So I get that there are 3 types of arch schools: design, art and tech. Art schools are pretty much off my list because I don’t think them to be practical enough and my interests lean toward the technical side (not to mention my portfolio will not be the strongest part of my application, but I digress.)
I talked to an arch admissions person at a design-type school and they said tech school graduates are used as “CAD rats” in firms and have little opportunity for creativity in their jobs (if this was what I wanted I would be doing engineering instead). But this I find hard to believe considering that this person’s school has a few tech schools that are ranked above it by employers on the DI list (unless those employers are LOOKING for CAD rats). I get that the curriculum at tech schools (Cal Poly, VA Tech) is less art-centric but does that really preclude graduates from doing creative work in the real world? And if so, then how do CP and VT have such good reputations?
@listroider, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. There are career implications in the choice of any architecture degree or school, but architecture is a wide and varied field so you want to be wary of generalizations.
The curriculum of the BArch and MArch is standardized and regulated to cover a balance of design and structures. You will find this balance wherever you end up. The differences are most apparent on the outer edges – some leaning more toward design, some more toward structures and tech.
The schools with “technology” “technical” or “polytechnic” in their names would tend toward the latter, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t offer solid studio experiences. Look at the educational and professional backgrounds of their professors and visiting instructors – you’ll see a lot of design talent.
The type of job that you’ll be able to secure after you have your degree is also impossible to gauge from the choice school alone. Determining factors can be location, connections and how you built your resume while you were still in school.
As an undergraduate, you might also want to look at the overarching culture of the school you attend. Art schools and tech schools have narrower personalities than “full service” universities. So think about the kind of people that you will want to interact with when you’re not in class and the total campus culture. E.g., do you want to join a fraternity/sorority, go to sports or arts events, get involved in political advocacy, have discussions with classmates who are studying philosophy, history, English? Undergraduate architecture school is intense, but it’s not all consuming!
My observation (and again, I’m a parent not an architect) is that recent graduates aren’t doing much designing under any circumstances, especially while they’re slogging through the licensing process. At the same time, they’re getting exposed to what working in architecture really entails. Yes, that involves a good deal of detail work, but it also involves sitting in on client meetings and brain storming sessions and overall problem solving and follow up. In other words, learning the business of architecture.
There are no art schools, tech schools and design schools. There are just architecture schools which are nationally regulated and follow a fairly consistent curriculum. What each school emphasizes is up to the Dean and faculty and can change as they change. It is also fairly independent of the overall university. Virginia Tech has a good design reputation despite having Tech in their name. You are going to have to visit the school, look at the student work, talk to faculty and students, and make a judgement if the school emphasizes what you are interested in.
As far as becoming a CAD Monkey, that has more to do with the quality of firm you choose to work for than the school you attend. Good firms develop their staff, expose them to the full range of practice, and give them opportunities to to figure out where they best fit into the profession. As you talk to Deans and faculty members I would be very wary of anyone who denigrates their competition and tells you their graduates all become CAD Monkeys.
Thanks for the replies. Good things to keep in mind. And yes I know I getting ahead of myself but I was mainly just trying to fact-check something I was told.