Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
University of Southern California (USC)
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
Kansas State University
B. Arch or M. Arch?
So I am a rising senior in high school and I'm considering architecture as a future career. However, I'm not really sure what to do for college.
What I am choosing between right now is taking the five year B. Arch, or studying something else for undergrad and getting the M. Arch after that.
My reason for studying something else for undergrad is so that I can learn other skills and become more well rounded, rather than focusing solely on architecture. I know that architecture is not really a stable career so I guess having that other skill can give me something to fall back on. Also the "masters" on the degree might look better when I'm looking for a job.
I could also just dive in and get the B. Arch so I could get licensed and try to find a job. This seems more direct but I don't know whether I would want to change professions or something like that.
So I guess my question is: do employers look at the masters degree more highly than the bachelors? If I want to go into architecture is it worth taking something else for undergrad and than getting the M. Arch or should I just dive into the B. Arch?
I'd appreciate any input, I've been stressing about this problem for like a year now and I need to make a decision soon. Thank you!
We do not pay much attention to BArch vs. MArch when hiring. Meaningful architectural or construction work experience is more important to us than the type of degree earned.
For what its worth, there are very few white collar jobs that have an clearly stable outlook 30-50 years out. The only things I think are secure from being replaced by artificial intelligence and robots in the near term are trades like air conditioning repair and plumbing. Some of the richest people I know started out in plumbing and a/c and now own their own businesses.
Since you’re a rising senior, you have some time before you really start college. If there is a community college nearby, I would suggest seeing if they have any drafting or drawing classes that you can enroll in. A lot of community colleges will let you take classes even though you haven’t graduated - and some may even work with your high school to give you credit. Another idea is to find an architect in your area and ask them if they have 30 minutes or so to come take a look at what they do. Just getting your feet wet and understanding what we do everyday may help you make your decision.
You should consider taking compute programming classes, in that computational design, where you write software for parametric design programs will be the necessary skill in the near future, in fact it already is. AI will be used in architectural design.
https://sfdug.org/
http://dynamobim.org/
If you have dreams of owning your own business, the undergrad option could relate to business operations. Architects are terrible business people.
Thank you all for the advice and resources I really appreciate it.
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