Architecture as an art was taught at the Yale School of the Fine Arts in the late nineteenth century. Precedence for this pioneering in art education was set as early as 1832 when the Trumbull Art Gallery (the first college-affiliated gallery in the country) was opened. This event signaled a commitment to education in the arts that culminated in 1869 with the opening of the Yale School of the Fine Arts, the first college-affiliated art school in the country. The department of Architecture was established in the School of the Fine Arts in 1916. In 1959 the School of Art and Architecture, as it was then known, was made a fully graduate professional school, which moved into the Yale Art and Architecture Building (A&A) in 1963. In 1972 Yale designated the School of Architecture as its own separate professional school. In 2008, after an extensive renovation, the A&A building was rededicated Paul Rudolph Hall.

The School of Architecture offers a three-year program leading to the degree of Master of Architecture; a two-year post-professional option also leading to the degree of Master of Architecture; a two-year program for advanced, independent research leading to the degree of Master of Environmental Design; and a program leading to a Ph.D. degree awarded by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The school also supports the Yale College undergraduate Architecture major and Urban Studies major. The School of Architecture and the School of Management offer a joint-degree program leading to the degrees of Master of Architecture and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.). The School of Architecture and the School of the Environment offer a joint-degree program leading to the degrees of Master of Architecture and Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.).

Chairs and Deans of Architecture at Yale

Everett Victor Meeks, Chair 1916–1947, Dean 1922–1947
Harold D. Hauf, Chair 1947–1949
George Howe, Chair 1950–1954
Paul Schweikher, Chair 1954–1956
Henry Pfisterer, Interim Chair 1956–1957
Paul Rudolph, Chair 1958–1965
Charles Moore, Chair 1965–1969, Dean 1969–1971
Herman D.J. Spiegel, Dean 1971–1976
Cesar Pelli, Dean 1977–1984
Martin Gehner, Acting Dean 1984–1985
Thomas H. Beeby, Dean 1985–1991
Alexander Purves, Acting Dean 1992
Alfred Koetter, Dean 1993–1998
Robert A.M. Stern, Dean 1998–2016
Deborah Berke, Edward P. Bass Dean 2016–