<p>Has anyone bought it? Can anyone give me the list of the best undergraduate program, please?</p>
<p>Here's a list I copied from the Architecture? thread (the really long one, with 12+ pages).</p>
<p>"Here the rankings for 2005 from Design Intelligence (Industry rankings)
Undergraduate Architecture Programs</p>
<p>Cornell University
University of Cincinnati
Rice University
California Polytechnic State U., San Luis Obispo
Syracuse University
Kansas State University
Rhode Island School of Design
University of Texas at Austin
Carnegie Mellon University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</p>
<p>Graduate Architecture Programs</p>
<p>Harvard University
Yale University
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University (tied for 4th with MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tied for 4th with Columbia)
University of Cincinnati
University of California, Berkeley
University of Virginia
Rice University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"</p>
<p>Remember to keep in mind that lists and rankings aren't everything. Consider what's best for you. Think about how you want to earn your degree, and whether your interest lies in the technical aspect of architecture (that is, you want to just go out and start building) or whether your interests lean towards the teaching/intellectual aspect of architecture.</p>
<p>Check out this link to read up on picking the right Architecture school and planning ahead in general for people our age:
<a href="http://www.acsa-arch.org/infoStud.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.acsa-arch.org/infoStud.html</a></p>
<p>thanks for the website and list!!</p>
<p>and also, you might like to consider studying abroad, Australia is top in that area, so</p>
<p>does anyone have the DI’s best undergrad architecture schools for 2009?</p>
<p>^ Just want to add that WashU is number 6 in graduate school listing this year!</p>
<p>Undergraduate</p>
<p>Cornell University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U.
Calif. Polytechnic State U., San Luis Obispo
Rhode Island School of Design
Syracuse University
University of Texas at Austin
Carnegie Mellon University
Rice University
Boston Architectural College
University of Notre Dame </p>
<p>Graduate</p>
<p>Harvard University
University of Cincinnati
Columbia University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yale University
Cornell University (M.Arch candidate)
Washington University in St. Louis
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U.
University of Michigan
University of Texas at Austin </p>
<p>While these are great for a general idea of which colleges are the top architecture colleges, these are only one group’s rankings and some programs can be really unique and therefore may not score as well (Like ND’s traditional program), but may be perfect for you. I used the list to gain a general idea, but looked deeper into each before selecting. Good luck!</p>
<p>Let me also note that DI’s rankings are very controversial as they primarily count the opinions through non-scientific surveys of firms. As such, it heavily favors schools that produce a large number of graduates who work at large firms. If one school produces graduates where 90% start their own practices, their alma maters are heavily hurt in the rankings. It also does not account for the number of scholarly or built work by the professors, or resources available to the student. Just an FYI.</p>
<p>For example, I would say that Auburn University should be on the list with the Rural Studio experience which is heavily published and highly regarded in the profession (Sambo Mockbee, the founder was granted both a MacArthur Genius grant and an AIA Gold Medal for Rural Studio) yet is not on either list.</p>
<p>Maybe I am biased because I am one of those professionals who votes on the DI survey and I have hired quite a few graduates over the years. However the names on that list represent pretty closely the schools that I have seen produce the best graduates. Not always in that order, but that is pretty much the list. </p>
<p>The omissions that I see are that only BArch undergraduate programs are included, so four year schools such as UVA and WashU are excluded. At the graduate level I am not sure how you leave Princeton off the list.</p>
<p>The only thing to be careful about is that the list has a certain lag. So if last year a school lost its dean and a few key professors the chaos will not be reflected for at least a couple of years. So use the list as a broad guideline, visit the schools, and decide what suits you. Despite their proximity on the list, the undergraduate programs at Rice, UT, and Cornell are going to feel very different. No ranking can help you decide among them, you need to visit.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>So, rick12, I am the mom of a S deciding between Pratt Institute and North Carolina States BArch programs. We are down to the wire, obviously. I know Pratt has ranked in the top 20 DI list for the last few years. But then when I look into more detail, specifically the data about exam pass rates by division, Pratt does not show up, but NC State has good pass rates on 5 of the 9 divisions.</p>
<p>So with a Pratt education, will he have a better chance of getting a job with a great design education? Or should he be looking more for a well rounded education that will help him pass the exam? Any input will be very helpful</p>
<p>liamd, I know this may not be much help, but they are both quality programs and the chances of getting a great job will vary depending on where he chooses to work. Pratt has a good reputation in NYC and the East coast, NC State has more recognition in the SE. The architectural registration exam is pure drudgery and passing rates have more to do with the willingness of graduates to spend countless hours studying and memorizing than with the program they graduated from.</p>
<p>Remember that when it comes to getting a job architecture students come equipped with a portfolio of work, and this portfolio along with the character of the individual overwhelms all other considerations. An outstanding portfolio from a mediocre school is more likely to get a job than a mediocre portfolio from an outstanding school. So what your son accomplishes when he gets to college is much more important than which college he selects. The days of waiting for recruiters to come to campus and selecting among your five job offers is gone (though I am hoping that it returns soon).</p>
<p>I would think the differences in the college experience would outweigh any differences in the architecture programs. A big state school in NC vs. an urban school in NYC. I did my graduate degree at Columbia and I felt that I would not have been ready for such an urban experience as an undergrad (loved it as a grad student). Your son might be the opposite.</p>
<p>Good luck,
rick</p>
<p>Thank you Rick, your input is very helpful. He spent a month at Pratt last summer and was pretty inspired by the whole urban experience. 5 years of may be a differenct story thought…we’ll see.</p>
<p>liamd,</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Pratt, but S is finishing first year at NC State and is very happy with the program. As a parent, I have been very impressed with the Dean of the COD. NC State offers the traditional, big state school experience (e.g., Division 1 athletics), without the disadvantages of being lost in the crowd as the kids in the design college form their own close knit group. What Rick says makes a lot of sense in terms of the choice being more about fit at this stage.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Those are really helpful for me. I am an international senior in U.S. high school, and also planning to go to the architecture progrm in U.S. after I graduate. I had read the DI’s ranking and almost all the part about the architecture.
I wonder why the most of people here didn’t talk about the schools that ranking after 10th??
Since I just been U.S. two years, I am not that familiar to those schools. In addition, I hope someone can provides me some guides about the schools…
by the way… i will attend to Iowa State U, if anyone knows the porgram’s quality… thanks…</p>
<p>Yulin, though I don’t disagree with the top ten list from DI, I also feel that there are many fine schools around the country that do not appear on that list. In the area where we recruit UT Austin and Rice make the list, but UT Arlington, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Kansas State seem to consistently produce outstanding graduates. Schools can change quickly. Texas Tech got a new Dean a few years ago and now we have started to recruit there after seeing the quality of the students improve. You are going to have to go visit the school, look at the work, and try to get a sense of the program.</p>
<p>We recruit at Iowa State, and half of our senior construction project managers are Iowa State graduates, but we have not had the same success with the architecture graduates. The school has produced some fine architects (look up the firm Pickard Chilton), we just haven’t found anyone we wanted to hire.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>I’m afraid that I couldn’t visit the school before I go…
if so, could you provide me more informations about Iowa State since you are the one of the DI’s survey voter??
thanks…</p>
<p>Yulin, I cannot give you any detailed information about the program at ISU, only what we have seen while recruiting there during the last two years. On the positive side I can say that ISU graduates seem to be in high demand. There were a large number of big national firms at the job fair in 2008, particularly from the Chicago area, and they seemed to really like hiring ISU students. The work of the students we interviewed was what we would consider mid-pack. Better than Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but not as good as Oklahoma State, Kansas State, UT Austin, or UT Arlington. That is my professional perspective, but it does not give you any insight into the experience of going to school there.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>did you hear anything about UCLA Graduats school Architecture ?</p>
<p>did you hear anything about UCLA Graduate school Architecture ?</p>
<p>Rick 12- since I am an Iranian student I can not visit schools before enrolling in them and getting student visa. I have been accepted to both universities of Iowa state university and Virginia Tech in Master of Architecture. I know all about DI ranking and the scores of VT. I am willing to work in LA afterwards, does studying in anyone increase my chances for working in LA? (ISU is giving me Teaching asistantship)</p>