I am going to be applying to schools this Fall and am trying to find schools that best fit what I am looking to learn. I just finished the Harvard GSD Career Discovery program and realized I don't want to go to a school that focuses solely on design and would rather find a school that would allow an M. Arch student to at least get some background in things like structural engineering and sustainable design. My end goal is to do residential design/build(I have been in the construction field for almost 4 years now and am a GC at the moment) and am hoping to find a school that caters towards both ends of my interests. I have heard that some of the state schools offer more on the technical end of things in comparison to the private institutions like Harvard/Yale etc. can anyone elaborate on that claim? Also I saw that UC Berkeley offers a dual Masters program in Architecture and Structural Engineering, but I'm not sure a 5+ year long program is really possible for me. Any advice on whether my ambitions are even possible with an M. Arch degree or advice on what schools may best fit what I am looking for would be great.
Thanks in advance!
Beepbeep
Jul 28, 15 7:25 pm
Yale all first year student do a design/build project a design and construct a house Yale first year building project. That would be my suggestion for the ivy school. Or look into other state school with a solid design/build program such as Utah,Colorado, Auburn,Vtech, and I am sure many more I think UIC you can do a M.arch and MS SE.
s=r*(theta)
Jul 28, 15 7:50 pm
IMHO you get out of any program what you put into it. if you want to focus more on being sustainable & structures then you can do it anywhere. you have to remember the school is first and foremost a business, so as long as you are paying they will offer you classes on how to watch paint dry. I would suggest going to the college of engineering, connecting with the right person(s) and asking them about engineering classes more indepth than those offered in your arch program or a minor or certificate in fundamentals of structural/ civil engineering.
As far as sustainability you don't need college to teach you that & sounds like a bit of a joke coming from some one who desires a design /build firm and works as a contractor. so unless ALL your future clients are gonna want you designing and building them tree house's with a place for their bicycle & a place to bathe in grey water, i wouldnt sweat it!
ame7156
Jul 28, 15 8:12 pm
The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign offers several dual master's degree programs, including two different joint M. Arch + Civil/Environmental Engineering programs (one is for a Civil Engineering degree in Construction Management, the other is for a Civil Engineering Degree in Structural Engineering). Dual-degree programs take three years to complete as opposed to the typical two years. You can also use a regular two-year Master of Architecture degree from there to become a licensed structural engineer if you take the right electives (they are very difficult, but require few prerequisites).
ame7156
Jul 28, 15 8:14 pm
I am, by the way, currently a grad student there obtaining a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Civil Engineering, CM degree simultaneously.
WGEIngraham
Jul 30, 15 12:09 pm
"As far as sustainability you don't need college to teach you that & sounds like a bit of a joke coming from some one who desires a design /build firm and works as a contractor. so unless ALL your future clients are gonna want you designing and building them tree house's with a place for their bicycle & a place to bathe in grey water, i wouldnt sweat it!"
I'm a little confused about this comment....I understand I don't need college to teach me sustainability, you don't really need college to teach you anything, but it sure does help when you are being taught by experts in the field. On the same note I do agree you can get whatever you want out of a college as they will cater towards your desires, but not all schools have experts in every aspect of the field, which would limit what the school could give back to you.
Also you can interpret "sustainable design" in a lot of ways, but my desire is to at least move towards a better standard as the current practices are still no where near what they should be. No I won't find clients that want to go off the grid and have a house with 0 carbon footprint, but as someone who sees himself being involved in the construction of many structures over the next 50 years I feel a need to learn as much as I possibly can about what is/isn't sustainable for the sole reason of being able to implement those practices whenever I have the chance to do so.
"I am, by the way, currently a grad student there obtaining a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Civil Engineering, CM degree simultaneously."
How has this gone for you so far? Have you found it to be worthwhile from a design standpoint?
ame7156
Aug 5, 15 6:42 pm
So far my experience at UIUC has been very good. It seems like an odd choice to go there when there are many good schools in Chicago, but I really believe in the graduate school there and I think more of the major firms in Chicago are hiring grad students from UIUC than B. Arch from IIT and some of the other competition.
As far as the double major, I am definitely more of an architect than an engineer but I do think that it impresses employers to leave school with a double major or dual-degree. In my opinion, it is evidence that you can be taught many things that are necessary to become a leader in the architectural profession other than the sometimes impractical or theoretical approach taken in many architecture schools.
Hey All,
I am going to be applying to schools this Fall and am trying to find schools that best fit what I am looking to learn. I just finished the Harvard GSD Career Discovery program and realized I don't want to go to a school that focuses solely on design and would rather find a school that would allow an M. Arch student to at least get some background in things like structural engineering and sustainable design. My end goal is to do residential design/build(I have been in the construction field for almost 4 years now and am a GC at the moment) and am hoping to find a school that caters towards both ends of my interests. I have heard that some of the state schools offer more on the technical end of things in comparison to the private institutions like Harvard/Yale etc. can anyone elaborate on that claim? Also I saw that UC Berkeley offers a dual Masters program in Architecture and Structural Engineering, but I'm not sure a 5+ year long program is really possible for me. Any advice on whether my ambitions are even possible with an M. Arch degree or advice on what schools may best fit what I am looking for would be great.
Thanks in advance!
Yale all first year student do a design/build project a design and construct a house Yale first year building project. That would be my suggestion for the ivy school. Or look into other state school with a solid design/build program such as Utah,Colorado, Auburn,Vtech, and I am sure many more I think UIC you can do a M.arch and MS SE.
IMHO you get out of any program what you put into it. if you want to focus more on being sustainable & structures then you can do it anywhere. you have to remember the school is first and foremost a business, so as long as you are paying they will offer you classes on how to watch paint dry. I would suggest going to the college of engineering, connecting with the right person(s) and asking them about engineering classes more indepth than those offered in your arch program or a minor or certificate in fundamentals of structural/ civil engineering.
As far as sustainability you don't need college to teach you that & sounds like a bit of a joke coming from some one who desires a design /build firm and works as a contractor. so unless ALL your future clients are gonna want you designing and building them tree house's with a place for their bicycle & a place to bathe in grey water, i wouldnt sweat it!
The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign offers several dual master's degree programs, including two different joint M. Arch + Civil/Environmental Engineering programs (one is for a Civil Engineering degree in Construction Management, the other is for a Civil Engineering Degree in Structural Engineering). Dual-degree programs take three years to complete as opposed to the typical two years. You can also use a regular two-year Master of Architecture degree from there to become a licensed structural engineer if you take the right electives (they are very difficult, but require few prerequisites).
I am, by the way, currently a grad student there obtaining a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Civil Engineering, CM degree simultaneously.
"As far as sustainability you don't need college to teach you that & sounds like a bit of a joke coming from some one who desires a design /build firm and works as a contractor. so unless ALL your future clients are gonna want you designing and building them tree house's with a place for their bicycle & a place to bathe in grey water, i wouldnt sweat it!"
I'm a little confused about this comment....I understand I don't need college to teach me sustainability, you don't really need college to teach you anything, but it sure does help when you are being taught by experts in the field. On the same note I do agree you can get whatever you want out of a college as they will cater towards your desires, but not all schools have experts in every aspect of the field, which would limit what the school could give back to you.
Also you can interpret "sustainable design" in a lot of ways, but my desire is to at least move towards a better standard as the current practices are still no where near what they should be. No I won't find clients that want to go off the grid and have a house with 0 carbon footprint, but as someone who sees himself being involved in the construction of many structures over the next 50 years I feel a need to learn as much as I possibly can about what is/isn't sustainable for the sole reason of being able to implement those practices whenever I have the chance to do so.
"I am, by the way, currently a grad student there obtaining a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Civil Engineering, CM degree simultaneously."
How has this gone for you so far? Have you found it to be worthwhile from a design standpoint?
So far my experience at UIUC has been very good. It seems like an odd choice to go there when there are many good schools in Chicago, but I really believe in the graduate school there and I think more of the major firms in Chicago are hiring grad students from UIUC than B. Arch from IIT and some of the other competition.
As far as the double major, I am definitely more of an architect than an engineer but I do think that it impresses employers to leave school with a double major or dual-degree. In my opinion, it is evidence that you can be taught many things that are necessary to become a leader in the architectural profession other than the sometimes impractical or theoretical approach taken in many architecture schools.