I'm having the same issue right now

hi gmcsmith and opje,

I wrote about this in another post, but I was in the exact same position last year. I received my undergraduate degree in art history and I didn't have extensive work and nothing architectural to include in my portfolio. I was freaked out about it for months and then one of my friends recommended Arch +Design Admissions (http://www.archdesignadmissions.com/).

I was kinda worried about whether it was a scam but I checked it out. Then I used them and it was wonderful mostly because they could tell me what worked in my portfolio and essays and what didn't while in the discussion boards people can give you advice but they don't see your work so I never found it that helpful.

I thought I would pass along the info. I hope it helps!

Hey gmc,

if your struggling for direction, check out last year's MArch 2011 thread to see the direction people went in, and join in the conversation at the 2012 thread. 

Though I am also applying to schools this year (and so can't profess to be that knowledgable), I would believe that you should go beyond sketching into different mediums and hopefully into projects (perhaps 3D or installation) that will begin to tackle space and interaction (haptic? visual? audio?).  I believe it would be important to show you can think beyond pure representation.... with that said, it is less about medium than about showing what you can do, so if you can do all that in sketches, then...yes.  But invest in some software...or try your hand at sculpting something.

HI gmcsmith,

I can't speak for other schools or admissions committees, but when I'm speaking with applicants to the M.Arch program of NJIT's College of Architecture & Design, I always encourage the submission of a portfolio that shows the full range of the individual applicant's abilities and interests. Good sketches are always part of that, but we are as interested in the work you are doing right now as the best work you've done in the past, and we are also committed to cross-platform and multiple scale design and visualization. Ideally, applicants will have prepared themselves for graduate work in architecture by making strides toward visual literacy in both hand-drawing and digital formats, and the portfolio will not only show good work, but will show continuing engagement with a variety of modes of visual representation, both two and three-dimensional, as well as some examples of work in plastic arts.

Because the M.Arch program here at CoAD is extremely focused on digital design, particularly generative design, it is now fairly typical for many students without prior degrees in architecture to be admitted to our program conditionally, with the requirement that they take and successfully conclude a basic digital design course in the College of Architecture & Design's School of Art + Design, prior to matriculation in the M.Arch program.  Additionally, students with prior degrees in Architecture whose portfolio indicate that their experience with digital design is limited to representational design are given initial placements in our foundation studio so they can adjust their approach accordingly in their first semester.

It's also worthwhile to think of the portfolio itself as a design statement and a demonstration of craft. I would argue that every prospective architecture student should invest in a copy of Harold Linton's Portfolio Design, now in its fourth edition. The book is a great reference, not only as a guide to building a portfolio that will get you into grad school, but also as a guide to the kinds of work you need to save along the way in order to put together an attractive and effective professional portfolio down the line.

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!

Fred Little

Manager, Graduate Programs, NJIT College of Architecture & Design