I aspire to be an architect but I'm wondering if it would be safer job-wise to also have a degree in engineering.
Is it possible to get a BArch (from a 5 year program) so I can start interning and get my license then get a Masters in engineering?
chigurh
Apr 26, 17 5:56 pm
yes, but you will be light years behind in the math and science required to even understand the content in which you would be required to learn and research.
zonker
Apr 26, 17 9:20 pm
how are you with calculus I and II, Chemistry, Physics and computer programming? don't kid yourself, this is deep shinola compared with the watered down version we get in architecture school
Beepbeep
Apr 26, 17 10:32 pm
Better to do a 4 year ABET accredited Engineering degree then an M.arch or just do an Architectural Engineering program.
Save yourself a massive amount of grief and just get a Civil Engineering degree. Maybe later pick up a Masters in CE. You will be working with architects, landscape architects, historical preservationists, city planners, what have you. You will earn more in a much more stable career in a collegial environment. Not dealing with the NAAB, the NCARB, or the AIA - priceless.
Schoon
Apr 27, 17 9:07 am
I agree with Beebbeeb. I was in the same position as you four years ago, trying to decide between architecture and engineering, and in the end chose an Architectural Engineering program with a structural concentration. I'll be taking the FE exam this year and will be on the path to licensure.
In my AE curriculum I definitely get more engineering than architecture. My program only required 3 architecture history courses and 2 watered-down studios to satisfy the A portion. In the end you'll be set up to practice as an engineer (there are structural and mechanical concentrations) with fairly deep knowledge of all building systems and cursory knowledge of the aesthetic principles of architecture.
As Xenakis said, make sure you are willing to learn some heavy mathematics, there is a lot of it. I'm lucky to be math-inclined, but I know people in my program who really struggled with their mechanics courses.
accesskb
Apr 27, 17 1:48 pm
Good option if you can do it. Reminds me of Calatrava or Charles Walker, the head structural engineer/principal at Zaha Hadid Architects. I believe he graduated with a Bachelor's in architecture and went on to do a Masters in Structural Engineering at Queen's College London. It'll surely give you the best of two worlds.
I aspire to be an architect but I'm wondering if it would be safer job-wise to also have a degree in engineering.
Is it possible to get a BArch (from a 5 year program) so I can start interning and get my license then get a Masters in engineering?
yes, but you will be light years behind in the math and science required to even understand the content in which you would be required to learn and research.
how are you with calculus I and II, Chemistry, Physics and computer programming? don't kid yourself, this is deep shinola compared with the watered down version we get in architecture school
Better to do a 4 year ABET accredited Engineering degree then an M.arch or just do an Architectural Engineering program.
http://www.colorado.edu/ceae/prospective-students/undergraduate-studies/architectural-engineering
Save yourself a massive amount of grief and just get a Civil Engineering degree. Maybe later pick up a Masters in CE. You will be working with architects, landscape architects, historical preservationists, city planners, what have you. You will earn more in a much more stable career in a collegial environment. Not dealing with the NAAB, the NCARB, or the AIA - priceless.
I agree with Beebbeeb. I was in the same position as you four years ago, trying to decide between architecture and engineering, and in the end chose an Architectural Engineering program with a structural concentration. I'll be taking the FE exam this year and will be on the path to licensure.
In my AE curriculum I definitely get more engineering than architecture. My program only required 3 architecture history courses and 2 watered-down studios to satisfy the A portion. In the end you'll be set up to practice as an engineer (there are structural and mechanical concentrations) with fairly deep knowledge of all building systems and cursory knowledge of the aesthetic principles of architecture.
As Xenakis said, make sure you are willing to learn some heavy mathematics, there is a lot of it. I'm lucky to be math-inclined, but I know people in my program who really struggled with their mechanics courses.
Good option if you can do it. Reminds me of Calatrava or Charles Walker, the head structural engineer/principal at Zaha Hadid Architects. I believe he graduated with a Bachelor's in architecture and went on to do a Masters in Structural Engineering at Queen's College London. It'll surely give you the best of two worlds.