Advice for Graduate Education

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Please excuse me for the long post.</p>

<p>I am student of Bachelors in Architecture from Bangalore. I am seeking graduate education and I did an initial research of the programs offered by top-ranked universities (according to blog posts and websites) from around the world. As I had feared, I seem to be inclined towards doing Master of Science in Architecture courses with concentrations in Sustainability, Building Sciences and Building Technology (no two universities seem to agree on the same nomenclature). </p>

<p>As a student from India who has short-listed programs from mostly US and Europe, I have the following queries.</p>

<ol>
<li>With the exorbitant fees charged by all institutes and the high living costs in the western countries, how feasible is it to do graduate studies in the western world?</li>
<li>Since I will be using an education loan, how fast can I repay it if I earn in the western currencies (as I plan on working till I repay the loans and return to India thereafter)?</li>
<li>What are the ways, if any, of reducing tuition and living expenses if I do take up graduate education in the US or Europe?</li>
<li>How important is it do an accredited course for finding work or otherwise (as all MS in Arch programs are non-accredited)?</li>
<li>If I do pursue education in Europe, how important is it to learn the national languages of the countries for education or for work?</li>
<li>How are the employment scenarios in US and Europe? Would I be able to find work at an architecture firm with either my M.Arch/MS in Arch? Will it be more feasible for me to get back to India and find employment?</li>
<li>Since, and this is what I have heard, that all architecture graduate programs in the western countries teach concepts of sustainability or others which are cold climate-centric, how feasible will it be to learn those concepts as against National University of Singapore's programs on Tropical Architecture (please list if you know any more programs like these)?</li>
</ol>

<p>Again, please excuse me for the long post. The queries I have weren't answered by people around me, as most of them go the conventional way of doing M.Arch and pursing work. Please be kind enough to at least one of the queries, and if possible, all inclusively.</p>

2

<p>Hey @prahalladbadami‌ I will just briefly answer what all I can. Getting late!
It is a well known fact that the prices have become very high in the US and Europe, however, it is still amazingly feasible to do graduate studies at the top colleges of the world. In fact, India is the leading countries in this aspect.
Before you take out the education loan, please check the terms and conditions since there are quite a few scams. Also not to scare you but to alert you, you will be able to do a job there only if you get a work visa and only if a company finds you worthy enough to sponsor. If you cannot find a job within 15 months or 27 months for STEM field , you will have to return to India and earn in Indian currency.
All in all, there are so many ways you can reduce costs (each dollar counts) from buying textbooks from India or renting one in the US to sharing a room and being street smart. You should check out happyschoolsblog, a nice website for more information.</p>

<p>Hope I was of some help!
Cheers! </p>

3

<p>Thank you for your response. I will check out happyschoolblog.</p>