Archinect
anchor

4+2 or is it 3?

I received my four year undergrad degree (Bachelor of Science) from the University of Michigan back in 2005 and have worked out in the "real world" now for a few years and, like many of you, am looking to head back to grad school soon. The colleges that I've looked into have, for the most part, offered three year Master's programs, 84 credits plus. Are there ways to test out of some of those courses in order to get your academic requirement down to two years, or am I pretty much going to have to find an NCARB certified school that will let me do a program for two years?

I ask because I know U of M has what they call a 2+2+2 program where you get your liberal arts (2), undergrad architecture (2), and your graduate architecture (2) experience all at once... and in six years, not seven.

 
Jul 9, 07 6:20 pm
le bossman

it depends on where you go to school. most schools like michigan are 2+2+2. but often schools which don't have undergrad programs force you to earn an "advanced placement" status in order to get into the 2 year program. everyone else is 3+, regardless of whether you have a b.s. or not. i would theorize this has something to do with tuition fees, in order to make up for a lack of "bulk" student fees coming from ugrad.

Jul 9, 07 7:20 pm  · 
 · 
Bloopox

Even some of the schools that do have undergrad programs don't typically allow advanced standing.

If you've identified some schools you might be interested in then contact them and ask some questions. Also see if you can get in touch with current or recent students there who are graduates of your program.

Be aware that while many programs do allow you to place out of certain courses based on duplicate undergrad courses, many of these programs will still require that you accumulate the same number of credits - so opting out of a few core courses just lets you take more electives, but doesn't let you finish any faster.

Jul 9, 07 7:45 pm  · 
 · 
THREADS

also most of the 3 year programs are usually 3.5 which then easily can become extended to 4 due to thesis or travel or mental breakdowns.

Jul 10, 07 9:51 am  · 
 · 

I did a 4 + 3, BS in arch. for undergrad then an March. About half of the people in my three year program came from a similar background.

There was no Advanced Placement offered in my program, but you did get out of a lot of required classes if you could show that you had taken equivalents. This gave us a chance to take more electives, so that was cool.

Jul 10, 07 12:28 pm  · 
 · 

Right now, I'm in NYC so I'm looking at Columbia, Parsons, and Pratt. I wanted to get a little knowledge under my belt about what people have done in the past and experiences they've had in 2 or 3 year programs before contacting the schools. I appreciate all of the feedback, thus far.

Jul 10, 07 11:12 pm  · 
 · 

Block this user


Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?

Archinect


This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.

  • ×Search in: