<p>I was accepted to Tulane University New Orleans, and will be attending as an Undergrad in Fall 2014. I am interested in joining their Architecture program, but it seems anything I find online seems to give a negative outlook for Architecture majors currently, saying they are unable to find jobs and that it is an unstable career to take up. Tulane's program is a 5 year program that earns you your Masters and Bachelors, and I wanted to know if anyone knows if it would be worth joining this program? Any tips or help?</p>
<p>@Danmart95 - This is always a tough decision, because of course you want to be employable when you are finished. I can only tell you that these situations for professions like architects and lawyers are cyclical. As the economy improves so will employment prospects, but what will also be in your favor is that a lot of people are staying away from architecture and so there will probably be a shortage by the time you get out. (I don’t know the numbers for architecture majors, but I do know that law school applications are down something like 40%. I suspect it must be similar for architecture.</p>
<p>Of course no one has a crystal ball. But making your decision based on the circumstances today is at least as risky. Things change fairly rapidly. Only you can decide if you are the kind of person that follows their passion despite the (seeming) odds, or instead does something that people tell you is safe. But what is actually a safe major? Business? Well, given the huge number of people graduating these days with degrees in business, maybe there will be a glut of these like there was of lawyers. Engineering or some other STEM major? That seems safer, but many don’t have the aptitude or interest to sustain themselves through the demanding curriculum for these majors. Tell me a major that actually nearly guarantees you a job.</p>
<p>I know the pendulum is shifting towards college being more about job training than intellectual development, but I still believe that this is false. It certainly is more true for architecture and engineering, but it is also still a place to help you develop critical thinking skills, better writing and math skills, and to interact with new people in an atmosphere that helps prepare you for the world as an adult.</p>
<p>Only you can decide what to do, the above is just my slant on it. What I can tell you for a fact is that you are fortunate enough to be going to a that makes it extremely easy to change majors. If you start in architecture and after a year you decide that either it really isn’t for you, regardless of employment prospects, or you become convinced that the jobs won’t be there by the time you graduate, you can switch to any other school within the university. Tulane isn’t actually accepting you into the School of Architecture, it is accepting you to Newcomb-Tulane College which contains that School and the Schools of Liberal Arts, Science & Engineering, Business, and Public Health & Tropical Medicine. You can move into any of those schools by simply declaring a different major, no other application or acceptance process required. So you can find out if architecture is really your passion without that worry. Relax, explore, enjoy yourself. Get down there, talk to the profs and your peers, and see what you think after a semester or two.</p>
<p>Personally I believe that people that do what they love and have talent doing it will always find success. Only you can decide if architecture is that for you, but you can only decide it if you give it a try.</p>
<p>Employment in architecture has picked up quite a bit in the past year or two. Everyone from my son’s M.Arch class was able to find acceptable positions in the area they were interested in – architecture per se, or academia or the tech industry. Things can change over the next few years, for better or for worse, but you should be making the decision on architecture based on how you feel about being an architect, period. Architecture requires too much of a commitment in time and energy to be undecided.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if during your undergraduate years, you are reasonably aggressive about finding internships and summer jobs and networking with alumni and connections in the industry you will most likely be able to find a job with a livable income.</p>
<p>As fallenchemist notes, Tulane is fairly flexible about allowing you to transfer to other disciplines if it turns out you don’t like architecture. You could ask them a “what if” question and find out what transferring out of architecture entails.</p>
<p>@momrath - That is good to know about the employment picture for architects looking better. That’s also a great point you make about the employment outcome being in the hands of the student to a significant extent, by focusing on internships and networking as early as possible.</p>
<p>Obviously, when I wrote above “What I can tell you for a fact is that you are fortunate enough to be going to a that makes it extremely easy to change majors” I dropped a word somehow. I meant to say "What I can tell you for a fact is that you are fortunate enough to be going to a university that makes it extremely easy to change majors. I would even say that Tulane isn’t just “fairly flexible”, it is as flexible in this regard as any university I know of. So the OP should be in good shape either way. New Orleans is a great city to study architecture, though.</p>
<p>Thanks all! I grew up about 5 minutes from Tulane, and with all the Architecture throughout New Orleans I have always been really interested in it, and during my High School Art class last year the thing my teacher said I excelled at was Architectural and other art involving buildings and structures. I will be at Tulane on the Legislative Scholarship, and am talking to my Rep tomorrow and if I am able to have it pay for the 5th year, I will definitely start out in the M.Arch program and see how it goes.</p>
<p>@Danmart95 - Ah, I didn’t realize you were a local. So I wasn’t telling you anything new, lol. Good luck with your Rep, let us know how it goes. Has Tulane started the B.Arch. program yet? I know they talked about it. I know I could just look it up, but I wanted to get your perspective anyway about choosing between them.</p>
<p>I believe FC meant to ask has Tulane started offering a 4 year Architecture degree. They currently offer the 5 year MArch which is the same thing as the BArch. Confusing right? :)</p>
<p>Someone on CC (was it you, newjersey17?) that Tulane was thinking about adding a BS in architectural studies.</p>
<p>Hi momrath… </p>
<p>I don’t remember where I heard it but I thought Tulane was going to offer the 4 year BS in Arch. Studies soon.<br>
Their website shows that they offer the following degrees (<a href=“http://architecture.tulane.edu/programs/degrees):”>http://architecture.tulane.edu/programs/degrees):</a></p>
<p>M.Arch - 5 year accelerated Arch. program (similar to the B.Arch)
M.Arch I - which is a 3.5 year masters program for students that have an undergraduate degree in anything other than Arch.
M.Arch I - Advanced standing - which is a 2 year masters program for students that have an undergraduate degree in Arch studies.
M.Arch II - Is a graduate/masters degree in Architecture for people who graduated with B.Arch/M.Arch.</p>
<p>Apparently I didn’t get the degree names and what they mean quite right. It is pretty confusing when the MArch degree is actually a bachelors. But it is a 5 year bachelors that qualifies the graduate to be certified.</p>
<p>So to keep it simple, Tulane currently offers only the 5 year track for undergrads. They are planning on adding a 4 year track that, while allowing the student more flexibility in coursework outside of Architecture, would require going on to another program (or more time at Tulane) to achieve certification. Something like that. i am no expert. I suspect they are aiming for Fall 2015 to begin, if they are going to do it at all. All universities take forever to approve new degree programs.</p>
<p>They are adding a 4 yr bachelors program beginning this fall (2014). My d spoke to the asst dean about the additional program and was told that it was done to allow more students options. The 5 yr program is a significant commitment with both time and work load and this will allow students who are interested in arch
but not necessarily ready to commit to becoming an architect to have it as a major</p>
<p>Carb, Is the program that’s being added a BS?</p>
<p>@momrath - I would think it is. The 4 year degree at WUSTL and other schools I checked is a BS. I don’t know why Tulane’s would be any different.</p>
<p>I am a little surprised that there is nothing on the Tulane web site yet if they are implementing it for Fall 2014, but I if that is what the Asst. Dean told Carb123 then that is the best info so far.</p>
<p>It’s not unusual for colleges to offer a BA in architecture or architectural studies, or even both a BA and a BS. </p>
<p>The length of time required to complete the M.Arch is determined by the school granting the M.Arch and there’s little consistency from program to program. Whether your undergraduate degree is a BA or a BS is less significant than the requirements of the M.Arch program you are targeting. </p>
<p>So with a BS in architecture from Tulane might mean anything from 1.0 to 3.0 years for a M.Arch, depending on the M.Arch school. I would think that at Tulane itself the route would be 4.0 BS + 2.0 M.Arch, but that information doesn’t seem to be available yet.</p>
<p>@momrath - Thanks for the enlightenment. I just checked a few schools and they were all offering a BS, I guess I just picked the “wrong” ones. I guess we will see with Tulane, they are a bit behind in updating the web site if they really are planning on a Fall 2014 launch. It does seem as if the whole area would benefit from some standardization, not to mention a name overhaul for these degrees. But I am only a casual observer, so maybe that isn’t as good a move as it would seem.</p>
<p>From what I understand Tulane will continue to offer the option of a 5 yr
M-arch along with the 4 yr non licensing degree which will be a BSA. I also found some information on this additional offering on the deans blog on the Tulane architecture website. I would think that they would update the program website soon since fall is right around the corner but who knows…</p>
<p>@Carb123 - Oh right, the Dean’s blog. I knew I had seen it somewhere, but then couldn’t find it again. But yes, they will definitely continue with the MArch 5 year program, which I have come to learn that despite the name is a bachelors degree that meets the licensing requirement. The downside, for lack of a better word, is that the program is very full and leaves little room for a double major or a lot of courses outside of architecture. The 4 year BSA will allow for more flexibility, form what I am hearing, but then will require 2 more years at Tulane or elsewhere to get the higher degree and licensing. Nice to have a choice.</p>