Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
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Is a MS in Health and Design an attractive/necessary addition to an M.Arch?
I'm currently applying to a few masters programs (Georgia Tech, Clemson, University of Arizona and University of Michigan) due to the availability of a master of science in health and design (or similar wording)...I'm a newlywed trying to balance choosing grad school with a fiancé exiting the military and entering the civilian workforce.
My question is: am I putting too much emphasis on this additional specialty/degree?
My ultimate dream is to work in hospital design, someday with this beautiful ideal that I'll be able to work as an adjunct professor while consulting on hospital design projects. Unfortunately, I don't know if this is even a reasonable pursuit.
Does any one out there have advice on breaking into healthcare architecture and whether or not an additional degree is vital to the process?
I didn't realize that anyone aspired to be an adjunct. Here's a sampling of article titles I found in a 10 second web search:
Professors on food stamps: The shocking true story of academia in 2014
Adjunct professors get poverty-level wages. Should their pay quintuple?
Your College Professor Could Be On Public Assistance
And, you might want to do an informational interview at a firm that specializes in hospitals. Not very interesting work, IMO.
I worked one of the larger regional healthcare-focused firms for a few years, and none of the leadership there had any degrees specifically related to that focus. This is not to say that it might not be a good idea - just that it's by no means required for entry into the field.
What most of them did have was ACHA certification - but that only requires a few years of documented experience in healthcare architecture, letters of reference, an exam, and annual dues... www.healtharchitects.org
You should probably do some research - at least read the bios of healthcare architects on their firms' websites.
What I would say is that it's not as easy to move into a healthcare architecture firm later in your career than it is to start there at entry-level and move your way up. If you think it's what you want to do, get as much experience as possible early on in specifically in firms with that focus. If you decide you don't love it after all then it's a lot easier to broaden your focus and get your next job at a firm with a different specialty than it is to spend your early years on schools or residential or hospitality or whatever and then try to move into healthcare as something higher than production staff.
As for adjunct faculty: that's quite easy - I got my first adjunct teaching gigs by word of mouth recommendations from professors for whom I'd been a teaching assistant in grad school. But it's not necessarily a track you want to stay on for the long term...
Thanks for your thoughtful response kjdt.
Having experience in healthcare is probably more immediately beneficial than education about it. However, an MS might be a good influence in the long run. I don't think it does that much for you on paper, but that's not everything.
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