The student experience at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture is as rewarding as it is challenging.
In our tight-knit community of doers, you'll find the support you need to thrive. As a small college in a large Research 1 university, we offer a unique and supportive 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 '23 BLA
Though you may join us at CAPLA because you want to become an architect, landscape architect, real estate developer, urban planner or sustainability manager, you'll find much more to the student experience than just career prep.
At CAPLA we will prepare you for these professions in our state-of-the-art facilities that offer a mix of hands-on, field-based and technological learning. But you'll also find your education goes well beyond career goals, providing invaluable insight into the built environment.
Study in any program at CAPLA challenges students to achieve academic success, to meet demanding studio requirements and to develop cross-campus collaborations. All of this means that you are encouraged to get out of your comfort zone to solve difficult problems. And you won't do that alone, because in addition to faculty and staff who are eager to help you find your success, you'll find a supportive community of students and alumni who likewise understand the rigors of your program and know what it takes to exceed even your own expectations.
At CAPLA, you can tailor your studies through electives and by working with different professors. Through different classes and a mix of extracurricular opportunities including student organizations, you will engage not only with your classmates and instructors, but also with design/build projects and the community—whether that's on the University of Arizona campus, in Tucson or in the world beyond.
More on the CAPLA Student Experience
9 Student Organizations
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 weekend events and work with professional affiliates on various projects.
9,000 Square Feet in the Materials Lab
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.
9 Million Things to Do in Tucson (Give or Take)
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.
View Student Work
View a sampling of the design and other work created by CAPLA students:
UArizona Undergraduate Architecture Students Focus on Universal Design for Prize Funded by AGM and Ascension Wheelchair Lifts
For the third year in a row, UArizona architecture students participated in a universal design competition that put their creative and analytical skills to the test on a significantly sloped site. Thanks to AGM Container Controls and Ascension Wheelchair Lifts, the winning students received a total of $7,400 in prizes.
Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Students Create Exterior Concepts for New South Tucson Coffee Shop
Under the guidance of landscape architecture lecturers Alexandra Stoicof and Nolan Bade, 19 students in a fall 2022 BLA design studio created concepts for a new coffee shop coming soon to South Tucson: Luna y Sol Cafe.
CAPLA Student-Faculty Team Uses GIS to Create Digital Atlas and Award-Winning Poster of Historical Buddhist Sites in Hangzhou, China
This spring, MS Urban Planning student Glenn Ingram, recent MLA graduate Mattea Wallace and Associate Professor Philip Stoker, working with UArizona East Asian Studies Professor Jiang Wu, created the “Regional Religious Systems in Hangzhou China” story map using GIS. This fall, Ingram's poster from the project won an award.
View Student Profiles
Meet some 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:
Designing for the Body: Ally Pearl Kwan ’23 B Arch
Ally Pearl Kwan came to UArizona from Cypress, California, choosing the B Arch program because of the studio spaces and world-class Materials Labs. At CAPLA, Ally has become a student leader, joining the American Institute of Architecture Students Arizona chapter, where she was president and awarded the 2021 Chapter Leader Honor Award by the AIAS.
Reconnecting Humans and Nature: Ibeth Martinez '23 MS Arch
Ibeth Martinez came to UArizona from Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she studied architecture as an undergraduate student. She came to CAPLA to pursue the Master of Science in Architecture because of its research focus flexibility and the fact that it offers both studio and research courses.
Creating Results: Jacob Schaffer ’23 SBE, ’24 MRED
Jacob Schaffer came to UArizona from Highland Park, Illinois, after his father, an alumnus, forwarded him information about CAPLA. The combination of sustainable built environments and real estate development piqued his interest, and he has been creating results ever since.
Meet Student Ambassadors
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: