Accredited through national peer review, these opportunities are respected by both employers and students alike — Dalhousie has a Cooperative Education (co-op) placement rate in Architecture exceeding 95%. Meanwhile, Bachelor of Community Design Honours students are placed in internships. Facilitating their journeys is the Work-Integrated Learning & Co-operative Education office. It is a vital link between students and professional practice, from managing cooperative work placements to providing career guidance and resources.  

On campus, student-led initiatives like the SHIFT Planning Conference, thought-provoking events like the Housing Engagement Series, inspiring alumni networking opportunities, and frequent dialogue on pressing issues like climate change and urban development foster a culture of creativity and collaboration.

Read on to explore first-hand student accounts of how Dalhousie’s Faculty of Architecture and Planning is empowering tomorrow’s future ready leaders.

Why is experiential education so crucial in the fields of architecture and planning? Because the challenges we face cannot be solved in isolation. In a field where sustainability, community engagement and social equity have become paramount, architects and planners can’t survive on technical skills alone — they must possess empathy, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the human experience.

And that’s where Dalhousie University's Faculty of Architecture and Planning thrives. At one of Canada’s top 15 research-intensive universities, education transcends textbooks and immerses students in real-world experience. Comprising a School of Planning and a School of Architecture, the faculty offers domestic and international co-op opportunities, which see students in professional architecture programmes (BEDS/MArch) and the Master of Planning gain firsthand experience that shapes their careers and their understanding of the world around them. 

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