... yes and MBA will help greatly if you want to open shop, but an MBA can also help you get a large enough salary (working in business sector) to hire architects to build your ideas. The people with the money call the shots.

I don't the real answer to this question, but I will say: I WISH MY BOSS HAD A BUSINESS DEGREE. Honestly, he seems to be just guessing about business matters most of the time. I don't come from a business background, so I don't know how much practical use an MBA is, but I really wish someone would offer a "How to run your own small business" class for architects.

I am at a large firm, and the head of our office has an BArch and a MBA. My office is well run from a business standpoint.

I'm taking my last three classes for my MBA this Spring. I think it has really helped me to get a basic understanding of the business world. Most importantly, I've taken countless classes that teach teambuilding and communication skills. Our school offers a special program for doctors seeking an MBA. It's kind of expensive, but they hold classes on Saturdays and cater meals to them etc. I wonder if there is a similar program for architects?

I'm thinking that later in life I might want to explore the possibility of working as a corporation’s in house architect. What do you guys know about these kind of positions? My guess is they probably make more than the average architect.

I don't put much stock in MBAs. Half of them are earned in part time programs at night schools or online. My take is you either have business sense or you don't. If you have it, an MBA might help you envision new and exciting ways to milk capital out of those around you, but if you just don't get business, getting an MBA would be torture.

I know for a fact that at Harvard, a real estate development MBA professor told his students to low-ball architects and take advantage of their altruistic tendencies to save money.

nobody at my firm has an MBA. i think someone should probably have one. i can see it being very useful and make an architect stand out with added skill and value.

question along the same line. what kind of MBA is necessary? If I can get an MBA in eight weeks from the internet from XYZ institution what does this mean? I still would have an MBA right?

the best way to learn how to run an office is to open one. most architects do fine. if ever your office gets to a certain size, than you have to hire a manager/business type to run things.

take the money you would spend learning about dry, useless business theories and save it for putting into a business.

you don't need an MBA per se. what you want is the knowledge of how to run a well managed, profibable firm who can balance the books and grow positively. i highly doubt by having a degree with those three letters in that order will somehow miraculously enpower one to run a well managed and profitable firm.

i agree somewhat with kakacabeza in that if you don't have any business sense then getting an MBA won't help that. there are plenty of classes at community colleges or continuing education classes that teach ways to stay on top of billing, taxes, billed rates, overhead, accounting practices, software for small businesses, etc. running a small business is similar to running your household budget. basically take in more than you spend. that's a little simplified, but the concepts are the same.

there might be some value in architecture with an MBA in managing a large firm or being able to communicate project budgets with justification for design ideas to your clients. keep in mind that your clients are not architects, they're business people. being able to talk to them in their language is a powerful tool. so, an MBA could become a marketing tool, one that sets you apart from your competition to secure a project. for managing a firm, probably has less value, but probably not valueless.

my humble 2cents.

I think it would be helpful for a large corporate firm like SOM or KPF. These firms function like other industries in the corporate world, and a key (if not primary) objective is to make money, as opposed to your average boutique. Albeit, everyone wants to make money, but htere is a key distinction as we all know. Many of these large firms have a partner or other top player whose sole responsibility is to take care of the business aspects. This is a good option for those architects out there who want to get of of the field to find something different. With an undergrad degree in architecture, why not go get an MBA, use your educational background to use and work as the business director for an arch firm?

I know UMich offers a 3-year joint degree MArch MBA program which is pretty serious, not jus tthe occasional business class here

I think that an MBA would be helpful in running a business, just as an architecture degree is useful in practicing design. People who have good business sense can run an office without an MBA, just like people who have good design sense can be designers without an March. The degree to which ANY masters degree will help depends on the facilities of that person.

i know of a handle full of mid sized firms that have a couple of design partners and one business partner. i think this is a good model. it allow each to focus on what they truly love and are good at.

Thank you everyone.
Is there a particular school/program/ concentration in a potential MBA that you would recommend?

I don't know if you necessarily need an MBA, but lately I feel very frustrated that my knowledge is very limited to architecture - in terms of work. I wish I had more knowledge of Business - in terms not only of strategy, but to better understand what the decisions behind running the firm are.. so I am not sure if an MBA would solve this, or maybe just some more experience on the business side of things - aka life/work experience

MBA or not, some background classes in business, economics and finance cannot hurt any architect interested in starting their own business. A major complaint of mine about architecture school is that they over emphasize design when in reality that is such a minor part of what we do. Granted, it's why we do it, but college don't devote 1/10th the time to professional practice that they should.

As for an MBA, I do agree that online universities and un-accredited programs have devalued the degree. If you were to get a top rated MBA it's still at a brick & mortar college and it's going to cost you. I would very much like to get my MBA (a good one) but cannot justify staying in architecture if I were to drop $50k on a degree that would only profit me if I were to leave architecture. Unfortunately arch firms don't have tuition reimbursement like corporate america does.

FYI - most people going into MBA programs are typically engineering undergrads. They love people with architecture undergrads and with a decent GMAT score you can get it.

if you have the means and you are serious about running a firm, i'd say get an mba

I do not have the means.
I am serious about running a firm though.

the other thing you can do is partner with a business/ non-architecture person. you can focus on design, they can focus on the business, together you can develop business. i've often thought tha this would make a good partnership because you're not doubling up on expertise, rather you're working with someone who has a skill set that you (or they) lack.

Its a relationship not unlike that of Georg Festrunk and Yortuk Festrunk,
two wild and crazy guys