Global Survey, Schools of Architecture – Trends and Patterns (2025)

Abstract

This report presents the most comprehensive global assessment of architectural education undertaken to date, analysing 345 accredited architecture programmes across 159 countries and all five UIA regions. Commissioned by the International Union of Architects and the UIA Architectural Education Commission (EDUCOM) and conducted between February and June 2025, the survey employs a nine-dimensional analytical framework, spanning curriculum structure, accreditation, faculty profiles, student outcomes, facilities, pedagogy, engagement, sustainability, and internationalisation, complemented by ten cross-cutting thematic lenses derived from the Commission's webinar series. Findings reveal a discipline at a contradiction point: allied-discipline integration is near-universal (99%), SDG alignment substantial (88%), and sustainability embedded in over 90% of curricula, yet health-centred design (22%), decolonised pedagogy (29%), and the architect's evolving professional identity (38%) remain marginal. The analysis reveals four systemic challenges: weak accountability and transparency, a widening digital infrastructure divide, the unfinished agenda of culturally plural and health-oriented curricula, and the gap between proclaimed professional values and curricular practice. The report concludes with a vision for architectural education that is empirically accountable, technologically equitable, culturally plural, and civic in orientation, providing an evidence base to inform curriculum reform, accreditation policy, and international collaboration worldwide.