School of Architecture and Planning, Chennai

It is recognized as one of the leading institutions in the country, the Department of Architecture and Design of Anna University dates back to 1957 when it was established as the Department of Architecture, University of Madras. Originally located in the Alagappa College of Technology, the institution offered a five-year BA degree with a limited intake of 20 students. In 1964, the Town and Country Planning Program PG was launched to meet the needs of South India. The institution was later renamed the School of Architecture and Planning and moved to its own independent campus in 1968. Over the years, the school has tried to promote society by expanding its offer. In 1986, the M.Arch degree in architecture was launched, followed by self-supporting courses such as M.Arch (Digital) and M.Arch (Landscape) in 2002. In addition, the school offered an M.S. (based on research) and Ph.D. programs since the 1990s. In recent years, B.Arch courses have increased their intake to provide quality architecture education to a larger number of students. Dr. Ranee Vedamuthu is currently the Dean of the College of Architecture and Design, while the Department of Architecture is headed by Dr. K.R. Sitalakshmi. The school has a well-planned campus that offers plenty of space for administration, lecture halls and studios for both architecture and design courses. There are seminar rooms, staff rooms, a spacious library, a multi-purpose hall, a student common room (including a separate women's common room) and a hobby workshop. Advanced computing and networking facilities are available on campus, including an exclusive computer lab for undergraduate and graduate students. The University, Government of Tamil Nadu and UGC financially support more than 13,000 publications in the school library.