We chat with Emily Majors, a Harvard GSD student in her final year of the MArch I program about the portfolio she used to apply to the GSD.
Emily applied from Texas A&M with a Bachelors in Environmental Design. She was also accepted to Yale School of Architecture, Columbia GSAPP, UPenn and SCI-Arc.
Full transcript
My name is Emily Majors, and I am originally from Southeast Texas. I completed my undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University, earning a Bachelor of Environmental Design, which is a pre-professional degree in architecture. Afterward, I applied to Master of Architecture programs so that I could pursue licensure. I am currently in the MArch I program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, in my final year, completing my thesis and graduating in about two months.
When I was applying to schools, I applied to five and was accepted to all of them: Harvard GSD, Yale, Columbia GSAPP, the University of Pennsylvania, and SCI-Arc.
For my graduate school portfolio, I made a deliberate design choice to include my table of contents on the front page. This was a way to manage the strict page limits while helping reviewers navigate the work easily. I listed the semesters in which each project was completed, noted that all work was academic, and provided brief headlines to guide readers directly to the content.
I began the portfolio with a project from my sophomore year. My general approach is to start each section with a conceptual or diagrammatic idea before diving into the project details. This particular one was a group project, and I made sure to specify my contributions: form development, composition, final drawings, and post-processing. My partner handled rendering while I focused on Photoshop and final presentation. Some schools explicitly ask for this information, but I believe it’s valuable in any case because it demonstrates teamwork and transparency. Collaboration is a key part of the culture at the GSD, so it’s something they likely value in applicants.
The project included a series of iterations that came from scripting, which produced multiple object variations. I framed the layout using these iterations to illustrate the process, followed by site plans, elevations, and models. My undergraduate program didn’t emphasize physical model-making as much as other schools do, so I was nervous about applying to GSD, where model work is very important. I included every model I could find, from 3D prints to small conceptual pieces, to demonstrate that skill.
The next project, also from sophomore year, was a conceptual study. We analyzed canonical houses in Los Angeles and examined Issey Miyake dresses, exploring how the two could inform architectural design. I began that section with diagrams and then included drawings, Maya studies, and group work details similar to the previous project.
Another project from my fourth year was an integrated studio where we studied architecture through systems and structural performance. I included Bjarke Ingels–style diagrams and a mix of renderings, plans, and conceptual graphics. Looking back, I probably overfilled that page, and if I were revising the portfolio now, I’d simplify it. I focused on balancing representation of drawing, rendering, and conceptual development throughout. I also emphasized my favorite drawings, such as plans, by making one large and keeping the rest smaller to show process without cluttering the layout.
Later projects included more speculative work, such as one called The Naked Ooze, which inverted the project’s volumes and explored drooping geometries generated in Grasshopper. A mentor suggested including a small screenshot of the script itself so that it was clear the geometry came from computational methods.
Another section highlighted my study abroad semester at the Barcelona Architecture Center. That project included sections, renders, detail drawings, and plans. Although our school didn’t emphasize model building, we had a strong fabrication program, so I added examples of smaller design-build and material experiments, including plaster and 3D tessellations, as well as a group installation that’s still on display at the school.
For some applications, I tailored the portfolio’s final section. Sometimes I included photography, particularly a series exploring Caravaggio-inspired lighting from an Italian architecture history course. For other schools, such as Yale, I replaced that page with professional work I did under a professor there, Mark Gage. I liked having flexibility in how I represented my interests and experiences.
The portfolio concluded with my résumé, listing skills, honors, and awards. At the time, I had limited professional experience since I went directly from undergrad to grad school. I did some local architectural work in Texas and a product design research assistantship at a startup in Austin, but those weren’t particularly relevant. My main professional experience was with Mark Gage, which I only included in the Yale version.
Most schools required a general statement of interest, where I described my academic focus, linked it to my portfolio, and discussed specific professors or courses that attracted me to each institution. The GSD was different, asking for three separate essays that were more reflective than project-specific.
Studying at the GSD has been a rewarding experience. It’s a large school with six programs, including architecture, landscape, urban planning, urban design, design engineering, and MDes. This creates a diverse academic community of about a thousand students from all over the world. The exchange of ideas, backgrounds, and references is one of the most valuable aspects of being here. There’s also constant circulation of visiting lecturers and professors, which keeps the environment dynamic.
If I were to do things differently, I’d probably take time off before graduate school. Coming straight from undergrad, I was one of the few students without work experience, and it was intimidating being surrounded by classmates who had spent years at offices like OMA or Zaha Hadid Architects. Many students feel pressure to continue directly into graduate studies, but I think taking time to work can help clarify goals. I noticed that those who came in after professional experience had a clearer sense of purpose and stayed more focused. By my third year, I was burnt out, which might have been avoided with a break in between.
Overall, I’ve learned a lot from both the application process and my time at GSD. The experience has helped me grow as a designer, collaborator, and thinker.