My daughter is trying to decide between 3 schools. Two offer a 5-year BArch and one offers a 5-year MArch. She didn’t decide to pursue architecture until last October, so we had to quickly learn about all the different options, and now that it’s decision time, I’m realizing we’re still unclear on how this all works. We were thinking the MArch was mostly an advantage in name only, that it wouldn’t make much difference professionally, but now I keep reading that BArch students really need to follow up with the MArch. In that case, I feel we need to reevaluate her options. The MArch school is her cheapest option, especially if we’re comparing a 5-year program to a possible 7-year program. Even more confusing is that when we’ve compared course schedules for all three schools they seem very similar. I can’t figure out why they are different degrees. Can anyone help me understand this better?
@tulip71, I find the undergraduate non-baccalaureate MArch hard to understand too, and I’ve been trying to untangle the ends and outs of architecture education for over 5 years. Only a few schools offer this degree. The ones I know of are Kansas State and the University of Kansas. Tulane, previously offered it, but as far as I know, has now shifted to the BArch.
Practically and professionally there is no difference between the BArch and the undergraduate MArch. The curriculums as you note are quite similar (though the MArch may entail more hours). Both can lead to licensure. Because the undergraduate MArch is so rare and not widely understood, schools that offer it aren’t ranked with graduate MArch schools or with undergraduate BArch programs. So, in that respect, the undergraduate MArch may not be understood by employers as the equal to a graduate MArch.
Getting an MArch on top of a BArch has in my observation become a common practice, especially after a few years of work experience, but it is in no means required for career success in architecture. A BArch from a respected schools with good industry connections is all your daughter would need to get started in her career and to become a licensed architect.
Thank you, @momrath. I didn’t realize that only a handful of schools do the 5-year MArch (K-State is the one we’re looking at, btw). They do encourage the students to take their math, expository writing (2 semesters), and speech before entering K-State (either test out or take elsewhere), so I guess that helps squeeze in more classes.
K-State does get ranked against the other graduate programs (http://■■■■■■■/r8ud6x), which makes it harder to compare with the two BArch schools she’s interested in (IIT and RPI). IIT and RPI are in the top 15 for undergraduate, but then drop to the 30’s for graduate (K-State is 21). My take-away on that is that they are all good programs, so we’re trying not to concentrate on rankings too much.
It’s good to know that she wouldn’t have to have the MArch to have a successful career, but I have a feeling she will want to pursue it at some point. There are a lot of other things factoring into her decision, but it does help to understand this BArch/MArch thing a little better. Thanks, again!
K-State requires 170 credits upon graduation. That’s really tough! 17 credits a semester! That’s equivalent to 6 APs a semester.
http://apdesign.k-state.edu/future-students/docs/NB%20Architecture.pdf
Normally a 4 year college program is 120 credits. So you can see K-State a super accelerated program. They even require summer school.
Architecture is already very difficult major and they say it’s as hard as engineering and medicine. Very surprising they even offer this. My D who is at WashU would say that’s insane!! 
@newjersey17, regardless of the issue of how many credits per semester (I’ll address that next), the total credits is what has me baffled about these degrees. K-State is 170 hrs./5-years, IIT is 169 hrs./5-years, and RPI is 171 hrs./5-years. So there doesn’t appear to be any major difference in the programs.
As far as the credits per semester, yes, that does sound intimidating, but it seems to be the accepted practice by many, so I figured it was doable. This would seem to make K-State more attractive because they look to be more flexible with accepting outside credit. I think DD would only be able to transfer 3 hrs. to RPI, if even that. I’m unclear on how this works at IIT, so we need to check into that.
So confusing! Thanks for your help!
I just looked up University of Notre Dame and their BAch is 165 credits. Yes that’s an interesting observation.
I’d agree they are all good programs. On Kansas State’s ranking: Sorry, I was only looking at the top 20 graduate schools. What’s odd about K State is that in 2014 its graduate program was rated #8. (They were #5 in 2012.) I can’t imagine what would have caused a drop to #21.
Some other points of differentiation to look at in comparing programs are mandatory summer programs, thesis requirements and travel abroad opportunities.
Another point to consider is flexibility within the school in the event that your daughter decides that architecture isn’t for her (which happens frequently). She should think about which school she would choose if she were to transfer out of architecture into another major. Also, the overarching culture of K State as a “full-service university” would be different from that of technical institutes like RPI or IIT; not necessarily better, just different especially in the make-up of the student body.
The BArch and the undergraduate MArch are both intense and focused degrees. From what I’ve heard about Kansas State architecture (i have two friends, a married couple, who graduated in the 80’s) is that it’s a friendly and supportive environment. KS has recently embarked on a multi-year renovation of and addition to its architecture school, which could either be a plus or a minus. My son endured the same disruption at his MArch school. The new building was an interesting laboratory for the students to observe, but because they graduated soon after it was finished, they didn’t get to enjoy it for long.
5 year programs can be alleviated a bit by taking summer classes and clearing core and/or elective classes via AP, IB, community college, etc. This works well but no matter how you slice it 4 arch classes per semester is 4 arch classes per semester.
There are some other esoteric things in 5 year MArch programs such as tuition differences between “undergrad” courses and “grad” courses and whether there are minimum GPA or portfolio review required to ‘advance’ to the grad program. There’s also the added benefit of more electives available in a 5 year program to “undergraduates”, not having to spend time and money on grad applications and portfolios, and so on.
@momrath, thank you for the list of things to consider! I’ll have to add a couple to our long list of pros & cons. She was going to major in engineering before she switched to architecture and prefers the small STEM school culture. K-State, although a large university, doesn’t feel that big, so she’s still confident she could be happy there. If she were to switch majors, she would go back to engineering, and all 3 have excellent engineering programs, so we’re good there. We’re also aware of the construction going on, but it shouldn’t be too awful because they’re tying to minimize the impact on the incoming freshman class and the new building will be ready by their 2nd year (but it doesn’t sound fun for the current students who have to travel off campus for some classes).
Thank you, @turbo93! Some more very good things to consider. Did not remember anything about the tuition difference for the graduate level courses, but sure enough, it’s there in the fine print in the estimated budget they gave us. 