which ever one gives you more money, if they are the same Michigan has a better rep but i think they are overrated 

Have you visited both? What are you personally interested in?

Driko - I do not get fundings from Umich and still waiting to hear back from UT Austin about funding decision. 

Janosh - I won't have any chances to visit the schools as I am international student who is currently living outside of US. 

Laurila - thank you for your response! I am leaning more toward Umich now. The only concern is that I am not sure if it's worth it to pay full tuition. 

Hi! I currently go to UT.

The school is really good---it's a little more conservative than UMich, but it's also a guaranteed thorough education.

We are better value than UMich, which was a huge factor for me, and the student body is really great. The atmosphere is generally very supportive and friendly. (I have someone standing over my shoulder right now as I write this, talking about how we can convince you!)

We have a really good balance of theory and practicality; you're required equal amounts of construction and theory classes. Oh! We also have PRP, which is a work placement program, which can place you in almost any firm around the world. My TA worked for Snohetta, someone else worked for Renzo Piano's Building Workshop.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!

P.S. The gun thing: no architecture student here carries or (that I know of) supports concealed-carry. We advocate pretty strongly against it as a department.

Hello! I am a graduate student in UT Austin ( M. Arch I), doing my second semester. I am international as well ( from Malaysia) so I understand your concern of not being able to visit the school to decide. UT Austin is a great school and I am glad I chose UT over the others. I was accepted by several other institutions but ultimately picked UT for the reasons below: 

1. The program is more thorough and promising compared to other schools', emphasizing on both theory and practice ( some schools focus on one more than the other) which means you will definitely get the most out for your education with UT. 

2. The school really helps you achieve your own career goal, whether through funding, mentorship etc. The faculty body of the school and alumni coming from UT, compared to other schools are just generally more prestigious, needless to say, that means tones of connections and opportunities for you if you come to UT. 

3. Austin is one of the most beautiful, affordable and convenient cities to live in. I would definitely pick Austin over Ann Arbor if I were you ;)

4. We have a very diverse, talented and competitive student body, which means you will get to learn along with some of the big-names-to-be at the school. 

The school of architecture is generally against the open carry and working very hard to ensure the safety of the students so it is definitely not something you should worry about. 

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

racecaryaya and mabel_loh - thank you for responding! You both covered all the information about the program at UT Austin that I was looking for. And I can tell you guys are enjoying the program. I guess I need to think more about it.

Ruili8 Glad to help! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other question :)

Hi! I am a current student at UT in my second year of the M Arch program. I was also deciding between the same two schools: Michigan and UT. I think both are great programs, but have some important differences you should consider.

Firstly, Michigan is hands down a much larger program with more faculty and students. This produces a very different academic environment. While larger programs like Michigan tend to have more funding for things like large fabrication facilities and research projects, smaller programs like UT provide the opportunity to make meaningful and lasting connections with professors. For instance, TA-ships are quite common and attainable with professors you know at UT, there is a lot of student-faculty collaboration and research, students often intern for professors’ firms over the summer etc.  

Second, like some others already mentioned, UT has a good balance between practice and theory (Michigan is a more theory -driven program). Personally, I was interested in a program that would prepare me to graduate after 3 years and hit the ground running in an office. UT is definitely preparing me for that. As you make your decision, you should consider the extent to which you want to spend your time in graduate school researching/exploring theoretical concepts (Michigan) vs focusing on pragmatic considerations related to spatial experience, structure, etc (UT). 

Lastly, UT’s programs differs fundamentally from Michigan’s in that students of different backgrounds and experience levels are intentionally combined into classes at UT to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration. That means students with an undergraduate background in architecture are placed in the same studio as students who studied biology, sociology, or philosophy in their undergraduate career. Students in year 1 and year 2 are also combined into the same studio setting. The goal is create a collaborative community of interdisciplinary learning. I believe at Michigan that incoming students with a background in architecture are on a separate course path from students without a background.

The last thing I will say is that Austin is such a cool city to study in! Of course, the weather and music scene are both great. But the students and faculty at UT’s school of architecture are also a very welcoming and close community. I can say that all the graduate students I know at UT are ambitious, talented, and hard-working without the competitive attitude at a lot of east coast schools. Its truly a community focused on collaborative learning. 

Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision! 

@Ruili8

If you can't tell, we all heard about this post from each other and flooded the board.

s_s4546 - thank you so much for responding with great detail about the program at UT. I would definitely consider the facts you mentioned. 

racecaryaya - I really appreciate the fact that you guys took time to give opinions about the UT program. These opinions are very helpful. You guys are awesome!