<p>i am currently enrolled in a 5 year M.Arch undergraduate program. i am interested particularly in green architecture (arent we all nowadays) and was wondering how useful a minor in environmental sciences would be in the context of green architecture. i have looked over the courses required for this minor, and they include general bio, earth studies, environmental geology, ecology, etc. would these courses actually help inform my design, or just act as a background knowledge? does anyone with any experience in the field know if this minor would make someone stand out as a green architect?</p>
<p>‘would these courses actually help inform my design, or just act as a background knowledge?’</p>
<p>I think this is the basic question, and I suspect it will come down to how passionate you are about the subject. As an employer, a minor in environmental sciences is nice, but perhaps not enough to put you ahead of someone with a better portfolio. However if your portfolio work showed some really creative solutions to solving sustainability issues based on your greater depth of knowledge, that would be very attractive. It would show me that you could actually put this knowledge to use.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>My son is doing this but he is a landscape arch student. He is also VERY interested in this area (almost went into Env. Sci as a major) and has found that the professors in the Enviro Sci department are very keen on helping him learn many principles that bring his two disciplines together. </p>
<p>It might be beneficial to go to your school’s website and look up the description of all of the environmental science classes you will need to take. It may be 18-21 hours worth or more in order to minor. If you like what you are learning about, that isn’t a problem. If not, it is a lot of time to put in and may keep you from working more on your major projects. Good luck!</p>
<p>thank you both for your thoughtful responses! a minor at my school would take 18 credits, and a couple of those hours overlap with GE requirements so i don’t think it should be too difficult.</p>