Rather than chic-for-the-elite, early modernists were concerned with bringing good design to the masses. Surely then, Gregory Ain would appreciate Woodbury University’s Architecture School. It’s underrated, innovative and blue-collar. Norman Millar, the dean, says 70 percent of its undergraduates are first-generation college attendees; Latinos comprise 40 percent of the student body and 90 percent of the students are on scholarships. The department is respected for academic and studio initiatives. Paulette Singley teaches via a transdisciplinary approach that furnishes students with a rich contextual background. Hadley and Peter Arnold head the forward-thinking Arid Lands Institute. Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, whose experimental work with glass-skinned buildings has been exhibited at LACMA and who has lectured at Yale’s vaunted architectural school, helms a studio. Further afield, the revolutionary Ted Smith teaches at the school’s San Diego campus, and Singley is the midst of establishing a study-abroad center in Rome. 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank. (818) 767-0888, woodbury.edu. —Tibby Rothman

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