<p>I am trying to get a broad view of different architecture programs. I am less interested in the type (B.Arch, B.S/B.A +M.Arch, etc.), but I am interested in personal views, experiences, reasons, and other interesting info. Including info such as whether the information is first or second hand and how new the info is would be great. Anything you have to add is important to me. If you have a question or need me to clarify just ask.</p>
<p>^_^</p>
<p>My reason behind this is to develop a list, mostly for personal use, of pros and cons of as many programs as possible. I have looked into many rankings, but, I really want real experiences and preferences. However, I am open to any many things so if you just have numbers, then please feel free to share.</p>
<p>All help is appreciated
^_^</p>
<p>my best advice is to look into the culture of the school outside of the architecture department because this greatly impacts the philosophy of the architecture. </p>
<p>A few examples:
RISD, PRATT, and Carnegie Mellon are primarily art schools and therefore, they focus more on the design and aesthetic aspect. </p>
<p>RPI is a technical school, so they focus more on the structural aspect. </p>
<p>MIT is a very entrepreneur-ship kind of school with forward thinking and this explains their love of modern architecture. </p>
<p>Notre Dame has a service undertone at the school (which fits its Catholic identity), and this explains their philosophy that an architect has a civil responsibility to the public to provide a space that will be consider aesthetically pleasing throughout the ages. </p>
<p>Then there are schools without much specific or narrowed culture who are well-rounded cultures and programs like Syracuse. </p>
<p>This is just an observation that I seemed to make as I visited the number of schools. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>hawkswim09: Thank you for the great response. The info about MIT, RPI, and Notre Dame was completely new to me so I’m glad you put your “two cents” in. </p>
<p>^_^</p>
<p>Anybody care to shed some light on USC’s program?</p>
<p>On the forum “out west” I believe there are some things. One that I saw was they have both a barch and bs in architecture and that you choose after the second year which sounds convienent</p>
<p>The best I visited (and the school I will be attending this fall) is the University of Cincinnati</p>
<p>i.arch,</p>
<p>I’m just a mom and not an architect, but my daughter is graduating with a B.S. Arch this month. This is definitely a second-hand post based on what I’ve picked up from her and a few others over the past 4 years.</p>
<p>When she decided to apply to Arch programs as a senior in high school, we were both fairly clueless about the different kinds and strengths of programs. I think it would have been nearly impossible to even evaluate the quality of the programs because there was nothing on which to base an evaluation. She had not taken any art classes in high school, so had no portfolio. However, in watching her go through the admissions process for M.Arch programs, I’ve seen the maturity of her decision-making process. I think some of the criteria she used can also be helpful in selecting undergrad programs.</p>
<p>1) One of the most important factors for her was to look at the quality of work of the graduate students. She saw students at highly ranked programs producing the quality of work that she would expect of juniors in college. She wouldn’t have been able to evaluate this as a senior in high school, but you may find somebody to help you.
2) Her goal as an undergrad was to obtain a well-rounded, disciplined grounding in architecture, get great grades if she worked for them, have a chance to take other liberal arts classes, and qualify for admissions into very strong grad schools. She also wanted a fabulous study abroad experience. She opted for the most cost-effective option available to her that met these criteria, which was UIUC. She certainly has her complaints about some aspects of the program, but it actually met each of her goals.
3) Cost was a factor. Again, she wanted to get into stronger grad schools, so elected the cost-effective option that met goals so that she (we) could spend more on the grad school.
4) Successful career services departments are important. Opportunity to network for internships and jobs after graduation was also important. She has worked in an arch firm each summer since freshman year - but got the jobs on her own. Look at what kind of results the school has in placing their grads. They will all tell you that they have opportunities for internships. What do they really mean? Do they have a dedicated staff to work with you to find assignments? Or do they have a job fair where it’s up to you to convince a recruiter that his firm should hire you as a sophomore in college rather than a grad student for their one and only internship? They most likely won’t pick you.
5) Quality of faculty matters so much. In visiting grad schools, she found people - both faculty and students - who spouted nonsense and others who elegantly articulated their ideas. Also, look at how accessible the faculty members are and how crits are handled.
6) She found a program that focused so strongly on design, that the technical aspects of the education suffered. There are other programs that are so technical, that design suffers. I think balance is important while you’re learning.
7) Again, looking at grad schools, she wanted a school where Arch is important in the school rather than an afterthought. It should have money to buy equipment and pay for great faculty. I would say this could be important for undergrad programs as well.
8) Look at the facilities. Some schools have their arch programs in well-maintained buildings and others are in dumps with leaky roofs. She actually saw a grad class being held in a hallway as the classroom was such a mess. Is there enough studio space? She talked to grad students who said their space was so small that they did much of their work at home. This is a disadvantage if you’re trying to gain all you can from a studio experience.
9) I assume that by now almost every school offers study abroad options. UIUC’s Versailles program is excellent. Rather than a semester or summer abroad, the entire junior year curriculum is taught at the Versailles by UIUC faculty. This was an incredible experience. Review panels included European architects and faculty from other great universities. Needless to say, travel opportunities were excellent.
10) Look at the sequencing of the curriculum. One of her complaints is that students would be asked to incorporate technical aspects (i.e. Lighting, HVAC) into their designs. However, the classes teaching these technical aspects were scheduled for the following semester. </p>
<p>In this cycle of looking at grad schools, she was most impressed with Wash U., U of Michigan (thought this was the most ideal undergrad program), and U of Cincinnati DAAP. She liked the idea that none of these were just focused on the grad students, but the entire arch program. In other words, the undergrad students had access to the same resources and faculty as the grad students. She visited some east coast schools including Ivies, but decided to focus on the midwest as she’d like to remain here.</p>
<p>1) Wash U has brought in some excellent faculty and is clearly putting many resources ($$) into their program. Their aim is to improve in the rankings, but they seem to be doing everything right. Students said they are working harder than they expected, but love doing so. Students are both talented and bright - a very impressive group. Personally, I love a program that seems to say, “we’re aiming to be #1 and actually putting the strategic plan in place to make that happen”. (my paraphrasing)
2) U of Michigan offers outstanding academics, strong faculty, and small design/build project opportunities. She said it had the bells and whistles that were missing at UIUC. Add to that the difference between Ann Arbor and Champaign, and it was enough that she thought this could have been her better undergrad option. They seem to do quite a bit to help their undergrad students obtain internships.
3) U of Cincinnati DAAP is the grad program she chose. She was impressed with faculty, students, quality of work, co-op program, and is glad to be in a larger, urban area after being in a college town. The advantage of the co-op program is significant. The chance to work at several different firms in different areas of the country (globe) means that students can learn on the job from different hands-on experiences and instructors. I have often heard that architects get the basics in school and then actually learn once they are working in a firm on real projects. DAAP provides this practical experience.</p>
<p>So, my advice is visit a few programs to get a feel for what you might want. Talk to the students. Ask questions. Try to find a professional architect or 2 who can provide a bit of guidance. Post your questions here. Location might matter - if you want to look at schools outside of your area, ask for a list of firms that recruit at the school and how many students get jobs/internships outside of the immediate area. (Keep in mind that this year is an aberration.) Don’t make a decision based on rankings. Find the right program in the right place. Finally, every architect she has worked for has told her to keep drawing and sketching.</p>
<p>really nice and useful…
I appreciate you share this with us…</p>
<p>I go to Cornell architecture, and all I can say is that my experience here has been absolutely amazing.</p>
<p>I would say that one of the most important things to do is to try to get a glimpse of the kind of studio environment that you’re gonna be in… Cornell’s studio environment is really amazing, since it’s a small school. Relationships between upperclassmen and freshmen are actually pretty good and there’s a bunch of events and traditions that they’ll organize for you to help you become a part of the community. Dragon Day is a big event organized every year by the freshmen architects, and it’s actually a pretty good bonding event for the architecture school as a whole.</p>
<p>My favorite story is about the day that our Architecture History professor took us on a “field trip” to the rare books library, and actually gave us a lecture on renaissance architecture holding an original XV century translation of vitruvius. She then showed us one of the only complete compilations of lithographic prints by Piranesi, a volume that was worth more than 300 000 dollars just by itself. And the most surprising thing is that these kinds of resources are actually available to all cornell students just by showing your ID card at the library entrance.</p>
<p>All architecture schools have different stories to tell. I would recommend you go on their websites and look for an “events” or “news” tab to see what’s actually going on right now, and what kind of work is being produced by current students. You would be surprised to see how much you can extract from these resources!! :)</p>
<p>i would definitely agree with aldef167. from what i understand, most other majors (there are always exceptions) are kind of the same at schools with the same reputation. However, architecture, i feel, is the most impacted based upon what school you attend. the culture and traditions and that one elite architecture school looks at can be completely different than another elite school, yet both use their culture/ style of architecture to teach all required topics. Definitely make sure that the ideology behind your college’s architecture is what you agree with, or a least don’t mind.</p>
<p>Check out the school blogs on Archinect as well.</p>
<p>so what if the ideology behind my college’s architecture isn’t what I do agree??
can you find out their ideology before you attend??</p>
<p>the best and easiest way to find out is to check their curriculum and its descriptions. I would suggest that you also read on their website about their history and program, really scan their website. Additionally, talks with current students/faculty can be helpful.</p>
<p>hey i agree but Carnegie Mellon IS AN ENGINEERING/ COMP SCI SCHOOL- not an art school</p>
<p>even though CMU has a decent school of art. hah.</p>
<p>same can be said about MIT -known for it’s engineering, but has a bloody strong visual arts program, though after a bit of research, I couldn’t figure out if M.arch students could take vis. arts courses as part of their electives. hmm.</p>
<p>^^^I believe the MIT MArch students can indeed take the visual arts courses as electives. My daughter is finishing up her first year in the program (last project is due tomorrow…yay!). In the first year, there are no electives but I do recall her saying that you can take electives from any of the divisions within the Architecture School and Visual Arts is part of the school.</p>
<p>By the way, I don’t think it matters what MIT (or another university)'s entire school is known for but more what is going on in the Architecture School. Just because MIT itself is known for engineering/math/sciences, doesn’t mean that is the focus of the Architecture School!</p>
<p>hey soozievt,</p>
<p>is the MArch open to incoming freshmen, or is it a post bachelors program- after you get a degree in something else…</p>
<p>The MArch is a graduate school degree. The MArch I degree is for those with a BA or BS. The MArch II degree is for those who have a BArch degree. In both cases, these are graduate programs. </p>
<p>MIT also has an undergraduate major in Architectural Design (not one that leads to licensure)…It is a BS in Architectural Design (BS in Art and Design…BSAD) but not a BArch program. My D has a BA in Architectural Studies from a different university and is now in the MArch I graduate degree program at MIT (it is 3.5 years).</p>
<p>Here is information on MIT’s undergraduate degree in Art and Design with a focus on Architectural Design:
<a href=“http://architecture.mit.edu/undergraduate-degrees.html[/url]”>http://architecture.mit.edu/undergraduate-degrees.html</a>
<a href=“http://architecture.mit.edu/undergraduate-bsad-major.html[/url]”>http://architecture.mit.edu/undergraduate-bsad-major.html</a></p>
<p>Here is information on MIT’s graduate Master of Architecture degree program (the one my daughter is in):
<a href=“http://architecture.mit.edu/masters-march.html[/url]”>http://architecture.mit.edu/masters-march.html</a></p>
<p>I just looked at the degree requirements for the MArch I program at MIT and actually Visual Arts courses are required, in addition to options as electives… to go back to an earlier post on that issue.</p>