<p>do you just need a bachelors degree to become an architect? what are the masters and doctorate for? why do ppl spend more time in college to get those, when only bachelors is necessary?</p>
<p>you need an accredited degree. Not all schools offer accredited bachelors degrees, so sometimes people figure out that they want to do architecture too late in the game to get an accredited bachelors (i.e. they’re already at a school that doesn’t offer one), so they finish up where they’re at and then go for the masters. Others want to get a more well-rounded college experience than accredited bachelors programs provide, so they do that first then get an accredited masters. Still others have an accredited bachelors, and simply want to learn more. A masters is also helpful if you want to teach at the university level at some point. Most if not all of the people who get PhDs in architecture do so because they want to pursue a serious academic career. For instance, you’ll find that most of the people teaching history and theory courses in B.Arch and M.Arch programs hold PhDs, but very few other faculty members in those programs do.</p>
<p>Another reason you might want to get a master’s or doctorate is to spend a couple more years in the academic side of architecture. Even practicing architects with a lot of experience sometimes elect to do this because academic architecture is about experimentation with the ideal and with concepts that you’ll probably never get someone to pay you to do, but still want to seriously explore. Architecture schools allow that opportunity to explore, and do it by studying under other very experienced, sometimes well-known, professionals. So, in the case of these students, the degree is almost an afterthought. But…might as well get credit for your extremely hard work that goes into that exploration.</p>