Estudiar arquitectura y urbanismo en China

The "Old Eight" architecture schools

Tsinghua, Tongji, Southeast, Tianjin, Zhejiang, South China University of Technology, HIT and Chongqing are the historic eight architecture schools established under the 1952 reorganisation. Tsinghua and Tongji are the strongest and the most internationally connected.

Tongji is particularly strong in urban planning and in its German academic partnerships. Southeast University's Sipailou campus is one of the most architecturally distinguished in China. South China University of Technology is the strongest in the south.

Structure and requirements

The professional bachelor's degree in architecture is five years, including a design studio every semester and a practical training period. Admission for international students requires a portfolio of drawing or design work and, in most cases, an interview.

English-taught options exist at Tongji, Tsinghua and Southeast University. Most other programmes are Chinese-taught, requiring HSK 5.

Why study architecture in China

The design culture combines Chinese spatial traditions — courtyard houses, garden design, feng shui principles — with contemporary practice at enormous scale. Studio projects routinely engage real sites and real clients, and there are few places where a student can see a housing block for 10,000 people, a high-speed rail station and a historic water town within an hour of each other.

Career outcomes include international design firms operating in China, Chinese firms expanding overseas, and the rapid urbanisation programmes across Asia and Africa where Chinese practice is increasingly influential.