risd, houston sucks. i cant comment in depth on either school...but i visited rice and i didnt like what i saw.

Go with Rice. The weather in Houston is nice 3/4 of the year and the school (of architecture) has national renown. The area is totally walkable, shade covered, and in the middle of all the cultural parts of the city. Houston is a great city to start your career in and the faculty have connections all over.

what did u see in Rice justavisual?

RISD - one of the best summers of my life (just went for a summer intro to arch intensive thing).

Providence has come a long way, too, and is pretty nice.


Dunno, I've never heard anything remarkable about Rice in terms of architecture. Could be very wrong, though.

RISD will give you some great exposure to a lot of talent. The Prof I had was one of the best out of 7 yrs of design studios (that I had).

Yeah, and if you are not exactly sure you want to do architecture, RISD will:

1) give you great design foundation in 2d and 3d studies in your first year.

2) provide plenty of other options to explore within the school, such as: top graphic design school in the country, printmaking, furniture, textiles, glass, panting, illustration, digital media, filmmaking, animation, sculpture, the list goes on...

3) be the most exciting time to start as a RISD student. With the change in president, you will be involved from the ground up in a mini-reinvention of the school.

RISD's non-university doesn't matter in the job hunt. The school still confers graduate degrees, though perhaps is a little week in its liberal arts education for undergrads. You could always take classes just up the hill at Brown University, a prestigious ivy-league school.

At any rate, I am currently pursuing a M.arch at RISD. Feel free to email me with any specific questions you might have.

You're more likely to see snow in Rhode Island than in Virginia.

Also, the DI rankings have weak methodology, so don't take much stock in them.

From what I've been told, Houston weather will make HK weather seem cool, but I know for sure the food in Houston will be better than the other two schools, especially the Chinese and Mexican food.

Don't worry about university status or not both Rice and RISD degrees look good on a resume....

Rice is also in transition also but unlike Liebchen I do NOT think those are exciting times....

If you choose UVA make sure to research the city its in, its a lot very much smaller than the other two.


you have some killer choices, good luck.

Well, with a name like "garlicbreadman" I think you have no choice but to go to Providence, I mean RISD. The Italian section of town called Federal Hill would keep you in garlic bread for months.

Since I went to RISD I am obviously biased, and I agree with what Liebchen was saying above, it will be a really interesting time to be there with the new president and the recent expansions to the campus.

All the schools listed have good reputations and will serve you well after graduation. I can't say that any architects really give a damn about university vs. college since regardless of where you studied architecture you rarely will see the outside of your studio.

Also, not really a hell of a lot of snow in Providence, being on the bay and all. It does get the occasional blizzard that dumps enough to steal trays from the refectory in a misguided attempt to use them as sleds down College Hill.

Hi garlicbreadman.

I realize that this thread was created 3 years ago but I hope you'll respond. I can't help but find that I am in the same situation as you did: currently studying in Hong Kong (form 7 student) and considering architecture programs overseas. The only difference is that I have not applied to universities yet. I will be applying for Fall 2012.

I was just wondering if the HKAL results affect admissions in Rice and RISD. How strong do you need to be academically to be accepted to both schools?

Rice has the most national & international reach. With the help of the school, the undergrads  commonly go work for famous firms around the world in either their 4th or 5th year...I can't remember which one. It is a FANTASTIC B.Arch program. 

RISD has a tremendous foundation program based on the Bauhaus school. It is less about a particular design philosophy and more about process and experience. It has a wide range of departments from architecture through design (film, fashion, etc.) and fine art that are easily accessed to enrich and broaden your experience. You can take classes at neighboring Brown University if you like.

RISD is an outstanding facility and RISD grads are looked at with distinction.

Providence and the East Coast beats the crap out of Houston every day of the week. 1 hour to Boston, 3+ to NYC.

BFA Industrial Design, RISD 1980
 

Even though this was first posted 3 years ago, I will still comment. I think that RISD is really nice I don't go there but I did visit it. The University of Virginia is very prestigious and very well known. Virginia has a great architecture program, so does RISD.

lol i was about to put in my two cents but saw this is 3 years old

anyway. if it were me i'd choose Rice! it was my dream school for undegrad. amazing, one of the best b.arch programs.