<p>My DD is quite interested in the K-State 5 year Arch program which leads to a Masters. She's been testing her interest in Architecture by attending summer pre-college programs in Architecture at IIT, Engineering at UIUC, and Product Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as attending studio workshops run through the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Can anyone comment on the strength of this program? Thanks.</p>
<p>Both Kansas schools have very strong 5 year MArch programs. I have found the K State portfolios to be a little flashier and the KU portfolios a little more thoughtful, but they both produce very strong graduates. </p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>Rick—My girl really liked K-State because of the program, the campus, and the fact that she can continue to dance ballet (which is pretty rare). We’re in Chicago, though, and with the economy being so poor I wonder if she’d be better served staying in-state and going to IIT. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on this? Can you recommend other 5 year programs not highlighted in Design Intelligence listings that, in your professional opinion, are strong ones? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>There are several good state schools with 5 years degrees that I am familiar with; Oklahoma State, UT Austin, Auburn, VT, but I don’t think that they are going to cost any less out of state than K State. Each program will have particular strengths, but I don’t think any of them will provide an appreciable overall advantage over K State. </p>
<p>For in-state schools Illinois at UC has always had strong reputation, but it has been a long time since I have run across any graduates and I am not sure they still have a BArch. I have have worked with several graduates from the Chicago Circle campus who were very strong and in the past it offered good work study opportunities. I don’t know what IIT is up to, they were always a bit different in their teaching approach from other schools, a legacy from when Mies was running the program. I did think it was a fairly expensive private school; one of the graduates I knew in NY had racked up huge debts in his five years there.</p>
<p>I have two sons entering their sophomore year at out of state schools so I feel your pain, but it may be hard to find exactly what your daughter is looking for in-state.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>There are quite a few programs in Illinois but with the exception of IIT, they’re all 4+2 programs. Illinois at Urbana has a BS Architectural Studies Program. U of I (they call themselves “at Chicago” now, when I went there it was called Circle!) used to have a BArch, too, but they also have gone the 4 year route offering a BS. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has several MArch programs. Judson, a private Baptist program offers a 4 year. Even Northwestern University has gotten in on the act with a certificate program in “Architectural Engineering & Design” that they instituted in 2008.</p>
<p>My girl was happy to hear that you think that the programs you named are not appreciably better than K-State! </p>
<p>What is your personal preference in the educational journey----the 4+2 or the 5? Which path is the preferable one for a young person?</p>
<p>K-State was in my son’s top 3 college choices. S is now majoring in landscape architecture although initially he was interested in architecture when he visited K-State. He liked it for the same reasons as your daughter, with the exception of being able to dance ballet 
</p>
<p>K-State had the lowest OOS tuition compared to most other schools he was looking at, and they offered him about $5K in merit scholarships, which would have helped defray the cost further (and he did not have tippy top stats). </p>
<p>At the time S was applying to college, KU guaranteed that the freshman tuition rate would stay the same throughout all 4 years (or in the case of the MArch students, all 5 years). Not sure if that policy is still in place currently. I thought that KU’s OOS tuition was not too bad compared with other schools we had looked at. If S had planned to major in architecture he would have definitely applied to KU and probably would have preferred KU to K-State.</p>
<p>“What is your personal preference in the educational journey----the 4+2 or the 5? Which path is the preferable one for a young person?”</p>
<p>This really depends on the individual. If you generally think of taking five years of intense studios for your professional degree then you can see the differences. With the 4+2 at a place like UIUC you generally take some visual arts studios during your freshman year, but not a full architectural studio and you get a few electives. In essence you get a chance to ease into college life. Your 2nd, 3rd and 4th years involve full studio classes. So you do three years of studio work in undergrad and two years in graduate school.</p>
<p>In a five year program you start with intense studio classes from day one without many electives. If you are focused and know architecture is what you want then this is the most efficient path. Some students are ready for this and others need to work up to it you just need to see where you daughter stands on this.</p>
<p>rick</p>