School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

School of Planning and Architecture Delhi (SPA Delhi) traces its origins to 1941 as the Department of Architecture within the Delhi Polytechnic of Delhi University, established in 1942 by Walter Sykes George, making it the first architecture school in North India. In 1959 it merged with the School of Town and Country Planning (founded 1955) to form its current institution, becoming affiliated with the University of Delhi. It gained Deemed University status in 1979 and was later declared an Institution of National Importance under the SPA Act 2014, alongside SPA Bhopal and SPA Vijayawada. The institute is governed autonomously under the Ministry of Education with its own Board of Governors, led by a Director assisted by five Deans overseeing academics, research, student affairs, faculty welfare, and planning. SPA Delhi's campus is located near ITO in Indraprastha Estate, with hostels in New Friends Colony and Taimoor Nagar, and plans for a new campus in Vasant Kunj. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes across twelve departments including Architecture, Urban Planning, and Landscape Architecture. Admission to undergraduate courses is through the Joint Entrance Examination, and postgraduate admission via interviews and GATE. In 2024, it was ranked 4th in architecture by the National Institutional Ranking Framework.