Hey guys, I have been accepted to a few schools for B.Arch and my final two selections are University of Washinton in St. Louis and University of Southern California. I am caught up between which one to decide as each has its pros and cons. Washu is known to be a better overall school yet USC is known to have a better arch undergrad program and it’s in LA… i am certainly going to do grad school whether its arch or something else so i need to keep that in mind when i choose my hndergrad schools too.
I would appreciate some insight from experienced people in this field, Thanks!
-Flash
Hey, I think I previously tried to send a response but it got lost.
Are you interested in anything besides architecture? I ask because one of the nice things with WashU is the flexibility between colleges. A lot of people I knew interested in art or architecture came because they wanted the ability to do a minor or second major in a different division.
The architecture professors definitely help undergrads at WashU a lot- one of them makes an hour long appointment with every student in her class. The dean also teaches a course just for freshman students. St. Louis is a pretty good city to explore for architecture (anything from the older brick rowhouses to the midcentury buildings).
Architecture is saturated so here’s my advice: If you are uncertain about majors, go to Washington. But if you truly need to architect (is that a verb?), then go to USC because even if you decide not to attend grad school, you’ll be able to enter the field with just a bachelor degree. Didn’t Frank Gehry go there?
Hi, Architecture is my main major and I don’t really intend to have something else except for some electives on subjects such as maybe business. Thanks for the response!
@SeattleTW I am certain about majoring in architecture. and yeah frank gehry went there… and thom mayne
@kROCK91 Hi, Architecture is my main major and I don’t really intend to have something else except for some electives on subjects such as maybe business. Thanks for the response!
I would pick USC if you are certain about your major.
If you’re certain and costs are doable, USC.
I respectfully disagree that USC is better than WashU for Architecture. If you look at the graduate rankings per DEsign intelligence, WashU ranks 9/10th out of the top 20 schools. USC isn’t listed. I don’t know why. I find that odd.
Top Graduate School Ranking - 2015
- Harvard
- Columbia
- Yale
- MIT
- Cornell
- U of MI
- Rice
- Penn
- UVA
- Cal Berkeley
- WUSTL
- UT - Austin
- Princeton
- VA Poly
- UCLA
- Syracuse
- So. CA Inst.
- Clemson
- U Cinn
- GIT
Top 20 Architecture, Graduate - 2013
•1.Harvard University
•2. Columbia University
•3. Yale University
•4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
•5. Cornell University
•6. Southern California Institute of Architecture
•7. University of Virginia
•7. University of California, Berkeley
•9. Washington University in St. Louis
•10. University of Cincinnati
•11. University of Michigan
•11. University of Texas at Austin
•13. Kansas State University
•14. University of Kansas
•15. University of Pennsylvania
•15. Rice University
•15. Princeton University
•18. Iowa State University
•18. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
•20. Clemson University
•20. Savannah College of Art and Design
Personally I would choose the school that makes you the happiest! It’s all about fit at the end of the college process. You cannot go wrong with either one. It’s a nice problem to have. 
The only way that I know of on how to compare USC to WAshU is by using the grad ranking because the UG ranking only is for BArch schools. WashU doesn’t offer BArch. It’s strange DI doesn’t include all UG Arch schools!!
Is there a Southern Cal Institute of Architecture? If there is I never heard of it.
@DrGoogle, Southern California Institute of Architecture = SCI-Arc, a small (500 students), independent, architecture-only school known for innovation and avant-garde conceptualization. Thom Mayne was one of the founders.
I answered the OP on their other thread, but to recap, if they want the BArch then USC is their only choice, because WUSTL doesn’t offer it. With the BArch they’d be good to go to start a career in architecture. With the BS they’d most likely need an MArch to get licensed (though there are exceptions).
If a BS fits into their game plan because they’re planning to get an MArch anyway, then they should think about the comparative cost and the location i.e., where they’re likely to live and practice. Both are very strong choices, though I’d give USC the edge for design and name recognition.
I’d also want to know more about the “something else” they’re considering for graduate school as this may also impact their choice.
To be honest, I don’t think the difference in program rigor between architecture or the schools as a whole are all that different. I think fit would be pretty important as well as the grad program alluded to. WashU’s programs produced HOK, Fumihiko Maki, and architects that work for Gensler. Also this has nothing to do with the rest of this discussion, but for a lot of people Frank Gehry is not the ideal architect to look up to (really not contextual buildings that have a lot of practicality issues).
I took a few classes in architecture and the professors really did make an effort to know me and keep in touch with me. The dean of architecture also teaches the freshman students. I also liked that there was a lot of community outreach- local students from the community come every Saturday to learn about architecture from students and professors. In all honesty STL is also a great case study city for both the best and worst that architecture and design can offer.