The CAPLA Student Experience
At College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, you'll find the tight-knit, supportive community you need to thrive.
Though you may join us at CAPLA because you want to become an architect, designer, landscape architect, real estate developer, urban planner or sustainability manager, you'll find much more to the student experience than just classes and career prep.
As a small college in a large Research 1 university, we offer a unique, collaborative and hands-on environment for learning how to plan, develop, design and create a more sustainable future. Are you ready to build a changing world?
At CAPLA, you feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself, which encourages you to be the best version of yourself.
Emma Nakpairat '24 BLA
Design Your Experience
No matter your major or your areas of interest, you'll be sure to find a club that suits your needs. CAPLA's student organizations facilitate cross-disciplinary activities, provide leadership for greater student involvement in service projects, organize an array of events and work with professional affiliates on local projects and networking.
Our world-class Materials Lab allows students to explore, model, fabricate and test design ideas in a state-of-the-art environment with equipment accommodating a wide range of materials, including metal, wood, concrete, ceramics, glass and plastics. With CNC tools, the labs support digital as well as analog fabrication.
We think you’ll agree that Tucson—a quirky, authentic community that is the multicultural heart of the Sonoran Desert—is the coolest desert city in the world. Named one of the 12 best places to live by Outside magazine because of our striking natural setting, Tucson is not easily defined but is easily loved.
Design Reviews: Inside the Critique Process for CAPLA Students
Reviews and critiques are an essential component of the design thinking and learning process for many CAPLA students. We've put together a series of videos from students and faculty that will help you learn about the importance of critiques, what they look like, how to prepare, tips for after a critique and how reviews have been adapted for a post-pandemic world.
CAPLA Student Profiles
Meet a few of CAPLA's students by viewing their student profiles. You'll find a rich mix of backgrounds and experiences create a diverse and dynamic student community:
Externship Experience: Dillon Tisdale, B.Arch ‘26
Dillon Tisdale’s externship with The M Group in D.C. immersed him in real-world architecture workflows, sustainability, and collaboration, shaping his career goals in net-zero design and project management.
Cookbook Creation: Ella Parsons ‘27 B.Arch
CAPLA student Ella Parsons ('27 B.Arch) shares her ecological “cookbook,” blending art, architecture, and ecology to explore site, narrative, and design through experimental methods.
Seizing Opportunities: Linus Friedman ‘26 SBE
Linus Friedman ('26 SBE) is graduating with dual degrees in Sustainable Built Environments and German Studies and will join Kimley-Horn as a Transportation Planning Analyst.
CAPLA Student Work
View a sampling of the design work and class projects created by CAPLA students:
Externship Experience: Dillon Tisdale, B.Arch ‘26
Dillon Tisdale’s externship with The M Group in D.C. immersed him in real-world architecture workflows, sustainability, and collaboration, shaping his career goals in net-zero design and project management.
In the News: "UA Architecture students design, build shipping container microshelter, addressing homelessness"
CAPLA architecture students were featured by KGUN9 for designing and constructing a shipping-container microshelter prototype that addresses housing instability while providing hands-on experience in community-engaged design and construction.
Faculty-led, student-powered research advances heat and health innovation
Third-year B.Arch student Brett Lewis earned first place in the poster competition at the 2026 Big Idea Challenge Research Showcase for his work on a climate-responsive cooling unit developed in CAPLA’s Human Factors and Wellness class. M.Arch student Nick Yang also received fully funded National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps+) training, reflecting the growing impact of faculty-led, student-powered research at CAPLA.
Ask a Student About Their CAPLA Experience
Find out what it’s like to be a CAPLA student first-hand. Reach out to any of our student ambassadors, who are glad to answer your questions about the studio experience, faculty interaction, student life and more: