than 3 images saved as a JPG file.

• It is helpful to include a brief detailed description of the context for this work in the "Description" field in SlideRoom.

• We discourage applicants from submitting technical drafting.

Submitting Your Architecture Portfolio

Access and log into the School of Architecture SlideRoom portal. Complete the supporting form questions, record a simple introductory video of yourself, and upload images of your creative work using the fields provided in the software to provide detailed information about each creative work. Once you are satisfied with your portfolio application, submit your portfolio to SlideRoom.

Portfolio Review: Discussing Your Portfolio Submission with Faculty

The School of Architecture Portfolio Review offers applicants an opportunity to receive a formal 15-minute interview with a member of our faculty in the context of their final portfolio submission in SlideRoom. Additionally, participants will learn about our undergraduate programs and engage with the school's administration and current students. Portfolio review sessions are scheduled on specific dates and are held remotely on Zoom. Architecture Portfolio Reviews are not required of undergraduate applicants, but they are strongly recommended. Advanced registration is required, and places are limited.

To register for an Architecture Portfolio Review, you must first complete the Common Application to Carnegie Mellon. Once you have submitted your application for Architecture, then you can register for an online formal review of your Architecture Portfolio submission to SlideRoom.

Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 9:00 am-12:00 pm EST (Early Decision applicants ONLY)
Sunday, January 19, 2025 | 9:00 am-12:00 pm EST
Sunday, January 19, 2025 | 1:00 pm-4:00 pm EST 
Sunday, January 26, 2025 | 9:00 am-12:00 pm EST 

Applicants must ensure that they submit their portfolio to the School of Architecture via SlideRoom by the deadline to be able to attend the scheduled review session.

BXA Intercollege Degrees are four-year interdisciplinary degree programs between a concentration within the College of Fine Arts and another college at CMU. (BXA degrees are not accredited professional degrees; therefore, they do not meet the educational requirement for professional architecture licensure.) More information about the following programs is available on the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs website.

• Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BHA)

• Bachelor of Science and the Arts (BSA)

• Bachelor of Computer Science and the Arts (BCSA)

• Bachelor of Engineering Science and the Arts (BESA)

Admission evaluation by the School of Architecture is a requirement for students applying for a BXA Intercollege Degree Program blending architecture and one of the disciplines outlined above. To be offered admission to one of the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs with an interest in architecture, you must complete complete the admission requirements and be offered admission to both the School of Architecture and the other college represented by the "X": Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H), the Mellon College of Science (S), Computer Science (CS), or the College of Engineering (ES). Therefore, BXA applicants with an interest in Architecture MUST submit the architecture portfolio to Carnegie Mellon University as part of their application to be evaluated by the School of Architecture for admission consideration.

Carnegie Mellon Architecture will consider both external and internal (current CMU students) transfer candidates for undergraduate admission. Undergraduate students who transfer into the School of Architecture are classified as first-year students and will begin in the fall semester of the first year of the undergraduate program. At the end of the second year, they will choose to pursue either of the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch): five-year, NAAB-accredited undergraduate professional architecture degree.

• Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.): four-year, pre-professional undergraduate architecture degree.

The curricula of these two degree programs parallel in the first two years with students taking classes predominately in architecture and selecting their degree program in the second year. Our B.Arch curriculum is unique to our school’s NAAB-accredited degree program and consists of a specific sequence of co-requisite and pre-requisite coursework. It doesn't readily correlate with curricula from other NAAB-accredited architecture programs. As a result, the B.Arch is a set five-year program; there is no way to accelerate the program.

Previous college coursework for transfer credit is not evaluated as part of the admission process. Coursework for transfer credit is evaluated with the undergraduate Senior Academic Advisor once a student is enrolled and begins academic coursework in our program.

Transfer Application Requirements

Transfer applicants to the School of Architecture are required to meet first-year undergraduate application deadlines for admission consideration. The School of Architecture requires Transfer applicants to:

1. External transfer candidates will complete the Common Application for Transfer through the university's Office of Admission by January 2, 2025;

2. Both external and internal transfer candidates are required to submit their School of Architecture transfer applicant portfolio to SlideRoom by January 10th; and

3. Both external and internal transfer candidates will conduct a Transfer Interview with the School of Architecture undergraduate admission committee in mid-February.

   • Transfer applicants will be contacted by the School of Architecture’s Director of Recruitment & Enrollment, Alexis McCune Secosky, in early February to schedule their Transfer Interview. Interviews are conducted in a remote format via Zoom.

Transfer applicants have the option to participate in an Architecture Portfolio Review. Those who are able to register for a review will receive their Transfer Interview at the time of their scheduled session. Transfer applicants who do not register for a review will be contacted in early February to schedule their interview.

Applicants can track their Carnegie Mellon application status online through the Office of Undergraduate Admission's Where Am I In the Process website or by contacting the Office of Undergraduate Admission.

For questions about the School of Architecture, the Architecture Portfolio submission, the Architecture Portfolio Reviews, or Transfer Admission please contact the school's Director of Recruitment & Enrollment, Alexis McCune Secosky, at amccune@andrew.cmu.edu.

Statement of Assurance: Policy Statement

Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status or genetic information. Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and is required not to discriminate in violation of federal, state or local laws or executive orders.

Inquiries concerning the application of and compliance with this statement should be directed to the university ombudsman, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, telephone 412-268-1018.

Obtain general information about Carnegie Mellon University by calling 412-268-2000.

The Carnegie Mellon University Statement of Assurance is available on the CMU website.