Vital Statistics on Canadian Schools of Architecture

This map of Canada’s twelve schools of architecture shows the concentration of institutions in the country’s population centers in southern Ontario and Québec. All of Canada’s architecture schools offer the professional M.Arch instead of the B.Arch.

As Laurentian University’s first M.Arch class began in September 2013, the school is applying for candidacy status in order to work towards CACB accreditation.

There are just over 1,200 students enrolled in professional M.Arch programs, compared with over 3,000 students enrolled in pre-professional and non-professional undergraduate programs across Canada. In several schools, the pre-professional undergraduate and professional M.Arch program together comprise the professional course of study accredited by CACB.

Post-professional (non-professional graduate) programs are offered at only a handful of Canadian institutions and tend to be small, with a total of 123 students nationwide.

Laurentian University is aiming for a total of 280 Bachelor of Architectural Studies students and 120 Master of Architecture students.

While full-time faculty counts are more unambiguous, schools may count part-time faculty in slightly different ways, which may account for some of the variation in part-time faculty counts shown here.

Laurentian University’s program is continuing to grow and is intended to reach a total of 21 faculty members.

Nine of twelve schools of architecture reported that 50% or more of their student bodies are female, and none reported an architecture student body with fewer than 30% female students.

Eight of twelve architecture schools reported that fewer than 10% of their architecture student body is international.

International student tuition in Canada is often much more expensive than tuition for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. In Québec, out-of-province students often pay more tuition than in-province students.

While no tuition for undergraduate architecture programs in Canada exceeds $10K for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, the median cost for international students is over twice this amount.

At the graduate level, the median international tuition is lower, at just over $15K.

The areas that most schools indicated as a particular focus were ecological design; history, theory, and criticism; building technologies; and digital fabrication.

Each school was asked to indicate up to eight areas of focus from a list, as shown here.

Areas of focus are sorted top to bottom from most often to least often selected; and schools are sorted left to right from most to least similar to other Canadian schools in their selections. In other words, University of Calgary included the five most selected areas of focus in its list, whereas Université de Montréal most often selected less common areas.

Every Canadian school of architecture indicated that they offer exhibitions/gallery space, a lecture series, and teaching assistantships.

Only four indicated that they offer online non-studio courses, and none indicated that they offer online studio courses (not shown). However, note that this survey did not include Athabasca University, an open, online/distance learning institution in Canada that offers two non-professional degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Architecture.

Each school indicated which activities and opportunities they offer, from a list. Activities and opportunities are sorted top to bottom from most often to least often selected.

Every school has activities and opportunities that were not included in this list. For example, Laurentian University, which serves Canada’s north and emphasizes cultural exchange between French, English, indigenous, and international communities, features elders in residence. University of Calgary, Université de Montréal, and Dalhousie University mentioned short workshops, charrettes, and courses that strategically enhance the student experience in different ways.

Every Canadian school of architecture indicated that its digital and fabrication facilities include a computer lab, individual workspaces, large format printer(s), laser cutter(s), and a woodshop.

Each school indicated which digital and fabrication facilities it offers, based on a list.

Many schools have facilities that are not included here; for example, Dalhousie has a concrete and plaster lab and Laurentian has a web lab for working with earth.