March2 program UIUC VS UT-AUSTIN VS USC which is better?

momrath
Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:03:47 +0000

From the UT SOA website

The M.Arch. II does not fulfill the professional degree requirements for registration as an architect.



But NAAB’s accreditation website lists two M.Archs for UT, one for pre-professional degree + 66 hours: one for undergraduate degree + 111 hours.

For USC, the pre-professional + 2.0 years is listed on the NAAB site, but the undergraduate + 3.0 years is not. However, USC says both are accredited.

Obviously there’s some confusion (or perhaps some websites that need updating).

I think it’s a good idea to get clarification on the status of the individual degrees, even for long established programs. When my son started the M.Arch program at Cornell, the M.Arch degree was still undergoing the accreditation process, even though the B.Arch degree had been accredited since 1945. The M.Arch accreditation was confirmed before he graduated, and my understanding is that it was retroactive to those who graduated prior to accreditation.

My observation is that the different degrees, different degree names, different course and time requirements, different prerequisites, make architecture a very difficult field to navigate.