I agree, my D had many samples of her artwork to show her creativity, styles, her willingness to explore different mediums. She used works from her art classes and a couple things from her summer arch program. they are not expecting kids to have done a summer program or have arch experience. They want to see how you have perception of the world around you.
My D also captioned her pieces if applicable to mention what she was working on (exploration of light, sharing, relationship, etc.) her art teacher helped her some in putting it together.
No, she didnāt; she actually applied to the āUrban Landscapeā BLA program, and was accepted, but she was also considering switching into CS+Designā¦ and both seemed like perhaps too big a commitment. Between her need to explore more before deciding, and a much better merit offer from Scripps than from Northeastern, she ended up heading to Claremont instead.
She already graduated from Scripps (Iām one of those ācanāt seem to quit CCā people, lol) but she did the āSustainability and the Built Environmentā track within the Environmental Analysis major. It takes some digging to uncover the fact that one of the intended focuses of this track is pre-architecture - not sure why they donāt make this more clear. Scripps students do this as an off-campus major through either Pitzer or Pomona. (This may change, as EA is popular and there are signs that Scripps may staff up to offer it too, but itās not really an issue whether they do or not, as there are no barriers to signing up for the major either way.) My d initially signed up with a Pitzer advisor, but then concluded that the Pomona version was a better fit, and switched to a Pomona advisor (who was fantastic and really elevated her whole experience, especially because of the extra effort he made to look out for his students during all of the pandemic disruptions). There are a number of different kinds of design classes available - some LArch oriented, some graphic design, some art, some more in an environmental art veinā¦ plus the whole Human-Centered Design sequence. She had classes in Green Urbanism, Design for Environmental Behavior Change, a Nature & The City seminar taught by a working landscape architect who has designed public spaces in LA (and who also teaches at USC), an EA ādesign process studio,ā a Harvey Mudd art department ācritical design studioā class, a ādesign activismā class in the CMC history department (one of her favorite courses), a Pitzer indigenous land use class, a GIS class that included a lot of information design contentā¦ plus she did an arch studio + arch history program on her semester abroad, as well as a credit-bearing summer architecture intensive at Portland State. A lot of the classes she took, plus some that she didnāt (some because theyāre new since her time), are listed here, and there are more that are not on that list, notably Pitzerās EA classes such as Design Workshop, Case Studies in Sustainable Built Environments, Sustainable Places Studio, etc. that can be found here.
Basically, the relevant classes are scattered across all five schools and a variety of departments; it definitely isnāt a cohesive, planned curriculum like Boulder ENVD, but it gives students the opportunity to explore and to narrow their focus according to their interests, culminating in their undergrad thesis. The advising is great, so students are definitely guided into classes that will meet their needs. The support for the thesis is terrific as well - my d had three thesis advisors from three different campuses - her two major advisors from Pomona and Scripps, plus a Pitzer Classics prof with an arch history background. Itās definitely more of a liberal arts experience, but thereās a lot to work with if you donāt mind a more āDIYā approach to a design-oriented major.
Itās also a great illustration of how broad and diverse the field of architecture really is. Both in education and at the workplace the options are full of niches, ancillaries and specialties: thereās no single ārightā path.
Thanks for sticking around and sharing your experience! Did your daughter explore masters programs as well or did she jump right into the working world? Did she find any internships or college networks to be particularly helpful?
My 16yo has shown an interest in designing public spaces. His strongest subjects are History, Art/Design & English and he says he would like to minimize studio classes as an undergrad with his eye on doing a Masters in Landscape Architecture after, hopefully with a program that will open doors to creating large public spaces. This summer, he took an AIANY pre-college Architecture class & is completing an internship with ReWild Long Island. He learned that he prefers to design on a computer rather than hand draft.
We are very much in the learning stage of all this and so far we are planning to visit Cornell, CalPoly SLO, Northeastern & Boulder during his Junior year. Iād be grateful for advice & insight from those whoāve gone before us. Itās quite a journey!
She was a pandemic-generation college student - everything went remote after spring break junior year and never returned to in-person. There was a lot of burnout, and the more āhands onā aspects got de-emphasized compared to the more theoretical/academic aspectsā¦ and she just needed time to regroup after graduation. Still TBD what her grad school path will be - there are several options under consideration.
Good luck - I hope youāll report on your visits!
For what your son wants, Iowa Stateās program may be worth a look too. It has a similar structure to Boulderās program, with a common first-year design curriculum, and it has a BLA optionā¦ but if your son wants less studio time than that, he could do the Community & Regional Planning major with the Physical Planning and Urban Design focus area (and/or one of the design minors), and still have the option to do LArch in grad school. https://www.design.iastate.edu/
Northeasternās program seems quite studio-intensive; would he major in something other than the BLA? Likewise with SLO - if he doesnāt want the 5-year BLA, what program would he go for?
UW-Seattle could be another to look at. Their College of Built Environments, whose only bachelorās program is the BLA, also offers a Minor in Urban Ecological Design which could be paired with a non-studio major like Urban Design & Planning, so that he could take some LArch studio classes without going all-in on the BLA.
What state are you from.? Thatās quite some traveling all over!
Also curious about having Cal Poly SLO on the list if his aim is to minimize studio time, with their 5 year BLArch,which looked to me like it has quite a lot. Cal Poly Pomona has a 4 year BS in LArch which I assume is less intense but still will have some. They seem to emphasize field study more too. If youāre visiting one may as well visit the other?
Maybe you can clarify what he means by āminimizeā studio time? CU Boulder looks like it has quite a lot too.
We are in Brooklyn, NY and he likes the idea of going someplace with natural beauty. SLO and all the accredited B.Arch & BSLA programs landed on our radar before he did the 2 week AIANY course. Heāll do 3 years of AP Art & has access to many extra classes, but he really loves history and story telling and is a good writer. So, for now he thinks heād like to apply to Penn and Harvard for an MSLA & heās looking for something less hands on for college.
Has he considered Hobart & William Smith? Its architectural studies major might be of interest, and itās a great place for his other interests of history and writing. Its location would also work well for someone seeking natural beauty.
If he prefers a bigger school, make sure he doesnāt overlook his in-state option of U. at Buffalo. Itās in relatively close proximity to natural beauty and he might be interested in either the B.S. in architecture or the B.A. in Environmental Design.
And another option to consider would be Hampshireās Architecture & Environmental Design option. Hampshire isnāt right for everybody, but it can be really great for the right student. Hampshire is part of the consortium with Amherst, UMass, Smith, and Mount Holyoke whereby students can cross-register for classes at the other member colleges.
Another Boulder ENVD alternative (with natural beauty!) is U of Oregon. They have BLA/MLA programs but also a more interdisciplinary Environmental Design major. There are also minors offered in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Historic Preservation. For more urban opportunities, UO also offers a Portland internship program based out of their satellite campus there.
HWS is a great idea - other New England LACās with a strong studio component to their arch studies majors (but not the studio-intensiveness of a BLA/BArch) are Middlebury and Conn College.
I donāt find it surprising when a high school student isnāt 100% decided on a career path. (Actually Iām surprised when they ARE!) So your sonās inclination toward a general liberal arts undergraduate experience followed by a career specific graduate degree sounds quite sensible to me.
(The caveat, of course is that this route may be more costly than plunging into a professional track from the get-go.)
My son was undecided between museum work and architecture so pushed the decision to graduate school where he chose architecture. As an undergraduate he studied art, art history and a wide range of liberal arts disciplines. Summer internships and employment post-undergraduate were facilitated by his LAC connections.
Like your son he also sought a nature rich environment both for undergraduate (Williams) and graduate school (Cornell). Some other academically rigorous LACs with
similar outdoorsy environments are Kenyon and Hamilton.
My advice when you visit schools like Cornell, Harvard and Penn that have MLArch programs of interest is to try to meet with the LA department and ask them about the undergraduate experiences of their students. I think youāll find that a broad intellectual liberal arts education is a common thread.
Some other MLArch programs with excellent all around liberal arts undergraduate experiences are UVirginia and UCBerkeley.
At the end of the day itās important to remember that architecture, landscape, planning and environmental design are all businesses. They are mostly highly collaborative, but decisions are still driven by budgets, client requirements and governmental regulations.
The ability to communicate (and defend) proposals figuratively, orally and in writing is tantamount which is something that a liberal arts education excels at.
Just one thoughtā¦ if your child is not looking to do much studio time in undergrad, then they may need to do a three year masters program for architecture. Arch and landscape arch require a lot of studio time for your degree and masters programs vary depending on what you are coming in with. Some schools with have a plus one masters if you do their bachelors program, some will have a two year masters if you have a related degree and then usually a three year masters for those with unrelated undergrad studies.
FWIW, my D graduated northeastern in ā22 after 6 years with her BARCH and MARCH but did a lot of landscape arch work in her last two years and loved their classes, opportunities, etc. did research and great coops. Her focus is on public/civic architecture and she works in nyc now doing very sustainable affordable housing, public schools, etc. I know one day she is likely to also go back and get her LARCH too. (She loved their general arch program too and was so well prepared for her working life to know what kind of work she wanted to do, criteria for the firms sheād work in, has great research and design skills.)
Also, her other final college choice was calpoly (CA fam) but their programs are also professional degrees and heavy on studio time, just an fyi. My D did their high school summer program which confirmed her desire to at least pursue an arch degreeā¦. She realized that architectural students are her ākindā of peopleā¦ artistic, creative but also pretty solid in math and science. Many of her friends from that program went to arch schools all over and are working architects now and still in touch! In fact, one of them works at another firm in nyc and they are partnering on a project together!
My kid is planning on doing this next summer - there are a few summer arch around California but this one looks most interesting to them. Any tips on it appreciated!
We just told out D that even if she came out hating arch and studio work, that was good info bc a lot of rigorous arch studio classes etc do not transfer well to moving to other majors and it was better to know earlier. We really did not look into other programs as this was closest to us. It was a great intro for her to be away from home for a month, have fun, meet other like minded kids, etc. The program is creative and fun but learning very basic design and arch skills to give them a taste. As I took her on college tours of various arch programs, I realized then that the program gave her a better sense of asking the questions she needed to find the right college program for her (there are many different ways to teach arch in college - more design based, more art/aesthetic focused, more practical etc.). I think they talk about this a lot so she was well prepared to look at schoolsā¦ I just was along for the driving and support.
My son also has ADHD and has a lower GPA than the published average, but a significant upward trend and several art, design and engineering classes (these are his highest grades). He is planning to reach out to the director of the program this week to inquire about submitting his portfolio. I will let you know what he hears. It looks like the admit rate to ENVD is similar to the school as a whole (78% last year), but Iām sure it is quite dependent on how many students apply in a given year (it was 88% in 2023).
My son knows that he wants something in the design field (with a lot of studio time), but is undecided between architecture and product/industrial design, so he wants a program that allows for exploration. He also wants big school spirit and loves the outdoors (snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking), so Colorado is a natural fit.
Is he going to apply to Iowa State also? The Undeclared option in their Design School would give him the same ability to explore, and choose between architecture, industrial design, and a number of other major options after completing the Core Design Program. Not quite the same outdoor opportunities as Colorado, but the difference in OOS cost could fund quite a few ski trips! Both programs seem great for what heās looking for. Good luck to him!
(ETA: K-State is another with a similar curriculum structure and a great student experience overall: Common First Year )