 | |
Other name | SPA |
|---|---|
Former name | Department of Architecture, Delhi Polytechnic (1941–1959) |
| Type | Public,Institutes of National Importance |
| Established | 1941; 85 years ago (1941) |
| Chairperson | Habeeb Khan |
| Director | Dr. Virendra Kumar Paul |
| Students | ~1,200 |
| Location | , 110002 ,India |
| Affiliations | National Association of Students of Architecture, NOSPlan |
| Website | www |
 | |
School of Planning and Architecture Delhi (SPA Delhi) is anInstitute of National Importance located inDelhi, India, specialising in education and research in the fields ofplanning andarchitecture. The institute offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in architecture, planning and design disciplines.[citation needed]
SPA Delhi is one of the threeSchools of Planning and Architecture in India, along withSPA Bhopal andSPA Vijayawada, established by theGovernment of India to promote education in architecture and physical planning.[citation needed]
SPA Delhi functions as an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The institute has its own Board of Governors responsible for its administration and policy decisions.[citation needed]
The beginning of the School of Planning and Architecture Delhi dates back to the year 1941, as a Department of Architecture of the Delhi Polytechnic of Delhi University (nowDelhi Technological University).[1] In 1942,Walter Sykes George and his associates established the Department of Architecture as part of the Delhi Polytechnic in Kashmere Gate.[2] It was the first school for architects to be established in North India. 1959 it was merged with the School of Town and Country Planning (established in 1955 by theGovernment of India), renamed to its current name and affiliated to theUniversity of Delhi.[3] In 1979, recognising its national and international eminence, the institute was grantedDeemed University status.[4] In 2008, Government of India established two more SPAs, namely SPA Bhopal and SPA Vijaywada. In 2014,Lok Sabha passed a bill to make all the three SPAs"centre of excellence" on the pattern of IITs and IIMs.[citation needed] It was named an "Institution of National Importance" under the SPA Act 2014.[citation needed]
The current SPA Delhi campus is split in two blocks one each for Planning and Architecture. Both these blocks are housed near ITO in Indraprastha Estate in Delhi. The girls hostel is located in the ITO campus itself and the boys hostel and residential campus is located in New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Delhi.[5]
As of July 2013 the final plans for the new campus in Vasant Kunj has been finalised.[needs update]
The Director of the School is assisted by 5 Deans as follows:
Each department of studies has a Departmental Research Committee and Head of the Department of Studies is its chairperson. Academic policy is decentralised to the extent that each department of studies has an Advisory Committee, which makes proposals on department related academic matters. Chairperson of the Board of Studies is Head of the Department.
The various Departments in the School are as follows:
The School offers planning, architecture and design courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Admission to undergraduate programs in all SPAs is tied to theEntrance Examination, popularly known asJEE. Candidates who qualify admission viaJoint Entrance Examination can apply for admission in B.Arch. (Bachelor of Architecture) and B.Plan. (Bachelor of Planning) courses in SPAs. Admission to most postgraduate courses in SPAs is granted through various interviews andGraduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.[6]
While the Bachelor of Architecture course is one of the oldest in the country, highly successful Bachelor of Planning course was started in 1989. Besides, the school offers 10 postgraduate programmes along with the doctoral programmes run by all the departments of studies. Total strength of the students in session 2015-2016 was 1,189 of which 717 were undergraduate students and 428 were post graduates. Presently 44 students are pursuing Ph.D. programme in the School.[7]
SPA Delhi has a special status as an "Institutes of National Importance" under an act of Parliament,[8] due to which the degrees provided by SPA need not be recognised by theAICTE.[9] The JEE and GATE are important factors behind the success of SPA, as it enables the SPA to accept only a select group of meritorious students. This combination of success factors has led to the concept of theSPA Brand. Other factors that have contributed to the success of SPA are stringent faculty recruitment procedures and industry collaboration. The procedure for selection of faculty in SPA is stricter as compared to other colleges offering similar degrees.
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Architecture – India | |
| NIRF (2024)[10] | 4 |
In 2024, SPA Delhi was ranked 4th in architecture by theNational Institutional Ranking Framework.[11]
The SPA was one of the first institutions to have mixed hostels for girls and boys, but this was closed in 1993, despite student protests. There are two hostels for students. The planning block of the institution offers residence to girls. The hostel complex in Taimoor Nagar is designed for both boys and girls.
TheStudent Council of the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (SPA Delhi) is the apex elected body that represents all undergraduate and postgraduate students. Operating under the Dean (Student Affairs), the Council serves as the formal conduit between the student community and the School’s administration, and it organises most extra-curricular, cultural and sports activities on campus.
According to theStudent Handbook the Council is organised in three tiers.
| Tier | Core posts | Main responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Executive (General) Council | General President, General Secretaries (UG & PG), Editor | Represents the entire student body, coordinates with administration, issues official statements, and oversees joint Council initiatives.(spa.ac.in) |
| Undergraduate Council | UG President, UG Secretary, Cultural, Sports, Games & Photography Secretaries | Handles undergraduate welfare, cultural and sports events, first-year orientation and society coordination.(spa.ac.in) |
| Post-graduate Council | PG President, PG Secretary, Social & Entertainment Secretaries | Addresses PG academic concerns, research colloquia, professional-development workshops and community-outreach drives.(spa.ac.in) |
Council elections are held once every academic year, generally at the start of the odd semester. All enrolled students vote by secret ballot; candidature is open department-wide and governed by election rules issued by the Dean (Student Affairs). The newly elected Council assumes office for a one-year term that runs parallel to the academic session.spa.ac.in
| Council tier | Post | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Executive / General Council | General President | Chinmayi Abhijit Sawant |
| General Secretary (UG) | Yash Raj Parhi | |
| General Secretary (PG) | Shubham Kumar | |
| Editor | Anoushka Tater | |
| Under-graduate Council | President | Kushagra Shrivastava |
| Secretary | Aryan Raman Lohar | |
| Cultural Secretary | Arishmita Das | |
| Sports Secretary | Magan Singla | |
| Post-graduate Council | President | Rashi Bhat |
| Secretary | Prince Santosh Katariya | |
| Entertainment Secretary | Adarsh Kumar | |
| Social Secretary | Harithapriya Vijaye | |
| Games Secretary | Shruthi S. | |
| Photography Secretary | Sudeep Gurumayum |
TheHostel Management Committee (HMC) is the statutory body that advises the School on all policy and operational matters connected with hostel accommodation, mess services and student welfare in the two campuses at ITO and Maharani Bagh. Chaired by the Honorary Hostel Warden and working in concert with the Dean (Student Affairs) and Estate Office, the HMC frames hostel rules, oversees maintenance budgets, vets mess contracts and represents resident students in decisions on allotment and discipline.
| Post | Name | Programme / Year |
|---|---|---|
| GeneralHMC | Anvita Nandan Prasad | B.Plan ’22 |
| UG Boys’HMC | Bhavya Prakash Singh | B.Plan ’22 |
| UG Girls’HMC | Sneha Gupta | B.Arch ’22 |
| HMC Coordinator | Shubhrajyoti Sarkar | B.Plan ’22 |
| PG Boys’HMC | V. Pavan Bharadwaj | M.Plan (BEM) ’24 |
| PG Girls’HMC | B. Shruti | M.Tech (TP) ’24 |
HMC elections are held once every academic year, generally at the start of the odd semester. All enrolled students vote by secret ballot; candidature is open department-wide and governed by election rules issued by the Dean (Student Affairs). The newly elected HMC assumes office for a one-year term that runs parallel to the academic session.spa.ac.in
Together with the Student Council, the HMC ensures that residential life atSPA Delhi remains safe, transparent and responsive to student needs, while adhering to the hostel rules laid down by the School.More information:https://spa.ac.in/resources/student-council
 | This list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Please helpimprove it by addingreliable sources for existing names which prove they are alumni. Unsourced names may be challenged and removed.(August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
28°37′43.1″N77°14′45.2″E / 28.628639°N 77.245889°E /28.628639; 77.245889
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
