<p>Okay, so i'm going to be a senior in high school, and i plan on going to college to major in architecture. I know that not a lot of houses are being built right now, but i think if i was creative enough and had my own business that i could make it work. I have also noticed that commercial buildings are still being built such as churches, schools, etc. So what if I majored in commercial architecture? Would that give me a better chance in being successful? And would a double major in some kind of engineering help as well? I would want to go somewhere like The University of Tennessee for my undergraduate courses, and then transfer to clemson To get my architect major. Are these good thoughts or am I way in left field? If so please help me get in the right direction! thank you so much!!</p>
<p>I don’t know I I should be answering this right now with the Dow down over 500 points today and four years of really difficult times in the profession. However considering that you will not be entering the job market for another five or six years I will try to give a broader perspective.</p>
<p>Undergraduate architecture school is about getting a broad design perspective. It is about learning how to turn a complex program int a three dimensional form. Understanding the history and cultural significance of the built environment. Once you get to graduate school you can begin to think about specialization.</p>
<p>Rather than starting out with general studies at UT then doing 3.5 years of graduate architecture school I would suggest getting an undergraduate degree in architecture and then doing a 2 year MArch. If you are concerned about job security I would focus on getting my MArch in healthcare design; it is probably the most consistently in demand specialty in the profession. Clemson has one of the best graduate programs in healthcare architecture in the nation, as does Texas A&M. I think this would get you a lot more demand than a dual degree in engineering.</p>
<p>Once you start your studio courses you will get a very quick idea if this major is for you.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>As a structural engineer, I agree with rick’s advice. There’s no point mixing architecture and engineering. Pick one or the other.</p>
<p>If nobody is building anything, structural / civil engineering or architecture would be nearly equally useful :-). That was my experience in my birth country 30+ years ago as a fresh civil engineer. </p>
<p>Even specialties that may show some ‘life’ like health care architecture may be limited at the end simply because of the perceived backlash against Taj Mahal Hospitals and insurance companies that do not cover such Taj Mahals.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot everyone! Rick, what exactly is the a MArch? And would I just take the undergraduate courses for architecture in my first two years of college?</p>
<p>An MArch or M.Arch is a Masters of Architecture Degree</p>
<p>You would take 4 years of undergraduate courses as an architecture major, and graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. Then if you wanted you could get your Master of Architecture degree (in whatever specialization you want) by going to school for about 1.5-2 more years, depending on the program.</p>
<p>There are three types of professional degrees in architecture offered through colleges</p>
<pre><code>* 5-year Bachelor of Architecture programs intended for students entering programs from high school
- 2-year Master of Architecture programs for students with a preprofessional undergraduate degree in architecture
- 3 or 4-year Master of Architecture programs offered to students with degrees in other disciplines
</code></pre>
<p>This career is not just restricted to design buildings and other structures but has gone a long way now. Following site has all the relevant information about this career. [Architects</a>, Except Landscape and Naval](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos038.htm]Architects”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos038.htm)</p>