School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi was established in 1959 and is among India's oldest and most respected architecture institutions. The college holds NAAC A+ accreditation and is located in the heart of New Delhi, adjacent to the Parliament complex and India Gate. SPA Delhi's reputation rests on both its selectivity (admission only through JEE Main Paper 2 JOSAA, not NATA) and its extraordinary educational location.

The college offers B.Arch, B.Planning, M.Arch, M.Planning, and PhD programmes. All undergraduate programmes are five years for B.Arch and four years for B.Planning, following CoA and national guidelines. The student cohort is small and highly selective, with approximately 40 B.Arch seats per year. This ensures close faculty engagement, individual studio mentorship, and a tight professional network of peers.

New Delhi's architectural heritage is the college's primary educational resource. Students work within a city that contains UNESCO-listed Mughal monuments (Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar), British colonial government complexes (Parliament House, India Gate, North and South Blocks), post-independence institutional architecture (housing ministry buildings, university campuses), and contemporary commercial and residential development. This architectural timeline, spanning 800 years and all major Indian architectural typologies, is accessible within commuting distance. Early-year studio projects often involve documentation and analysis of existing buildings on campus or in the nearby city; later-year studios engage with live briefs for urban design, heritage conservation, and public space projects in Delhi.

The institutional ecosystem supporting architecture practice and education in Delhi is unmatched in India. INTACH (Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage) is headquartered in Delhi and is India's largest heritage conservation and documentation organisation. The Archaeological Survey of India's central office, responsible for managing all national monuments, is based in Delhi. The National Buildings Organisation and multiple government architecture wings are located here. For students interested in heritage conservation, urban policy, or public sector architecture, these institutions provide internship, research, and mentorship opportunities that are not available in other cities.

The faculty at SPA Delhi bring research and practice experience from these institutions and from Delhi's active architecture community. Specialisations include architectural design, urban design, landscape architecture, heritage conservation, and sustainable architecture. The curriculum emphasises both technical rigour and contextual understanding, training students to design buildings and spaces that respond to India's specific climatic, cultural, and urban contexts.

SPA Delhi graduates are highly sought after by government bodies, multinational architecture practices, and heritage conservation organisations. The college's alumni network spans government architecture, urban planning authorities, heritage conservation practice, and international architecture firms. Graduates frequently pursue postgraduate study at globally recognised architecture schools in the UK, US, and Australia, with multiple alumni at prestigious institutions like the Architectural Association in London and Columbia University in New York.