I've seen people who graduated top universites get fired. It's not the college, nor the degree(s) but the person that matters.

Any architecture school that is accredited by the National Architecture Accreditation Board (NAAB) is should be considered a safe architecture school to get your training.

The quality of each one of the schools differ greatly as each university is funded differently and each architecture school might have a completely different culture. Don’t let the name of the school deceive you too! Some universities that are little known have outstanding architecture schools and some schools that have reputable names have mediocre schools. Also there have been some arch schools that have had faculty problems and some that have flirted with the danger of losing accreditation.

But there is no such thing as “tiers” in arch schools.

Just beware of colleges that offer degrees like “Bachelor of Architecture Technology” or something around those lines because in all likelihood, they are not accredited.

Also if you already have an undergraduate degree in anything, you can just go for a three-year Master of Architecture.

yeah, no bachelors degree yet...so I'm taking the long route. and UNLV doesn't have a 5-yr program.

I know UNLV is accredited and all, was just concerned since they are never included on any ranking I've ever seen.

If they don't have a 5-year program, then it's not a B.Arch. degree. I'd look into it before forking over any tuition money.

Architecture school rankings are strictly arbitrary and confined to the options of outside parties like Design Intelligence, Arch Record, and such.

All that matters is how good your work is.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Once you are working, no one every cares where you graduated from, or what your gpa was, etc. they only care about your performance at your job and professional experience. Stay in school and learn for your own benefit, but don't get too hung up on it in terms of career advancement, that will come when you get out in the work force and prove yourself.

Ok here's the deal...

UNLV is a 4+2 program. That means that you have to get your bachelors of arts in architecture and then if you stick around for another 2 years and enroll in their masters program, you will have an acredited degree. so that will be 6 years.

What you may want to do is get your Bachelors and then go to another school for 2 years (it's just two years!). I will tell you that it is always better if you have your undergrad in one place and your masters elsewhere.

Good luck with your architectural endeavor!

Helpful website:

link

Go read Venturi/Scott-Brown and make the most of your education & location. Vegas could be a fantastic place to study.

Living In Gin: even though its a preprofessional 4-yr degree its still a bachelors in architecture, does B.Arch specifically refer to the 5-yr professional degree?

The B.Arch. specifically refers to the NAAB-accredited professional degree, which is a minimum of five years.

The 4-year degree is either a BA or BS in Architectural Studies. Although this will likely be accredited by whatever entity provides accreditation for the university in general, it is not a professional architecture degree. If the university is referring to this degree as a "Bachelor of Architecture", then they're being very misleading.

Upon completion of a 4-year BA or BS in architectural studies, you'd still need to attend 2 to 3.5 years of grad school for a professional degree in the form of an M.Arch.

According to NAAB, UNLV does not have a professional undergraduate program in architecture; they only offer the M.Arch.

Professional architecture programs in the US

weird, per UNLV's website, they actually call it a BS in Architecture...

http://finearts.unlv.edu/undergraduate.html

The name of the degree varies by school, but the 4-year BA or BS is not the same as a 5-year B.Arch.

living in gin,
He does not have to go to the M arch program at that point, depending on where he wants to practice. The 4 year degree is still accepted in some states. Even without a degree he could become licensed in some states as an experianced architect route. But I'd agree that the 5 year degree is preferable to the 4pre-prof degree and if he does the 4 he might as well do the extra 2 for his masters.

on the fence, give me a list of states that accept a four year pre-professional degree for eligibitity to test. that list ain't gonna be long. you need a professional degree from a naab accredited school, i.e. a 5-year b.arch or an m.arch. as lig stated, in terms of professional licensure there is a world of difference between a b.s. in arch and a b.arch.

zd, i would suggest boning up on the professional licensing process before getting too far along in your school applications.

jafidler -

States that allow registration without NAAB Degree:

California
Arizona
New Hampshire
Idaho
Washington
Wisconsin

States that accept "experience" as an alternative to NAAB Degree:

New York
Tennessee
Maryland
Colorado
Georgia
Hawaii
Maine
Missouri (only until 2012)
Nebraska
Oklahoma (board's discretion)
Oregon (must complete some special program)
Pennsylvania
Texas (??)
Vermont

I'm unsure about reciprocity in states that do require a NAAB degree, though.

really - the reason to get an accredited degree is mostly for employment purposes (and a masters - especially if you want to teach, or find a job at a good firm). You can get licensed without it, it'll just a take longer and you'll experience some prejudice against your educational choices. You could be the most brilliant designer that ever lived, but if you don't have the credentials there are a lot of people in this field who won't take you seriously.

so - get the NAAB degree... it'll make your life a lot easier.

i'm surprised. that's a lot more than i was expecting though that does of course raise the question, "what constitutes 'experience'?"

in any case, zd, it is highly unusual to go the "experience" route. (i believe the experience route is really there as a way to grandfather in architects who became registered before the current system was put in place and was not intended as an "alternate" path to licensure. correct me if i'm wrong.) unless you fancy yourself a buck-the-system kinda individual (and lord knows there are a few of us out there. ayn rand be damned!), i would still suggest researching the standard path to registration.

jafidler - "experience" is typically at the licensing board's discretion - but there is usually a time frame of around 4-12 years experience in the field. In the first states I mentioned, I believe almost all of them allow you to get licensed with just a HS degree - but you'll need more years of experience.

I disagree about the "grandfathering" - architecture school is expensive, and if an individual does not have affordable avenues towards getting a professional degree, then why restrict the profession to people of a certain economic class (especially if the state does not have a public architecture program)? I understand the attempt to make sure that only highly competent people become licensed, but I think that the people making these rules haven't given much thought to everyone they might be excluding.

for example - in most graduate architecture programs there is a minimum GPA requirement for admissions. I've noticed that a small number of these actually offer exceptions to those who exhibit strong potential in the field. I think it's unfortunate to completely restrict individuals based on something as specific as GPA when any number of circumstances could have led to poor academic performance. Same goes for licensure - it makes sense to be restrictive, but it's very short-sighted of states to only have one very narrow way towards becoming a professional.

thanks for all of the comments and ideas.

I have every intention of completing the 4+2.

My main concern was that finishing my bachelors at a lower-ranked school might either hinder me professionally or make it more difficult to get into a stronger masters program.

clearly, I was confused about some terminology. I certainly understand the difference between the preprofessional 4-year degree and the professional 5-year degree...I just didn't know that the term "B.Arch" specifically referred to one and not the other! thanks for setting me straight!

Ohio State University is definitely a second tier school. Don't go there.

It won't hinder you professionally as your work and your character is --for the majority of us that don't have money & connections-- what gets you a job in the world of architecture, not the name of your school.

HOWEVER, different schools attract different types & levels of teaching talent (as well as levels & types of student talent, and you'll be learning from your peers as well as your teachers). Different schools have different budgets for things like: lecture series, class size, field study trips, computer labs & equipment, model-building and woodshop equipment, etc. These differences CAN be a hindrance if they are either not the right match for what it turns out you are interested in, or if for some reason they contribute to an environment that isn't the best for you personally to learn in. This would be the case with any school -- fancy private to city-college-on-the-cheap. Learning architecture I think, more than other professions, is about the right personal fit for you. So as much as possible, allow for yourself the possibility of selecting from a wider pool of schools.

Also, if you know you're going to be stuck at such-and-such school, and you know they (for example) don't offer any field study trips, make a POINT of overcoming that in your own self-education. If they don't have much of a woodshop, find ways to learn how to build things on your own. If they don't have great lectures, find out what's going on at Sci-Arc, UCLA, and USC, and make the occasional time investment to drive into LA for a lecture. etc etc etc

Some of the states that toaster oven mentioned USED to allow experience as an alternative to the degree, however, Georgia for instance made a law that said you had to have turned in a letter of intent that you were going to pursue the experience by 2003 or something. So...its a little late in some cases. I would check the actual state rules on licensure.