Currently I work as a CAD Technologist for a design firm in Vancouver, and am looking to move forward and get my Undergrad in Architecture/Architectural Science depending on the school in the near future.
Currently my portfolio consists of many technical drawings and renderings, however when applying for schools, what should an entrance portfolio consist of?
Also, any recomendations of schools in Canada? Waterloo, Dalhousie, Mcgill etc.?
McGill tends to look down at students coming from an architecture technology background. You will still need to complete a preliminary year of hard sciences (physics/chem/math), if you aren't coming from a Quebec CEGEP background.
I would recommend Dalhousie as its BEDS + MArch degree, as its one of the quickest ways to complete your degree and offers a great opportunity with their COOP terms. I've combed through several of their student portfolios and have seen a number of students with past experience as a technologist. I haven't attended Dal (hoping to do my M.Arch there), but from my research and visits, they have an older and more experienced student body than McGill, which takes students directly out of highschool/CEGEP.
Most schools look more for creativity and 'artistic' potential (in terms of designing spaces/architecture) than actual hard skills in drafting and rendering. I would include some more conceptual work, as well as hand drawings/sketches if you have the skill.
I'd say don't include more than a page or two of your technical drawings. The admission panel is more interested in seeing your creative work. For Waterloo, they can be anything - paintings, sculptures, poems, graphic design, photography, dance/music performance, video etc. I hear Waterloo is one of the best schools to get your undergrad. Unlike some schools that tend too be too artistic or technical, they seem to place equal emphasis on design, technology, building science and are especially well known for their iconography course, their Rome semester during the fourth year and more importantly, their co-op terms. You'll have about 6 internship experiences minimum by the time you graduate and won't have trouble finding work at all. The program is very intensive and competitive mind you. If you can survive it, you'll survive in any workplace and won't have trouble getting hired. Waterloo students are well respected all around the world. I can't say the same thing about their masters though. Many Waterloo grads go on to do their masters at schools like Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Yale, Columbia etc.
Oct 21, 12 7:56 am ·
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Undergrad Entrance Portfolio
Hello,
Currently I work as a CAD Technologist for a design firm in Vancouver, and am looking to move forward and get my Undergrad in Architecture/Architectural Science depending on the school in the near future.
Currently my portfolio consists of many technical drawings and renderings, however when applying for schools, what should an entrance portfolio consist of?
Also, any recomendations of schools in Canada? Waterloo, Dalhousie, Mcgill etc.?
Thanks
UBC has a Bachelor of Environmental Design if you want to stay in Vancouver.
McGill tends to look down at students coming from an architecture technology background. You will still need to complete a preliminary year of hard sciences (physics/chem/math), if you aren't coming from a Quebec CEGEP background.
I would recommend Dalhousie as its BEDS + MArch degree, as its one of the quickest ways to complete your degree and offers a great opportunity with their COOP terms. I've combed through several of their student portfolios and have seen a number of students with past experience as a technologist. I haven't attended Dal (hoping to do my M.Arch there), but from my research and visits, they have an older and more experienced student body than McGill, which takes students directly out of highschool/CEGEP.
Most schools look more for creativity and 'artistic' potential (in terms of designing spaces/architecture) than actual hard skills in drafting and rendering. I would include some more conceptual work, as well as hand drawings/sketches if you have the skill.
I'd say don't include more than a page or two of your technical drawings. The admission panel is more interested in seeing your creative work. For Waterloo, they can be anything - paintings, sculptures, poems, graphic design, photography, dance/music performance, video etc. I hear Waterloo is one of the best schools to get your undergrad. Unlike some schools that tend too be too artistic or technical, they seem to place equal emphasis on design, technology, building science and are especially well known for their iconography course, their Rome semester during the fourth year and more importantly, their co-op terms. You'll have about 6 internship experiences minimum by the time you graduate and won't have trouble finding work at all. The program is very intensive and competitive mind you. If you can survive it, you'll survive in any workplace and won't have trouble getting hired. Waterloo students are well respected all around the world. I can't say the same thing about their masters though. Many Waterloo grads go on to do their masters at schools like Harvard, Princeton, Michigan, Yale, Columbia etc.
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