<p>I don’t know much about architecture in Barnard. I got into Pratt for architecture (top 10 in the nation for architecture), and I think that I might as well take architecture in pratt if I were to become an architecture major in Barnard.</p>
<p>I actually want to study finance in Barnard, but if architecture in Barnard is actually more prestigious than I’ve thought, then I might change my mind. </p>
<p>so any opinions?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about prestige. In NYC Barnard, whatever, department, will always carry prestige enough.</p>
<p>I concentrate on what you want to do.</p>
<p>I would recommend Barnard only because you would then have the option of either major when you’re there – or a double major.</p>
<p>Since you are not 100% certain, I think Barnard is a better option for you, and the architecture major is well regarded, though probably more academic than Pratt’s (meaning Pratt’s is more technical and hands-on – not a dis to Pratt at all.)</p>
<p>A bachelor’s degree in architecture is not a “terminal” degree, is it? Meaning you will need to go on for a Master’s degree no matter where you attend undergrad. Correct me, please if I am wrong!</p>
<p>For that reason, unless you are beyond a shadow of a doubt sure that architecture is what you want to do, I would recommend Barnard. And your post indicates you are not, in fact, positive. Going to Barnard will expose you to an excellent broad liberal arts curriculum and you might just find the perfect “thing” for you. An excellent example of this is my d who started out thinking she was going to do dance/english and will graduate in less than a month with a neuroscience degree. She will begin working on her PhD this fall!</p>
<p>i’m going into architecture at barnard also.</p>
<p>This is off topic, but congrats, churchmusicmom! Where will your daughter be in the Fall?</p>
<p>There is a bachelor’s in architecture. This is possibly the only major for which you need to decide early to get the course work in before graduation. Those with an undergraduate major go on for a different Master’s degree if they go on.</p>
<p>I am currently a first year at Barnard planning on majoring in architecture, and last year when I was trying to choose a college I found myself in a very similar situation to you. I was also trying to choose between Barnard and a 5-year professional degree program (Cornell). I ultimately chose to go to Barnard because I wanted a more well-rounded education, whereas at Cornell I would have only been able to take about 25 percent non-architecture classes.</p>
<p>I would say that Barnard’s architecture is fairly prestigious for a non-professional degree from a liberal arts college. They have a record of consistently getting students into top architecture graduate schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.</p>
<p>Barnard strongly discourages first-year students from taking architecture studio classes, but this semester I managed to wiggle my way into one, and it has been intense enough to ease any regrets I may have had about having not attended Cornell. If you attend Barnard, make sure you take your studio class with Madeline Schwartzman – she is considerably more intense that the other studio professors. The entry level studios are very conceptual and theory-based. They get slightly more practical in later years (meaning that you get to design buildings), but the theoretical side of architecture is still a strong emphasis.</p>
<p>The program has its various benefits. They give you a good bit of personal attention … my first year academic advisor (Karen Fairbanks) is also the head of the architecture department. In later years you have the ability to sometimes take courses from Columbia’s GSAPP graduate architecture school, where they have world-class professors such as Kenneth Frampton. You also have the ability to attend some of GSAPP’s architecture-related events. So far this year I managed to get into a lecture with Zaha Hadid (and even ask her a question). There was also a Rem Koolhaas lecture that I didn’t get into because I arrived too late and it was full, but as I was leaving I saw Koolhaas walk past about 3 feet away from me, which was kind of exciting for an architecture nerd.</p>
<p>There are some downsides. I will say that among the other students in my entry-level studio, I am somewhat disappointed with their lack of enthusiasm for history and theory, and you would be able to find more people who are more committed to architecture earlier on at Pratt. That problem seems to go away after Junior or Senior year … all the upper class architecture students who I have talked to have been more well informed.</p>
<p>To sum it up, the program is a case where you get out of it what you put in to it, but I think it’s possible to have a good architecture education there if you reach out. You need to independently and aggressively seek opportunities.</p>
<p>If you want to know more, I would suggest that you try and contact the department. If you call, you’ll probably get Raleigh on the phone … she’s very nice and can point you towards lots more information.
The website is at: <a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/archprogram//bca_ctct_frm.html[/url]”>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/archprogram//bca_ctct_frm.html</a></p>
<p>iz9, thanks so much for that well-informed response!! As a mom who tries to help out where I can, I am woefully uninformed on this topic, so again, thanks!</p>
<p>And thanks, Altamom, for the kind words about my d. We are thrilled that she will be attending Emory this fall. She had several excellent opportunities, but Emory was always her first choice because her research interests are so well-matched to their labs. She also loves the way the program is structured and we LOVE that she will be in Atlanta since we are all here as well…</p>
<p>Her education and lab experiences at Barnard certainly have stood her in good stead, as she was offered interviews and/or accepted to pretty much every place she applied (she turned some interview offers down due to time constraints). It’s been a fantastic undergrad experience!</p>
<p>thanks for all of your advice! I think I might actually major in architecture. By the way, I think I confused you all with the things I said about Pratt and Barnard.</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to Barnard. It’s just that I felt it’s kinda…not “worthy” enough if I just major in architecture in Barnard…LOL sorry if I offended anyone who’s going for architecture in Barnard. I just think that if I were to major in architecture in Barnard, I might as well just go to pratt. Since I actually got into Barnard, I thought I should major in finance. Honestly, I will be happy majoring in finance or architecture in college. I will have equal motivation in both fields, but I want a job that pays well. Yes, I’m very realistic.</p>
<p>and thanks iz9 for your wonderful 7 paragraphs of advice. LOL :D</p>
<p>yeah. thanks.</p>
<p>Also, do note that if Architecture doesn’t end up being your true calling, Barnard doesn’t have a finance major (and neither does Columbia!). The only business related major at either school is economics.</p>
<p>I would like to expand on the above post. Although you can take some B-school classes in your senior year, both Barnard and Columbia are liberal arts colleges and don’t offer finance as an undergraduate major. There is the opportunity to make a “special major,” but normally those are used when combining several departments. A special major might be something like Urban Architecture and Economics, which might be a combination of urban studies, architecture and economics. </p>
<p>That said, although it isn’t a major, there are plenty of undergraduate finance-related classes such as Money & Banking, Global Risk, etc. I am personally an Econ person so I enjoy the balance and like being prepared for something other than ibanking. Many Econ graduates go into finance, but others go into developmental economics, policy, and a variety of other fields.</p>
<p>As for Architecture, I have friends who are majoring in it in both Barnard and Pratt. I would say, honestly, that Pratt has the more intense program. My friend once described in as the “architecture drill camp.” She learns plenty, but she rarely sleeps more than a couple of hours a day (taken in short naps) and has watched almost have her freshman class drop out. I would consider it one of the best architecture programs in the country, but it is not for people who are not 100% dedicated to architecture. </p>
<p>Barnard hosts a much more liberal arts version of an architecture program. This means that although the program is also very intense, it’s meant to fit into a liberal arts workload and does not have the same amount of vigor. Barnard architecture majors take plenty of outside courses and tend to be very well-balanced in other disciplines. My perspective is that while I think Pratt students come out with the better technical skills, Barnard students graduate with a more creative mind by seeing architecture in a larger context. I think both approaches are fantastic but they are meant for very different sorts of people. </p>
<p>I hope that was helpful. 
I would also prefer that you take my architecture comments with a grain of salt because while I know a large amount of Economics majors, I only know a couple of architecture majors at each school and am not to be taken as an authority on the topic.</p>
<p>is economics really difficult? About how many math classes does an econ major take each year?</p>
<p>Economics is, according to my daughters, not very difficult.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the Barnard Economics dept website, listing course requirements for the differing econ majors and minor:</p>
<p>[Program</a> Planning in Economics](<a href=“http://cedar.barnard.columbia.edu/program_planning/program_planning_in_economics.html]Program”>http://cedar.barnard.columbia.edu/program_planning/program_planning_in_economics.html)</p>
<p>It depends. Churchmusicmom’s link will give you the objective information. Economics has four tracks: Economics, Political Economics, Economic History, and Mathematics & Economics.</p>
<p>Reasonably, Math&Econ has the most complex math by far and Econ has a fair amount of math requirements. Poli. Econ has just one math class and Economics History has between 0 and 1 depending on your choices. </p>
<p>That said, Econ isn’t an easy major. It’s problem-set oriented and necessarily mathematical in certain courses (especially the intermediate level Micro and Macro). That said, Barnard professors work very hard to teach you material that could be made to sound a thousand times more complex than it is. After taking Macro at Columbia and Micro at Barnard, I feel that Barnard’s Economics department is more dedicated to teaching. That said, perhaps someone had a much better experience with Columbia Econ and would say otherwise. :)</p>
<p>I think I’m going on too much about something that could be said simply: a major’s difficulty is inversely proportional to your passion for it. Barnard doesn’t really have easy majors (I think?), but if you’re passionate about the discipline, you’re likely to enjoy the overwhelming majority of the courses for your major.</p>