<p>It depends what you want to do. The 5 year progran is the quickest way to become a practicing architect. If you are focused on building buildings, not imagining buildings, it is a great way to go. It is concentrated and direct. If you are interested in teaching, writing, being an architectural critic or architectural historian, or think these MIGHT be careers that interest you the 4+2 is probably better. I am less familiar with portfolio requirements for entering freshman but my experience with HS architectural programs is that they are effective for teaching drafting fundamentals, both hand and CADD but are extremely weak in design. Any buildings you designed as a HS student are likely to do you more harm then good. The colleges don't expect you to have architectural training, that is what they will give you. Show your basic artistic abilities, your ability to take a 3-d reality and translate it to a 2-d image. Work that shows your creativity and imagination are also extremely important and need not be limited to drawings or even graphic images.</p>
<p>jrock, if you're applying undergrad, they dont need a specifically architecture oriented portfolio. they just need to see that you have a sense of depth and creativity. basically if you can create a great art portfolio, itll work as an architecture one as well. thats wat i did anyway....... my portfolio passed with flying colors at USC and cornell (im basing this on interviews. my cornell interviewer said that it way beyond what the architecture portfolio required, and that id blow the admissions officers out of the water) though i didnt get into cornell for other reasons in the academic field..... but i did get into USC architecture. </p>
<p>i did mostly digital oriented art, most of them were depictions of people, action figures, different persepctives and loads of color. i'm not sure if digital work is available to you but i'd say focus on pencil drawings, less on models unless you make an extraordinary one from match sticks or something of the like, or maybe 3d modeling in 3ds max or cinema 4d programs. take photographs too, though id say limit it to three. i put in one of the guggehnhem, st petersburg church and one of the natural history museum. all three had the repeated concepts of : birds eye view, repeittion of the triangular shape, composition and contrast. </p>
<p>and if anything... focus on essays too. its harder for international students to get into US schools. and if you cant do another portfolio take ur best 5 pieces from your old one and work off of those. i had to rush mine in 4 months, but DONT make it seem like you rushed it. they have to see that you did all the work for urself and because you like it. in the end i had about 13-14 pieces. </p>
<p>aside from that, i dont think i want to be an architect anymore @<a href="mailto:@">@</a>. the reality of having to work so hard, low pay, and not having a social life isnt as appealing to me. i think i know wat i really want.... and i think its more art oriented in illustration or some sort of game design. thank my parents for driving me into a field that im going to hate, im just even more thankful that im catching myself before commiting to architecture now........</p>
<p>Yes what is wrong with the 5 yr program. I plan to get my Masters anyways after that fact. Is it the fact you dont need a masters.</p>
<p>Where did you go to school?</p>
<p>I am set on arch. What do you think of the Arch school at USC. </p>
<p>Your the 2nd mom who has been in the arch field that has discouraged b/c of salary. I realize that but with a primisng internship in the LA area averaging 50 to 70K a year I see no problem there. But most people go into arch for the passion not the money, thats engineeering.</p>
<p>I would check your facts, I am not familiar with LA but 50k to 70k for interns is not right. Chicago, which also has a high cost of living and an vibrant and international architectural market, the entry salaries are in the 30k-40k range. About .com shows 1999 Ca entry level interns at 30K, payscale .com shows 52k for all architects in California. Salary is a real issue. I'm not saying don't go into it but go in with a real understanding of what you can expect to make. In suburban Chicago school teachers with equivalent experience ultimately make more than architects though they start at a lower level. Also teachers have much better benefits and job security. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with the 5 yr degree but for some activities related to architecture the 4+2 gives you greater exposure to the humanities. It just depends what you want to do. </p>
<p>I don't know much about USC, do their students show up winning design competitions or their faculty? Does the philosophy of the school match yours? Architecture schools have very strong cultures it is important to find one that fits you.</p>
<p>Let me clarify on the 50-70K, that is the average salary range for USC interns.</p>
<p>I don't believe it. It is not supported by other data.</p>
<p>yea that sounds too high..... id expect the top associate architect of a firm to make that much, not an intern. my architect interviewer says that his company has a few USC architects but they definitely dont make that much... he works for tca-arch.com (thats the site)</p>
<p>and for me... income does matter quite a bit. architecture isnt really my first choice for a career. i just wanted a stable job so i can do art on the side.</p>
<p>Thanks SRMom3 and savvyz0r for your portfolio advice.</p>
<p>savvyz0r, I saw your art via the link you made available in a previous post. I got in at USC School of Architecture, too. And I can actually go if I want to but I don't think I'm ready for uni yet as I think there are many areas that I need to polish, because, as you said, you didn't get in at Cornell prolly for some academic reasons. Yeah, maybe that's what happened(710m, 710v, 2200/2400) and I want to be at Cornell or some other place.</p>
<p>Again I'm not so sure of architecture. I created art in high school primarily to impress and create personal fame. I also designed buildings out of boredom and now I'm thinking, 'Is this what I really want to spend the next 5 years studying, and, ultimately, spend the rest of my life doing?' I'm not so sure now.</p>
<p>Yeah, and if I want to send in a portfolio, it'll just be a supplement, not a requirement. ANd if I apply to Cornell, I may apply for architecture again. May not do so at other schools. Maybe go for mathematics or CEE. Or whatever.</p>
<p>But right now, I'm really enjoying myself. Playing with mathematics, shredding my guitar, pumping harder on the piano, joking with history. I feel so excited that I have so much to brush up on and start afresh. I guess I need a year to do this, and a whole lot more! </p>
<p>Unlike your case, savvyz0r, my parents have actually tried all they could to steer me away from architecture. 'It's not marketable,' they say. And, I used to think that I could get good pay in USA, but SRMom3 has confirmed otherwise. 40k! That's infinitesimal and we're not so sure we're still head-over-heels in love with this baby - architecture!</p>
<p>So bozenuts05 and savvyz0r, good luck at USC Arch. Hope you like it.</p>
<p>haha thanx, but im not going to USC for architecture anymore.... i need a lot more time to think about what i really want in a career, and its not architecture. and my art link doesnt include all the stuff i had in my portfolio, im just too lazy to have to put in everything into that account. but anyway i wish you luck and hopefully you'll find something soon.</p>
<p>oh yea, if you do find your way to cornell, dont jump off the bridge. nothing is worth sacrificing ur life for like that. :)</p>
<p>yeah, savvyz0r, thanks. I'll take your advice.</p>
<p>in fact, i just decided with my parents. We agreed that I can always do art as a hobby and go for engineering, maybe CEE. Oh, so you're not going to USC anymore?! Where do you wanna go then? Or you too want to take some time off and think deep...</p>
<p>Yeah, good. And good luck again.</p>
<p>To back my source again, I spoke to an Architect in my Area, he owns his own frim with a few other partners. They hired on an Architect a few months ago from the LA area. There she was an intern, they had to set her salary at $50k because she was making that much as an intern in LA. She got her liscence and then moved up.</p>
<p>In Oregon you need a 5yr bach to get liscened</p>
<p>That is not correct, you need either a 5 yr bachelor or a masters to get licensed and that is true in the majority of states. Both of these degrees are classified as Professional Degrees, 4 yr bachlors are not.</p>
<p>You might be close on the salaries at 50k. I just checked the bureau of labor statistics and the showed 48k for architectural drafters which is usually the entry level position of an intern. I would look carefully at the cost of living index in LA before getting excited by this number. The salaries for architects was also significantly higher than in the rest of the country. I would suspect that the insane housing costs of the LA area have forced the higher salaries and that they do not translaate to a commensurately higher standard of living than you would find elsewhere in the country.</p>
<p>i think im just going to go to berkeley.... i think now i just want to be a web designer. i actually do like working on websites, maybe ill go into computer science. if nothing works out i guess im into business. </p>
<p>and yea.. a while ago my parents convinced me that art was just a hobby and i should go into engineering like my dad. im starting to doubt that now.</p>
<p>yeah, don't worry, savvyz0r. Just keep moving. I'm sure you'll find your niche when you get in. I heard of a guy (currently a professor in music) who started out as a physics major. But the music blew his head off, according to him.</p>
<p>so whatever happens, you'll surely find what you'll want to settle down and do for a living. And that search may even take you beyond your university years!</p>
<p>...and where on earth could FLW be?</p>
<p>hey guyz.. </p>
<pre><code>i applied for architecture in cooper union and got accepted... i wuz just wondering what the general reputation of the school was for architecture.. and if it is really worth my time because i'm not 100% sure if i wanna do architecture... currently i'm strattling between engineering and architecture... also what kind of employment opportunities can i expect with a degree from cooper and what kind of salary? and what can i do with an MBA and an architecture degree??
</code></pre>
<p>i'm in desperate need of some input... thanks</p>
<p>You would need an MBA and M.Arch to be useful. Partners in firms must be licensed under most corporate structures and state laws. Most archtiects are weak in their business skills so it would be a valuable skill, especially if you had your own firm, but I'm not sure if it would be recognized as such. Most architects fear being turned into business people and taken away from the process of designing buildings.</p>
<p>Cooper has an excellent repuatation and alwso has an engineering program. Don't know if it is possible to transfer from arch to eng. Better check if you think you might want to.</p>
<p>I've never heard of Cooper, where is it?</p>