Cal Poly SLO vs. UC Berkeley vs. Virginia Tech

TheLongHaul
Mon, 23 May 2011 00:18:08 +0000

Enzotessi, are you applying as a high school student or a community college transfer student? At which three of the universities that you have mentioned so far would you have to pay out-of-state tuition?

If you will be attending a four-year university as a freshman, and you go at the expected pace for the architecture degree:

-CPSLO’s B.Arch is a FIVE-YEAR program that results in an ACCREDITED, PROFESSIONAL bachelor’s degree by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) [http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/current/idp.html][/url]. It will count as FIVE YEARS of education/experience toward CA licensure.

-UCB’s Architecture A.B. degree is a FOUR-YEAR program and is UNACCREDITED and PRE-PROFESSIONAL.
-It will not, by itself, meet the professional degree requirement for NCARB licensure, which may interest you if you want the option of reciprocity (licensed in multiple states) in case you want to work on out-of-state building projects. [http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/abdegree][/url]
-Although the FOUR-YEAR A.B. degree presently counts toward the 3.5 YEARS of 8-year education/experience needed for California’s Architect license, it may change to 0 YEARS IF California decides to adopt NCARB’s more stringent requirements as most other states have, though there is no word of that right now. [http://www.cab.ca.gov/pdf/publications/table_equivalents.pdf][/url]
-In order to meet NCARB requirements, gain reciprocity, and protect against future CA license changes, you must supplement the Architecture A.B. degree with an additional TWO-YEAR, PROFESSIONAL M.Arch degree. Keep in mind that you will have to go through a competitive application process, reapplying along with other students with bachelor’s degrees from other schools, to get into the M.Arch program at UCB even if your A.B. degree was at UCB. If you get into and complete the M.Arch program from UCB, you will have spent at least SIX YEARS in university, but have done FIVE YEARS of the 8-year education/experience for CA licensure.

If you transfer from a California community college:

-At CPSLO, you will most likely NOT arrive there at junior standing as most CA community colleges do not have equivalent courses for all of the second year architectural courses at CPSLO. As far as I know, Cuesta College is the exception as they do have equivalents for all of the second year CPSLO architectural courses. This means that most transfer students to CPSLO will arrive as sophomores, with more 4-YEARS of instruction to complete the B.ARCH.

-At UCB, a transfer student who has met all of the necessary prerequisites to enter the A.B. Architecture program will be juniors. They will have 2-YEARS remaining until graduation. After that, they can pursue the M.Arch, with will take another 2-YEARS for a total of FOUR-YEARS.

Summary (CPSLO vs. UCB)

If you are currently a high school student applying to be a college freshman:

CPSLO will:
-Allow you to obtain a professional architectural degree in one fewer year
-Allow you to obtain a professional architectural degree without having to reapply to grad school

It may not be for you if:
-You are not totally sure if architecture is what you want to do

UCB will:
-Allow you gain a design-related degree in four-years, but it will not be professional and will not meet licensure requirements for most other states. So if you change you mind on architecture midway through the program, at least you won’t be stuck for five years.

It may not be for you if:
-You are dead-set on architecture and do not want to reapply to grad school in order to get an accredited, professional degree.

If you are currently a transfer student applying to be a college junior:

Both CPSLO and UCB will most likely require that you spend four years there to gain a professional, accredited degree, unless you transfer from Cuesta College, in which case you would be a junior at CPSLO after transfer. You will still need to reapply in order to get into the M.Arch program if you choose UCB.

[Note: Sorry for the CAPS. I could not format certain words to be bolded]