The School of Planning and Architecture had a modest beginning in 1941 as the Department of Architecture of Delhi Polytechnic. It was later affiliated with the University of Delhi and integrated with the School of Town and Country Planning, which was established in 1955 by the Government of India to provide facilities for rural, urban, and regional planning. On integration, the School was renamed as the School of Planning and Architecture in 1959. In 1979, the Government of India, through the then Ministry of Education and Culture, conferred on the School of Planning and Architecture the status of “Deemed to be a University”. With this new status, the school has broadened its horizon by introducing new academic and extension programs and promoting research and consultancy activities. It was recognized as “an Institute of National Importance under an Act of Parliament” in 2015.