I am sophomore at swarthmore in pennsylvania.
(I'm a foreign student and english is my second language)
I'll probably major in political science. The courses i took for the last two years are mainly in social science and math. But, I recently got a huge interest in architecture and right now i am seriously considering a master degree in architecture. In ligth of that, for this summer, i'm going to enroll in one of the summer discovery programs, either at harvard or columbia. i'm also considering to pursue minor in engineering, focusing on structural engineering.
What can I do for the next 1.5 years to maximize my chances for grad school admission? And beyond that, what would you suggest me to do? I already looked at grad school websites and I hate to post I-know-nothing-what'd-i-do kind of question, but it's sort of hard to find someone who can give me advice here. So, help me out! :)
Drop a line when you have time. Right now, i think my top choice is princeton.
The minor in structural engineering is interesting, but is it possible? - check with your school. This will pay off after you enter the workforce and give you a head start in archi school. Will you be both an engineer and architect? Cha-ching - $$. An architect who does your own structural design?
Anyways, to develop towards architecture admissions - draw, discover, critique, travel, take pictures of stuff, develop opinions about your surroundings. Your eyes are part of your brain. Learn to use that dormant part of your brain and eyes. Explore why you want to go into architecture. Meanwhile, read some other posts here.
there are a lot of good school options for non-arch-undergrad majors, as most big schools have MArch3 programs. I myself did such a program after majoring in English/Philosophy, and the best advice I can give you is not to try too hard to do what you think you should be doing as someone interested in architecture and not studying it right now. I know this is confusing advice, but what you should do is continue to cultivate your interest in architecture through general awareness, some relevant art/drawing and art history classes, and lots of thinking about why you actually want to be an architect. I wouldn't personally recommend the engineering minor. It'll just clog up your schedule with required courses for the minor while not adding much to your attractiveness as a potential architecture student. I'd instead focus on strong but selective liberal arts coursework with some relevant electives (literally, 1 good one a semester).
MArch3 programs know that the students they attract don't have the background and are willing to accept that fact and give it to them. Doing that work for them won't result in any advanced placement or additional financial aid, and may very well increase your frustration at haveing to take similar classes over again at the graduate level in order to fulfill requirements.
The best thing you can do is to be the best poli-sci (int'l studies would be a good focus here) major you can be and wow them with your intelligence and commitment on that front. Develop some drawing skills and general art history knowledge along the way and you're good as gold.
I wouln't give up too easily on your desire to do both architecture and engineering. Yes, as DB pointed out, your schedule will be clogged up, and it will be difficult to pull off - both degrees are a lot of hard time consuming work. That said, if you feel the drive and motivation to do it, then by all means do both. The combination architect/engineer is a rare one for these reasons -- it's difficult. But to have a seamless thought process in which you know the direct structural outcome for what you design is priceless. Much of the frustration in architecture has to do with a constant battle between architect and engineer. By being both, you are eliminating the headache, and more importantly better equipped to "push the envelope."
Good luck too you!
as far as getting ready for grad school (portfolio stuff) if you are in the New York area over the summer check out the summer courses @ Cooper Union. I’ve taken a couple of drawing classes there; they have everything from the beginner to advanced. It’s a good experience and you would be surprised at what you can accomplish over the summer for under $500 DRAWING & PAINTING
good luck
Feb 23, 05 12:45 pm ·
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M.Arch for liberal arts BAs
Hey all,
I am sophomore at swarthmore in pennsylvania.
(I'm a foreign student and english is my second language)
I'll probably major in political science. The courses i took for the last two years are mainly in social science and math. But, I recently got a huge interest in architecture and right now i am seriously considering a master degree in architecture. In ligth of that, for this summer, i'm going to enroll in one of the summer discovery programs, either at harvard or columbia. i'm also considering to pursue minor in engineering, focusing on structural engineering.
What can I do for the next 1.5 years to maximize my chances for grad school admission? And beyond that, what would you suggest me to do? I already looked at grad school websites and I hate to post I-know-nothing-what'd-i-do kind of question, but it's sort of hard to find someone who can give me advice here. So, help me out! :)
Drop a line when you have time. Right now, i think my top choice is princeton.
thanks!
The minor in structural engineering is interesting, but is it possible? - check with your school. This will pay off after you enter the workforce and give you a head start in archi school. Will you be both an engineer and architect? Cha-ching - $$. An architect who does your own structural design?
Anyways, to develop towards architecture admissions - draw, discover, critique, travel, take pictures of stuff, develop opinions about your surroundings. Your eyes are part of your brain. Learn to use that dormant part of your brain and eyes. Explore why you want to go into architecture. Meanwhile, read some other posts here.
there are a lot of good school options for non-arch-undergrad majors, as most big schools have MArch3 programs. I myself did such a program after majoring in English/Philosophy, and the best advice I can give you is not to try too hard to do what you think you should be doing as someone interested in architecture and not studying it right now. I know this is confusing advice, but what you should do is continue to cultivate your interest in architecture through general awareness, some relevant art/drawing and art history classes, and lots of thinking about why you actually want to be an architect. I wouldn't personally recommend the engineering minor. It'll just clog up your schedule with required courses for the minor while not adding much to your attractiveness as a potential architecture student. I'd instead focus on strong but selective liberal arts coursework with some relevant electives (literally, 1 good one a semester).
MArch3 programs know that the students they attract don't have the background and are willing to accept that fact and give it to them. Doing that work for them won't result in any advanced placement or additional financial aid, and may very well increase your frustration at haveing to take similar classes over again at the graduate level in order to fulfill requirements.
The best thing you can do is to be the best poli-sci (int'l studies would be a good focus here) major you can be and wow them with your intelligence and commitment on that front. Develop some drawing skills and general art history knowledge along the way and you're good as gold.
good luck
just go to your branch tech school and learn how to do cnc programming with a minor in literary criticism
I wouln't give up too easily on your desire to do both architecture and engineering. Yes, as DB pointed out, your schedule will be clogged up, and it will be difficult to pull off - both degrees are a lot of hard time consuming work. That said, if you feel the drive and motivation to do it, then by all means do both. The combination architect/engineer is a rare one for these reasons -- it's difficult. But to have a seamless thought process in which you know the direct structural outcome for what you design is priceless. Much of the frustration in architecture has to do with a constant battle between architect and engineer. By being both, you are eliminating the headache, and more importantly better equipped to "push the envelope."
Good luck too you!
as far as getting ready for grad school (portfolio stuff) if you are in the New York area over the summer check out the summer courses @ Cooper Union. I’ve taken a couple of drawing classes there; they have everything from the beginner to advanced. It’s a good experience and you would be surprised at what you can accomplish over the summer for under $500
DRAWING & PAINTING
good luck
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