My son (junior in HS) is looking at Lehigh; both the BA in Architecture degree and the five-year Arts-Engineering program that combines architecture and civil engineering. Does anyone here have experience with one or both of these? He is also interested in architectural engineering (looking at Tufts and Worcester for this). I’m not sure if Lehigh’s Arts-Engineering program, where he would purse both a BA in Architecture AND a BS in Civil Engineering, would be a good fit for him. (Background: he is in a three-year architecture program at his high school taught by the founder of a local arch firm, and his favorite part of the class is using the Fusion/AutoCAD/Revit software to build as well as the studio experience - not so much art history, etc.) Thank you!
Lehigh’s BA IN Architecture offers a solid foundation for students who aim to get a Master of Architecture (MArch) degree. You may be aware that in order to become a licensed architect, either a Bachelor OF architecture (BArch) or MArch is required in most states. There are exceptions, but the process is more complicated.
The 5 year interdisciplinary Arts & Engineering program appears to be more geared toward a career in engineering than architecture, i.e., engineering with an arts supplement. With this dual degree he would still be a good candidate for an MArch program should he decide later to pursue architecture, but if he enjoys the design aspect of architecture he might prefer a BA or BS – or even a BArch – that offers extensive studio focus.
The BArch, which is offered at about 40 universities in the US, is the fastest route to becoming an architect, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless he’s firmly decided on architecture as a career.
Though architecture and architectural engineering are closely aligned in that the goal of both is to get buildings built, they are really two different career paths requiring different skill sets and different priorities .
It’s great that your son’s high school offers architecture courses. I’m sure his instructor(s) could give him further advice on the best educational choice for him.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. We are plannng a trip to see his top choices over spring break, and hopefully the opportunity to experience each campus and learn about the classes and majors will give him more direction. (I suppose I should be thankful he has this much clarity at 17 - I’m 48 and still figuring it out!)