Hi,
I got accepted to UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. I want to hear some opinions on what you think about Cal's program, is it well-known, worth it? I know that they don't offer professional degree for undergraduates, should I try to switch to other colleges or majors? Thank you!
I'm graduating from CED this may, and I can tell you that Berkeley's arch program is a mixed bag. Depending on who you pick/get as your professors, your education could be drastically different than another peer at berkeley. (Professors to 'aim' to get might include: Walter Hood, Nicholas Demonchaux, Lisa Iwamoto, Cris Benton, etc.)
nevertheless there are some real nice opportunities at Cal, if you take advantage of it. no one is going to babysit you - cal is a poor public school. As a whole, the program has a pretty strong conceptual basis, so expect to have your design process and spatial thinking challenged, but don't expect the school to teach you autocad, 3dsmax, HVAC, MEP, and other utilitarian stuff. the philosophy behind that is that the college will teach you to think, but you have to teach yourself to do.
many complain that berkeley doesn't prepare you for the professional work world immediately after you graduate, and to a degree that is true. Calpoly's professional program might do a better job at that. but if you seek further architectural education, like a master degree (which you need for a license, or to get anywhere in the arch world in my opinion), or want to work for a more experimental/research firm, or even if you want a conceptual background to go into animation, film, other types of design, then berkeley is definitely not a bad choice.
Ultimately you have to be pretty self motivated to get the most out of berkeley. but that's probably true most places.
i definitely agree with ettubrute in that the more you put in to berkeley the more you can get out. i.e. optional studios to help develop yourself. i also agree that the professors make a really big impact... and a lot of that is luck... so its kind of a draw.
but if seems like you want a 'famous' program? em. i mean on the west coast its pretty much berkeley, ucla, sci-arc, uwash... i'm sure there are people out there who disagree but yeah.
i think berkeley is good for an undergrad exposure. great place, close to sf and lots of people. yeah they don't hold your hand when they teach you the computer programs but that should never be an excuse to not come up with a great design. there are a lot of firms here to intern with and heck, its the bay!
UC Berkeley's Architecture Program
Hi,
I got accepted to UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. I want to hear some opinions on what you think about Cal's program, is it well-known, worth it? I know that they don't offer professional degree for undergraduates, should I try to switch to other colleges or majors? Thank you!
there's a UC Berkeley?
What, SBD???
nanosor,
I'm graduating from CED this may, and I can tell you that Berkeley's arch program is a mixed bag. Depending on who you pick/get as your professors, your education could be drastically different than another peer at berkeley. (Professors to 'aim' to get might include: Walter Hood, Nicholas Demonchaux, Lisa Iwamoto, Cris Benton, etc.)
nevertheless there are some real nice opportunities at Cal, if you take advantage of it. no one is going to babysit you - cal is a poor public school. As a whole, the program has a pretty strong conceptual basis, so expect to have your design process and spatial thinking challenged, but don't expect the school to teach you autocad, 3dsmax, HVAC, MEP, and other utilitarian stuff. the philosophy behind that is that the college will teach you to think, but you have to teach yourself to do.
many complain that berkeley doesn't prepare you for the professional work world immediately after you graduate, and to a degree that is true. Calpoly's professional program might do a better job at that. but if you seek further architectural education, like a master degree (which you need for a license, or to get anywhere in the arch world in my opinion), or want to work for a more experimental/research firm, or even if you want a conceptual background to go into animation, film, other types of design, then berkeley is definitely not a bad choice.
Ultimately you have to be pretty self motivated to get the most out of berkeley. but that's probably true most places.
hope that helps.
i definitely agree with ettubrute in that the more you put in to berkeley the more you can get out. i.e. optional studios to help develop yourself. i also agree that the professors make a really big impact... and a lot of that is luck... so its kind of a draw.
but if seems like you want a 'famous' program? em. i mean on the west coast its pretty much berkeley, ucla, sci-arc, uwash... i'm sure there are people out there who disagree but yeah.
i think berkeley is good for an undergrad exposure. great place, close to sf and lots of people. yeah they don't hold your hand when they teach you the computer programs but that should never be an excuse to not come up with a great design. there are a lot of firms here to intern with and heck, its the bay!
what are other choices?
ha, garpike, twas being sarcastic, lol.
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