Liberal arts undergrad -> Architecture?

I am in a little bit of a dilemma right now. My number one college is Harvard (which I just applied to early action) and I am trying to find good safety schools. As of now I really want to go into a career in architecture, however, I want to explore more majors before finalizing my plans for the rest of my life. And so I want to go to a liberal arts school but I am finding it hard to find great private liberal arts colleges in which I can potentially go into a career in architecture from. So my question for you guys is do I need to get a B. Arch in order to go into architecture and what other schools and/or majors should I look into.

So far my college list is: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Amherst, Connecticut, Colgate.

Oh and I plan on either double majoring or minoring in psychology as I feel the two areas complement each other rather nicely.

Art history departments at liberal arts colleges (through both coursework and guidance) can prepare you for a professional school of (and career in) architecture.

Please review colgate.edu and this section, in particular:

http://www.colgate.edu/campus-life/career-services/graduate-and-professional-schools/pre-professional

Go ‘gate!

No, there are many ways to work in architecture that do not include the Bachelor of Architecture (BArch). In most states (not all) you need to have either a BArch or a Master of Architecture in order to become a licensed architect. With a BA or BS in architecture, art studio, art history OR ANYTHING ELSE you can get into a good MArch program as long as you fulfill the program’s requirements.

The requirements vary from school to school but generally include some art studio, some art history, some calculus and some physics. The portfolio, which may or may not include architecture-driven artwork, is a major part of the MArch admissions process.

The MArch will take from 2.0 to 3.5 years depending on the MArch school and your undergraduate degree. It’s quite common to work in architecture for a couple of years before heading back to graduate school.

It is also common to work as an architect (often called an architectural designer) without being a licensed architect; however, getting a BArch or MArch (or both) and going through the licensing process is the recommended route.

As I said, the undergraduate degrees of students accepted into MArch programs vary widely; however, your choice of degree may impact the time that it takes to complete the MArch and will therefore impact the total cost. MArch programs do give grants and scholarships but funding is limited, so you have to think carefully about the cost of an additional 2.0 to 3.5 years of education. Entry level architecture jobs are underpaid relative to the education commitment required.

I don’t know much about Harvard’s track record for getting graduates into good MArch programs (including their own!) but I’m sure this is a question that would be easy to find the answer to. Whether you major in art, art history or whatever interests you, you just have to make sure that you fulfill the MArch admissions requirements and devote a huge amount of energy to your portfolio.

Universities that have MArch programs are often good choices for undergraduate architecture, whether they offer the BA, BS or Bachelor of Environmental Design. Check the curriculum, though, as some undergraduate architecture or architectural studies programs – like the one at MIT – can be highly intensive and may not allow much room for double majoring. You could look at WUSTL, Tulane, Virginia, Northeastern, Cinncinnati, UMich, Colorado Boulder. Although Brown doesn’t have a school of architecture, they do have an excellent undergraduate architecture program.

Among small liberal arts colleges, Conn College is a good choice as are Middlebury, Williams, Hamilton, Vassar. I’m not familiar with Colgate, though the pre-architecture program in the link provided by @markham looks interesting. I would be less enthusiastic about Amherst.

Study the curriculums carefully, as there’s a lot of variation from school to school. At some you will enter directly into the undergraduate architecture program (and may have to submit a portfolio). At some you will not declare you major until sometime in your sophomore year.

Ask which MArch programs their graduates have gone on to. Most importantly don’t underestimate the cost of the BA/BS+MArch route.

Lastly many schools of architecture hold open houses in the fall to provide information about what they are looking for in admissions. Yale’s is on November 2, Harvard on November 3. Cornell on November 6. Try to attend one. I promise you it will be an eye-opener.

New minor at Wesleyan: http://www.wesleyan.edu/ideas/minor.html

The University of San Francisco offers some interesting options in architecture programs.

if you want to double major, check into each schools’ Arch program as some are “pre-professional” meaning they are geared towards getting right into MArch and professional certification with little room for electives outside of the program.

If you want to be an architect, the pre-professional program are the fastest (and therefore cheapest) route to go. Some schools offer accelerated 5 year programs that get bach and Masters.

@aj1203 wrote:

Well, sure, if you want to avoid going to graduate school, a BArch degree is always going to be the fastest and cheapest route. But, the OP was specific about wanting to explore other majors - not to mention, electives - that are, by necessity, going to be outside the scope of a pre-professional program. Thus, their interest in LACs:

http://www.wesleyan.edu/ideas/minor.html
http://www.colgate.edu/campus-life/career-services/graduate-and-professional-schools/pre-professional

No. You want a professional (NAAB-accredited) degree in architecture, but this can be either a B.Arch. or an M.Arch.

One point not mentioned above: B.Arch. programs are typically designed as 5-year (not 4-year) undergraduate programs.

If you get a non-professional B.A. in something like “Architectural Studies” as an undergraduate, then you are probably looking at another 2.5 to 3.5 years to get the M.Arch. in grad school (depending on the nature of the undergraduate program). So that’s 6.5 to 7.5 years total. Obviously this is longer than the B.Arch. route, but only by 1.5 to 2.5 years, since the B.Arch. is a 5-year program.

Many top-ranked schools prefer to offer professional degrees at the graduate level, have dropped B.Arch. programs, and only offer the M.Arch.

RPI (http://www.arch.rpi.edu/)