Hi,
I am currently a high school senior having a hard time choosing which school to go to next year for architecture.
My question is, how important is it to to have a prestigious degree in architecture? I am especially wondering what factors play a role with the BS undergraduate architecture degree. Once state-school kids graduate from a respected but not stellar university after four years and are trying to get into a prestigious graduate M.Arch program at say at Yale or Harvard, do they have a huge disadvantage to those who attended a prestigious University for their BS in architecture? In general, is it hard for a good student at a state school to go to a prestigious graduate program?
I’m trying to figure out how much extra money is really worth putting forward for my undergraduate education.
Also, do good students at prestigious schools have a big edge on the job market to good students from average universities?
Thanks!
Prestigious MArch programs admit a balanced class – of men and women, US citizens and internationals, students just out of college and those with work experience, and, yes, graduates of a wide range of universities and colleges – the Ivy League, other private universities, State universities, small liberal arts colleges, art schools, tech institutes and all sorts of foreign universities.
Here is Yale’s list of students in their MArch I & II programs. You can see that large State U’s are well represented.
http://architecture.yale.edu/people/enrolled-students
I’m not an architect but my observation is that firms tend to hire locally and tend to hire from a core group of architecture schools, often the same schools that their partners attended.
“How much extra money is really worth putting forward for (your) undergraduate education” really depends on your family’s financial situation and the academic and design level of the schools under consideration.
You want to be challenged intellectually and creatively, both by your instructors and your peers. You want to have access to internships and summer jobs at firms whose work you are interested in. You want to interact with working architects and visiting professors in the industry. You don’t want to be burdened by debt out of proportion to your earning potential. There are plenty of schools that can provide this kind of undergraduate foundation.
Be aware that the top rated MArch programs are insanely selective. You may do everything right as an undergrad and still not get admitted to Yale or Harvard. Keep an open mind on the range of MArch programs too. There are plenty of graduate schools that are not Ivy League but will still get you where you want to go.
Thank you so much for the thorough reply! It is helping me to think things through important factors on deciding what will be the best option.
As you were saying, I am very much wanting to go to a school where internships and summer jobs with firms are available! For these internships, with a student in the in the first few years of a BS degree in architecture, is it typically harder to get an internship compared to a similar student in a BArch program? I guess what I’m wondering is whether the type of degree your going for matters.
If anyone knows anything about internships for undergraduate students at Wash U, I would love to know.
I don’t know that you could make a direct comparison of internship opportunities between BS programs and a BArch programs in general. So much depends on the economy, the school’s career center, the location, the alumni network, the individual student and just plain luck.
Perhaps @newjersey17 could give you more information on WUSTL specifically.
This program looks good, but it’s difficult to judge how effective it is in practice. There are certainly some very good firms included in the network, including, interestingly, the firm my son works for in Boston.
http://careercenter.wustl.edu/alumni/mentor/Pages/Architecture.aspx
Anymore info on the program at Wash U, I’d love to hear! It’s my top pick right now but I don’t know too much about it. Thanks!
Perhaps you could start a new thread with WUSTL in the subject.
“I’m not an architect but my observation is that firms tend to hire locally and tend to hire from a core group of architecture schools, often the same schools that their partners attended.”
It depends.
It’s pretty much like every degree - smaller less known schools alumni usually stay closer to where they graduated, but big name schools alumni are everywhere.
For example, I used to work in Northern California - worked with grads from Cal Poly, UC Berkeley, Cal Arts, and Michigan.
I now work in New England - work with grads from Wentworth, BAC, Norwich, Penn State, and Tenn
If your going the M Arch route, the only thing about your BS that matters is that it is accredited.
OK, there are others, like at Wentworth if you get your BS there, the MArch only takes a year.