tetrishead

A friend of mine has asked me about this, but I have absolutely no clue about architecture. She has a very strong background in physics (BS from Caltech) and after traveling abroad she's had a "revelation" about architecture. She's extremely interested in the connection between people and places, interior spaces/ambient lighting + the use of interior lighting and environmental sustainability. She says she's more interested in large projects than she is individual homes, for what it's worth.

I'm trying to get guidance on this issue from a more US-centric viewpoint, so I was wondering how these schools are looked at and if anyone here has any experience they'd care to share with them.

UCL (The Barlett) looks very good, and I know AA is well-regarded. I have absolutely no idea about the programs at Cambridge or Edinburgh.

Considering her interest in design of the interior as well as the overall design of buildings I'm wondering if she's not better off in a more "artistic" program (it sounds to me like she's interested in ergonomics and environmental psychology, but that's probably not for me to judge), but I have no idea how that all works.

If anyone could give me any thoughts on these schools and how they'd be looked at in the context of coming to work in the US I'd appreciate it.