<p>i've been posting a lot on this board lately, and have been recieving a alot of great replies. i'm still stuck though on what to do about school. I'm in the Questbridge college match prgm, where I submit a ton of essays and info. and the QB math prgm. can "possibly" match me with a partner school where I will get full tution/room/board/books, everything paid for. But the only schools on the list that I know of that have a 4+2 arch. prgm are Rice and Princeton. There are a lot of REALLY good liberal arts schools on the list, such as Swarthmore, Williams, etc. And turning down a full-ride offer to one of those schools would be really hard.
But.. i also want a school that will get me a great job in architecture. Is doing the 4 year liberal arts degree and then the 3 year M.arch going to have a huge effect on my skills/job placement as an architect? Cheers, you have already said that the 4+3 guys dont get as good of jobs.</p>
<p>Financial assistance is VERY important to me, and knowing that i could go to such a great school for FREE all 4 years is great. But i dont want to do it if i'll end up with a poor arch. career and no skills by doing it that way (4+3) any ideas?</p>
<p>rams, in my opinion you are getting WAY ahead of yourself. You're 17-18 years old. It's quite natural not to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. Don't worry, the world of work will wait for you. Concentrate now on getting the best education you can that suits your interests (Note: plural) and learning style. Travel, meet people, expand your knowledge base, learn how to order in a restaurant, how to make a presentation, how to argue a point. </p>
<p>If you do well as an undergrad you will get into a good graduate program. If you do well in graduate school you will get a good job. If you do well at your job you will make money. It's not rocket science. Of course there are exceptions, but the success rate is reasonably assured.</p>
<p>PS, Williams kids regularly get into top M.Arch programs and go on to be healthy wealthy wise as architects and other art related jobs. I'm sure the same is true of many of the schools that subscribe to QuestBridge.</p>
<p>I'm also of the opinion that it appears that 5 year architecture majors have the better jobs because most architects currently in their 40 - 60's (who typically hold the higher positions) went through 5 year programs. There were few 4+2 or even 4+3 type programs available back then. </p>
<p>The portfolios of students attending a 4+3 program may be less impressive than those who have had 5-6 years of architecture studio, but that is something you can work on. Being hired by a "big name" firm in the east is not the only way to be successful, although it may be a quicker route for those who would like to practice in a major city in the east.</p>
<p>Actually, the project manager I'm working with now was one of those 4+3 people, did an undergrad in finance, and he has worked for several big name firms, gotten a lot of good freelance work, and would probably be out on his own right now if he weren't on the verge of getting married and building his own house and feeling the need for a stable job at the mo. Nobody at all cared that he was a 4+3 guy, the only reason I even know is because he was telling me stories about his finance jobs. Actually, several people in my office are 4+3 people now that I think about it.</p>
<p>Find a LAC with an Architectural Studies program if you can, that will give you the Liberal Arts with some studios in addition. I went to an LAC, majored in Arch. Studies, put together a nice portfolio using my studio classes and am now at a top 10 Masters of Landscape Architecture program. Furthermore, I've talked to many architects in the field who prefer hiring people with a 4+3 background. Plus when applying to grad schools, it's good to have a different background to set you apart from the rest of the crowd.</p>
<p>You can definitely get into good programs with a course of study in something like art history. Most of the people in my program majored in nothing even relating to architecture in undergrad (linguistics, anthropology etc.). So long as you show creativity in your portfolio you should be fine. While in undergrad try to get as much architecture experience as possible if that's what you really want to do, perhaps some internships, or even job shadowing. Grad schools will look favorably upon that sort of thing.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. So I should take some studio classes then right? Also, what are some mid-range to top liberal arts schools that have arch. classes?
Would a double major of say art hist. and sociology or psycology be good? Thanks</p>
<p>connecticut college- excellent architecture and job placement; great fine arts department; fantastic art history (theres a museum right on campus); known for social sciences/humanities. All your bases would be covered!</p>
<p>All you need to qualify for a masters of architecture program is a few drawing classes, a basic knowledge of art history, possibily one term each physics and calculus (some require one year; some none at all). You also need a strong portfolio which is logically easier to prepare if you've taken some studio courses.</p>
<p>Most art departments offer architectural drawing and most art history department offer history of architecture. You don't need an architectural studies degree per se.</p>
<p>I know a ton of architects age 40+ who have 4 + 3 degrees. I worked with a number of them in New York in the early 80's and have followed their careers. If they are still in the business, they do have good jobs--administrative jobs, project manager jobs, residential design practices. They are not usually top designers--which is the premier job in an architecture office if you ask most architects. </p>
<p>Also, 4 + 3 students have always been treated like second-class cash cows at grad school. It takes a very strong, very gifted personality to overcome that natural prejudice inside of a highly competitive star system education. Read posts from recent Harvard students if you don't believe me.</p>
<p>I hire architects and I know a lot of hiring partners in architecture firms. I always look for the best talent with the best skill set. I prefer 5 +1.5 degrees because the candidate has had 13 semesters of design training and it shows in their design portfolio and skill set.</p>
<p>The main reason I want to do a 4+3 course of action is that I can major in something else, like art hist., and still possibly be an architect if thats still the plan i want to do after undergrad. who know's, i may end up an art hist. prof, or an architectural journalist or even something else. I just feel like this gives me the most options, which i want.</p>
<p>Double majoring in the social sciences will definitely help (I was a sociology/arch studies double major), and will definitely come into your designs. I wouldn't worry so much about taking design studios right away, but one or two may help out in the long run, especially if you're not sure about architecture. Another plus about going to a LAC, if you decide that architecture is not what you want to do, there's nothing forcing you to stay in that school, whereas if you end up in a 5 year B.Arch. program, it's slightly more difficult to transfer out. Also, you have the opportunity to double major and experiment with many other fields while at a LAC. Good luck!</p>
<p>I've decided to pursue LANDSCAPE arch. There are hardly any schools that have a L.Arch studies major, most all of them only have the 5-year BLArch. So, will doing grad. school for landscape with undergrad in possibly bio/ecology and art/art history be enough to do well in the field. I know job placement is alot stronger than in arch. any ideas?</p>
<p>I'm actually in a M.La (Masters of Landscape Architecture) program now! It's the same story for undergrad as if you were to pursue an architecture degree. As I previously mentioned there are people in my program with a wide variety of backgrounds; furthermore, most programs in undergrad are 4 year B.S. programs with a concentration in Landscape Architecture. Cornell (where I'm at Grad School now) is a good example of this. Don't just go into Landscape Architecture because of better job placement though. I wouldn't really worry about it now, you've got lots of time.</p>