<p>I plan to study architecture in grad school. figured an undergrad degree in structural/civil engineering'd help me in the future. but i'd want to take a minor or even another degree in an arts subject, like econs or IR, cuz I'm better with words than numbers.</p>
<p>Is this a sensible choice juggling these 2 kinds of majors? And what schools do you recommend? I'm frm Singapore and I know darn well I've got zero chance of getting into schools like Stanford or MIT cuz only the best of the best frm this place make it there.</p>
<p>I think you'll find that most undergrad programs in the states only cover civil engineering, and you won't get into much structural until graduate school where you choose a specialization, in your case architecture. Even if you don't want to go to MIT etc... there are plenty of great civil schools to choose from. </p>
<p>You can concentrate in structural engineering using your electives. That won't be too much of a problem, but ngamoser is right, your undergraduate degree will likely be in civil engineering.</p>
<p>You don't really have to do a double-major. What you might want to do is take elective courses in studio art so that you develop a portfolio for your applications to architecture graduate schools. Maybe take some courses in art/architecture history. Then, when you're starting your junior year, I'd establish contacts in the architecture departments to ask for recommendations on how to proceed.</p>
<p>At the same time, begin contacting graduate programs to see what you need to do in order to prepare for grad school. For example, I know that Columbia University has a summer preparation program in order to give you the courses you'll need to brush up on your architecture skills before plunging into graduate courses.</p>
<p>Most architectural programs <em>do</em> have undergraduate architectural degrees to offer that would prepare you superbly for a graduate architecture degree, so that may also be a possibility for you.</p>
<p>The hybrid degrees are still reasonably new, and when I talked to professors and employers about their impressions of them, they were still pretty skeptical about combined programs and architectural engineering. It's worth checking out, but you'll need to consider that caveat.</p>