<p>My son is a soph in hs and wants to go into architecture. He went throught the book “Architecture Schools” and looked at descriptions of each schools’ architecture programs and reduced his list of schools to: </p>
<p>BArch—Syracuse, Penn State, USC;
MArch 4+2—UC Berkley, Cincinnati, U of Illinois Urbana Champaign. </p>
<p>We live in the Chicago area. He wants to eventually work in a big city (NY, Chicago, LA, SF are preferred). Any comments on his choices? He prefers the BArch route.</p>
<p>Are they comparable in being able to get in?</p>
<p>He talked to an architect in the Southwest who has his own firm. This architect suggested he decide if he wants a school that leans theoretical or leans practical. The architect told him Cornell leans theoretical so my son eliminated Cornell from his list as he wants practical.</p>
<p>USC should also be considered theoretical/ very art oriented- But I would ask why your son wants a very “practical” school? Most schools that were practical are becoming more theoretical—Cal Poly. The practical aspects of the field are being learned through internship and experience-which makes architecture school an opportunity to develop creative skills and supplementary ways of thinking. Others may correct me, but most top schools lean theoretical (albeit different types?) and I think it might be a mistake to discard some of these programs. Your son has a while before he has to decide/apply so he should do some more research before making that choice. Btw-- I will be going to a school that isn’t very “practical” so I may be a bit biased.</p>
<p>i don’t see the theoretical and practical as necessarily separate…they supplement each other. a school like cornell produces graduates in high demand because the theoretical training helps them to become good thinkers. you have plenty of time after you graduate to be practical and apply theoretical concpets towards the practical. cornell, while theoretical, is far more formalist and traditional than a lot of the schools such as Sci-Arc or columbia. i would highly recommend cornell as one of your son’s top choices. the undergrad education you get at cornell is amazing and probably one of the best… i highly recommend it. </p>
<p>oh if you’re looking at a VERY practical school, try drexel. i don’t think syracuse or usc would be your top choices if practicality is what you’re looking for. both schools start you off on a very theoretical track</p>
<p>I know a student at Drexel and he loves it. He has had many opportunities to do real world projects and recently spend a semester (or year?) studying in Italy. He has a few offers of employment and he hasn’t even graduated yet.</p>
<p>Drexel is big into co-ops in all areas, which is very practical.</p>
<p>As I USC grad, I would consider them to be a well balanced school. They’ve got a base of core requirements that every architect should take (structures, history, theory, drawing, etc.) but then have more advanced electives on both the theoretical and technical sides that students can pursue as their interest dictates. In the working world I’ve met people much more theoretical than me, but also some that had a much more technical education, so I feel like USC played the balancing act pretty well.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard a lot of very good things about Cincinatti (and no, not just on this board).</p>
<p>Check the faculty lists of each school. You should see a good mix of degrees–with a heavy concentration of Ivy/West Coast/International degrees. You should see plenty of young faces–30 something or younger. It’s an old man’s profession but the young teachers are the ‘hot’ tickets in schools (says me). Verify Penn State and UI in particular. Those degrees will not translate as well on either coast. PM alan ARch for his opinion of UI.</p>
<p>Look at the lecture series for the past few years. Do you recognize any of the names? Does the work interest your son?</p>
<p>In general–and this is ONLY my opinion–you are completely overthinking the Practical vs Theoretical education. There is one essential practical skill your son will need–super-fast AutoCAD skills and/or CATIA and modelmaking skills. Those are the practical skills which will make your son worth his pay grade in an office–and those skills are well taught (or simply demanded) in both theoretical and practical education venues. For example, one of the reasons Cornell grads are so popular is that they arrive with superior skills. Whatever it is about their Theoretical program–they turn out grads who are highly dextorous in an office setting. Maybe it’s the sheer volume of design work they must present? Maybe they only take super-fascile students?</p>
<p>In any event, new grads never arrive ready to detail buildings or make site visits or present designs to clients. I wouldn’t trust one who had learned detailing from a teacher anyway. We teach them how we do that.</p>
<p>I do not have experience with all of the schools that you mention, but I can tell you what I look for when I hire new graduates. It does not matter to me where the faculty went to school, or how old they are, or who they brought in to lecture, what I care about is the work they show me in their portfolio and how they speak about it. </p>
<p>I want to see great drawings and models of BUILDINGS. They can be wild or conventional, but I want to see that the student has a three dimensional understanding of the building; plan, elevation, and section. Something intended for human occupation. When I see drawings that consist of collages of ripped up magazine pictures, and models made out of crumpled tracing paper wrapped in wire, it givers me no confidence that this person will be able to contribute to the design process in the office.</p>
<p>Most schools will post their student work on the website, it will give you a good idea of what to expect. When I looked at Cornell, they still seem to be developing students with strong skill at creating buildings. I’m sure there is a great deal of theoretical thought behind it, but the work seems to have a rigor behind it that is missing in a lot of other schools. I would look at the work at some of the other schools you mentioned. I would also look at the Design Intelligence survey as a general guideline.</p>
<p>As far as software, I want to see designers with strong skill in a 3D modeling program. form.z would be ideal for us, but I can live with Sketchup or Max. A basic knowledge of Autocad is good, but Revit would be better. Just be prepared to keep learning throughout your career, because this is going to be changing a lot.</p>
<p>I recently spoke to a principal of an international architecture firm headquartered in Chicago about undergrad programs. He said that over the years he has been most impressed by graduates of Rice and Cincinnati.</p>
<p>My daughter just completed her sophomore year in the U of I in Champaign arch program. She is convinced that she is receiving excellent academic and design grounding. She has had some outstanding faculty, some good and 1 boring. She has had outstanding TA’s and 1 that was not. She’ll be participating in the Versailles program next year. I understand that it is one of the best (if not the #1) architecture study abroad programs available. Finally, if you’re an Illinois resident and tuition is at all a factor, you’ll be in for a terrific value for your money.</p>
<p>My daughter just completed her sophomore year in the U of I in Champaign arch program. She is convinced that she is receiving excellent academic and design grounding. She has had some outstanding faculty, some good and 1 boring. She has had outstanding TA’s and 1 that was not. She’ll be participating in the Versailles program next year. I understand that it is one of the best (if not the #1) architecture study abroad programs available. </p>
<p>If he ultimately wants to remain in the Chicago area or the midwest, the U of I has many alumni in the area. If you’re an Illinois resident and tuition is at all a factor, you’ll be in for a terrific value for your money. She is already building a great network for the future. She worked for a small, local architectural firm last summer and is working for a larger firm this summer. The small firms are seeking freshmen and sophomores so it’s a great opportunity to get some exposure and strengthen AutoCad skills in a real world setting. Many of her classmates have similar summer jobs. Their career fair is attended by firms from all over the country. I believe there were more than 100 firms (it could be closer to 200) in attendance this year. Naturally they were looking for juniors and seniors, but it was a great start.</p>
<p>My son just recently added USC. He will be visiting USC next month and will be talking to someone in the architecture school there. He originally considered the University of Kansas. Does anyone have an opinion on UK? I understand they do not have a BArch anymore but their MArch is a 5 1/2 year program, similar to the BArch but 5 1/2 years. The 1/2 can be during a summer in school, studying abroad, internship, etc.</p>
<p>Momoftwins: Thanks for the info. His concern with U of I is it is a 4+2 program and he prefers a 5-year BArch program.</p>
<p>Everyone, thanks for the info. He originally had Cornell as his first choice. I will talk to him and see if he will change his mind.</p>
<p>His big concern is that most architecture grads end up working in the region where their school is. He prefers to work in LA, SF, Chicago, NY, Philadelphis, or New England area.</p>
<p>I think USC gets a little bit of a bad rap -partying/football even though it should be considered one of the better Barch programs. There new dean should really push it forward- in the next ten years I think that it will be regarded as one of “best” programs in the US.</p>
<p>msheft, we recruit in this part of the country, and KU is a solid well respected school. We see significant firms from all over the country recruiting there during career day, so we are not the only ones that think highly of the program. Schools change, but over the last five years in the Southwest the best students we have seen have been from UT Austin and Rice, with UT Arlington, KU, Iowa State, and K State in the next tier. We visit a lot of schools because one thing we have found over the years is that the best student from a mediocre school is better than a mediocre student from the best school.</p>
<p>As long as you are sending an application to KU, I would also send one to UT Austin. Better program, nicer campus, better football team (no, I did not go there). They have become very selective with 1600 applicants for 80 positions, so you will be surrounded by some really bright kids.</p>
<p>Rick, thanks for the comments. My son is visiting USC in two weeks. The visit may change his thinking but right now his top five choices in order:</p>
<p>USC
University of Cincinnati
Syracuse
Penn State
University of Illinois (Urbana/Champaigne)</p>
<p>We live in the Chicago area. The cost of KU for their 5 1/2 year program would be about the same as U of I 4+2 even with KU out of state tuition and U of I in state. ONly 10% of U of I students are out of state (this results in in state tuition higher than places that have a greater percentage of out of state students that “subsidize” in state students). Everything will also depend on the financial aid packages he receives when he applies to all the schools.</p>
<p>if financial aid is the kicker, then make sure he applies to USC by their ‘priority/scholarship deadline’, which if I remember correctly is about a month before the final deadline. The university wide scholarships that handing in your app early makes you eligible for are the best chance for serious money if he’s a good student.</p>