Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Is Sci-Arc a good school for B.Arch?
I am utterly confused having read several discouraging things about sci-arc? However, I still feel it is a good school. Can anyone please tell me what it's really like?
[Isn't the "exclude academia" button supposed to hide these?]
I went to sci-arc for my undergrad. I would not trade the experience for anything. It is hard...and if you are looking for the "college experience" it really isn't the school for you. The building itself is more of a laboratory than a school with opportunities to get involved in projects and installations ranging from the completely digital to the completely physical. The teachers are dedicated to their craft both within their own firms as well as in academia. The students are driven (as much as any school can be i believe...there are always the hard workers and the slackers wherever you go) But my favorite thing about sci-arc was being pushed to find who I was as a designer.
If you want to know anything specific about the program or my time there send me a PM and ill try and shed more light on it.
Roto is the man!
Jla-x Did you have Roto for anything? He was my thesis advisor
They also repeatedly have very interesting conceptual ideas and projects.
Veuxx, comparing pass rates between schools is silly. The ARE tests are nothing like the Bar exam for law or the NCLEX for nursing. The skills learned and studied for the ARE happen on the professional side of things. In my office people are 5 years out of school studying to pass them. it is professional knowledge not design knowledge taught in schools.
One can however make an argument about the culture of a school and the paths graduates tend to take. Some schools send people towards the corporate route, others towards the boutique side of architecture. Different strokes | Different folks.
You do not go to school to pass your architecture exams. You go to school to learn the discourse of architecture and design. Yes the ARE's are important to become licensed.... But that is something that can be learned from a book and shouldn't be involved in your design studios. Your three years of required internship for IDP hours are the culmination of your education and are where you pick up the skills and knowledge necessary to approach the ARE's.
TL;DR: Schools job is to teach you approach the world critically with a design mind. IDP/internship is to teach you skills needed for ARE
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