Which schools have B.Arch's?

College Majors Architecture Majors
1

<p>Hey guys, I’ve been putting a random list of schools together and I would really like to know which of the following colleges offer B.Arch’s, which one’s offer B.A’s or B.S’s in architecture, and which colleges offer both. Here’s the list:</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>UVA</p>

<p>Notre Dame</p>

<p>Maryland: College Park</p>

<p>Syracuse</p>

<p>Tulane</p>

<p>Northeastern</p>

<p>U Minn: Twin Cities</p>

<p>UNH</p>

<p>Penn State</p>

<p>Temple ¶</p>

<p>Philly U</p>

<p>U Pitts </p>

<p>Michigan State</p>

<p>THANKS!!!</p>

2

<p>SORRY TO BE THIS FRANK BUT…this is such a basic question that if you are old enough to be applying to college, you are old enough to look at each one’s website and read about which architecture degree program they offer. </p>

<p>Folks on CC are very helpful but a rule of thumb is to do some basic exploration and homework yourself, and then come here and ask specific questions that cannot be as easily found on the website. Perhaps next you might ask where each school is located? Research each school. Take notes on a spreadsheet or in some format that is useful to you. Come to CC and ask specific questions that show you have explored some and need answers that are not on the site or you want to know of personal experiences and things of that nature.</p>

<p>I do not say this to be mean but for your OWN good. </p>

<p>I also don’t think you can expect posters to volunteer such basic information that you can research so easily if you took a few minutes.</p>

3

<p>What the heck! He’s new and this ain’t music theater! :wink:
I can speak to UVA, having been in their first graduating class of BS-Arch students . . . . thirty-six years ago. The four-year program really works well if you’re not sure Architecture is the career for you, or you really want a liberal arts education to go with your architecture skill set. It’s also not impossible to transfer into the BS program even after two years of non-Arch curriculum. Ask me how I know that!</p>

4

<p>ouch soozievt, but you’re right. Its just that when doing my research I’ve found different sources telling me different things. </p>

<p>I guess what my more specific question is, if it would hard to go from a B.A/B.S and transfer to a B.Arch or vice versa? But Proud Dad already answered that so I guess the matters settled. </p>

<p>However, any more random info about any of the schools would be appreciated!</p>

<p>ps. I’m a girl</p>

5

<p>

And good for you! Sorry, the “guys” thing threw me off. :wink: UVA is a great school, the architecture school and faculty are top-notch, and I believe as a DC resident you are considered in-state for UVA. I hope you have a chance to visit, even if it is a construction zone at the moment. The advantage of the four-year BA/BS programs are that you can go in and go out without really losing out toward a major. Many of UVA’s Arch grad students came from arts & science under-grad curriculum. Back then, one summer school was all it took to transfer into Arch as a third year, or to enter the grad program with a BA in anything else. Check with the schools to see what they say about it today. I phone call will answer a lot of specific questions in a short time.</p>

6

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<p>Well, the source you should look at is the website and course catelog of each of the schools you are interested in. People could tell you something here, but they could be wrong. Go straight to the source.</p>

7

<p>Proud Dad,
This is a little off topic, but do you think a person with a BS/BA + MArch is at an employment disadvantage as compared to a BArch + MArch? (I don’t remember seeing your opinion on this, and I really can’t read through nearly 300 posts!). Thanks!</p>

<p>PS - I’d also like to ask if a student goes the BS/BA route, should the major be something called “architectural studies”, or can it be anything at all as long as prerequisites are met?</p>

8

<p>You’d better ask someone in the business; I’m not. My degree says “Bachelor of Science - Architecture”. I can’t believe that if you go the Masters route through either path that the route would have any effect on employment. Certainly by that time your talent and skill would be the primary measurement.</p>

<p>Don’t bother checking my posts. AFAIK this is my first thread on Architecture and I’m not practicing.</p>

9

<p>Senior, </p>

<p>I apologize for being harsh and you likely got the brunt of my observing many students who ask a very basic question that can be found right on colleges’ websites, that I finally spoke up. So, I was speaking up about many who’ve done it and you were the one hearing my “vent.” Are you, well, a “senior”? Your name seems to imply that you are. This is very late to be formulating your college list and doing the very basic exploration of colleges, such as what degree they offer. I imagine you are NOT trying to enter BArch programs as anyone attempting that admissions process would need to be further along by now as a portfolio is usually required. As well, entering a BArch program is making a firm commitment to this major and to a laid out program of studies that forms a big percentage of your coursework. One should not enter a BArch unless certain they want to go into this field. You appear uncertain, and not yet prepared, as well, and from the little you have shared, I’d encourage you to look at BA or BS programs that offer architecture. </p>

<p>I do not have time to look up all the schools you mentioned but I agree with larationalist that you should not only NOT be asking that question on a board like this, nor consulting other resources but you should be going straight to the source of EACH school…start with their website. I have rarely seen a school website that doesn’t show what degrees are offered (thus my initial response to you, as that information in on a school’s website…where you should begin, before posing questions here). If you are still unclear after looking at each school’s website, call them directly. Once you have done your research, come to CC where lots of people are willing to help. But most are going to expect you looked at the very basics on your own before you posed some further questions. </p>

<p>I do not have the definitive answer for you but I think most schools offer one arch degree or the other and not both a BA/BS AND a BArch but I could be wrong. I have a daughter in a BA in Architectural Studies degree program and when she looked into colleges, they had either a BA/BS OR a BArch. She ruled out the BArch programs, but is now applying to MArch programs.</p>

<p>In a subsequent post, you asked if it is hard to transfer from a BA/BS to a BArch and vice versa. Then you said that Proud Dad answered your question. I think you misunderstood Proud Dad. I believe Proud Dad went from either no major or another BA major into the BS in Arch. He didn’t transfer from a BA/BS in Arch to a BArch or from a BArch to a BA/BS, which was your question. He can correct me if I am in error. What he did was to go within a school, into a new major, but that major was a BS. Back to YOUR question, I don’t have the definitive answer but my gut feeling is that you cannot transfer into a BArch program, or if you did, you may have to start with the first years as it is a very very set curriculum (kinda like engineering programs). However, you could switch out of a BArch program if you found it wasn’t for you. BUT many schools with a BArch program, do not ALSO have a BA/BS in Arch and you’d be switching to another major or you could transfer to another college that has a BA/BS in Arch. Switching out of a BArch is doable but I don’t know that switching INTO one is. </p>

<p>But the nature of your questions spells in my mind…that you should be considering BA or BS programs and not BArch ones. A BArch program is for someone very sure and ready to make that commitment. I know my D was not ready to commit to Arch at 17 when she hadn’t yet studied it enough to be sure, as well as she didn’t want an undergraduate degree that was pretty set in courses and wanted a broader liberal arts background. She chose schools that offer a BA in Architecture in case she wanted to study it which was her inclination at that point and indeed, is what she has done (she is now a senior in college). </p>

<p>I don’t have time to look up all of your schools but off the top of my head, I know that CMU, Syracuse, Tulane, and Penn State are BArch programs. I really do believe such information is on each college’s site. I don’t know where you are looking but you mention “different sources.” I don’t know why you are not going directly to THE source, the colleges themselves. I also would not rely on a message board for that sort of important information. I would use the message board to discuss things that are not basic information on each college.</p>

<p>Also, asking for “random information on these schools” is also the kind of post that doesn’t get as many replies. It is so general and would be like asking us to do your research for you. What is preferable is that you do some research on each school and then ask SPECIFIC questions that arise when you read about the school. There are a lot of helpful folks on CC who would then try to answer your SPECIFIC questions (that also are not basic to be found right on the college’s site). So, do some exploration. Then, come back. Ask specific questions, not “what do you know about 15 different schools?”</p>

10

<p>Last time I looked (a couple of years ago), Tulane had a 5 yr March. I can’t recall the exact path, but there’s likely an intermediate BA in Arch on the way to the March.</p>

<p>Northeastern is a 5 year BA because it includes several coop opportunities.</p>

<p>I agree that it’s time you hit the college websites. It doesn’t take that long and it’s the only way to know for sure what program they offer. Good luck.</p>

11

<p>I haven’t looked at Tulane. However, last year, my daughter was doing a semester abroad through Syracuse (which has BArch and MArch students). One of her roommates was in the five year BArch program at Tulane.</p>

12

<p>I live with two people who have 5-year M.Arch’s from Tulane. It would be odd to have two differently accredited programs of the same length at the same institution. This is a primary example of why the schools themselves will have the best information for you- already we disagree here!</p>

<p>As far as BS in Arch Studies vs. other degrees, the difference is that it will take longer to get your M.Arch (3-3.5 years) if you have an unrelated degree than it will if you have a BS or BA in architecture (2-3 years). This is not because of pre-requisites, but because of design studios. 2 years would not be enough for someone with an unrelated background who happens to have taken history and physics. I personally doubt whether 3-3.5 years is, but it’s certainly better than just 2.</p>

13

<p>^^^Sorry on the mix up with Tulane! I just knew my D’s roomie abroad was an undergraduate in a five year program in Arch there and I assumed that meant a BArch but now that I am looking at their site, I see that the program is a five year MArch degree program and I never had heard of that. So, there you go…gotta go to the direct source!</p>

14

<p>Hey everyone thanks for the help !! </p>

<p>Soozievt, you’re right, I’m not 100% sure that I want to go into architecture, so I’m going the BA/BS route then getting my masters. [hopefully]</p>

<p>Do you choose whether you want to graduate with a BA or BS degree or do some college’s have purely BA or BS programs? Does it make that much of a difference in the long run if you recieved a BA or BS, as long as you get your masters in order to be accredited?</p>

<p>On the question of if I am a senior or not, I am. Its just that the more research that I do, the more my list changes. Its not that I’ve just started making my college list or research, its just that I’ve just been changing my mind a lot. </p>

<p>When I ask for “random” information about the schools, I’m asking about those quirky things that aren’t going to be on a college website. Something that makes the college stand out.</p>

<p>And I’ve been working nonstop on the final pieces of my portfolio so I’m not worried about that. </p>

<p>Yo Proud Dad, I’ve visiting UVA Nov. 9th! </p>

<p>Again thanks!! </p>

<p>ps. DC public schools aren’t known for their spectacular help. and i’m a first gen, so no help from the parents either. It’s been a hard month which is only going to get harder. my research continues!</p>

15

<p>Senior 008 - call the Arch school at UVa and schedule a visit. If they’re still doing the same thing as 2 years ago - we had a 3rd year student give us a tour of the building, introduced DD to other students and invited us to return during the studio class.</p>

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<p>From what I’ve seen (someone please correct me if I’m wrong), colleges offer either a BA or BS. I’ve seen more BA’s than BS programs. I haven’t compared cirriculum closely, but my guess is that the BS programs might have more emphasis and requirements on building/engineering types of courses.</p>

17

<p>Don’t forget to add University of Cincinnati.which is more highly ranked than that found in many of the schools noted above. It even has a strong PAID coop program where you will get 1.5 years of experience.</p>

18

<p>If you plan to be a practicing architect, you must be licensed so you will want to attend a program that is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in order to sit for the licensing exam.</p>

<p>On the NAAB website, you can easily look up which of the 117 colleges offering degrees in architecture offer the B.Arch. and which offer the M.Arch. Here’s the link:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.naab.org/cal_cat1724/cal_cat.htm[/url]”>http://www.naab.org/cal_cat1724/cal_cat.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>entomom- some offer both, like ASU. And some offer a BS and a BArch, like USC (the BS is pretty new).</p>

20

<p>I believe the answer is quite simple:</p>

<p>Assuming you do want to become a licensed architect,</p>

<p>A B.Arch or BAR is a 5 year undergraduate course, and should be from an accredited university.</p>

<p>After the B. Arch you can go directly into internship and then the NCARB exams to become a licensed/or registered architect. The total time is usually 8 years plus what it takes to pass the exams.</p>

<p>Or, with a B. Arch you can get an M.Arch, usually in two years. This may lessen the required intern time. This then may take 9 or 10 years plus exam time.</p>

<p>With an undergraduate degree in any other field you usually can then get a M. Arch in three years. This also may take 9 or 10 years plus exam time.</p>

<p>Some schools only offer an M.Arch and others both an M.Arch and a B. Arch.
Some schools require a B.Arch for taking an M.Arch.</p>

<p>Accredited Architecture schools include:</p>

<p>Cornell University (one of the first to allow women)
Harvard (only graduates)
Washington University (St. Louis)
Syracuse
University of Southern California (USC)
Sci-Arc
University of Penn.
Yale
Princeton
Univ. of Calif. Berkeley
UCLA</p>

<p>As you have been advised, check out each school and what each one offers. Keep in mind, Architecture is one of the hardest majors to enter and to stay, particularly as an undergrad in a 5 year program.</p>