hey, UBC would be study abroad

they also have abroad programs.

i've run into a sh*t ton of UO grads in the NW. most seem to have done the studio abroad (rome)

i will say vancouver is probably a much better city to study architecture in, over eugene.

both schools have community outreach studios, or at least used to.

I'd say UBC as well...I got into both of those schools as well and through my own research I was much more impressed with UBC. Also, I have been talking to a few professors here at my current university and one of them said that the last few students they sent to Oregon didn't really like it (and that was to the portland program), enough so that they wanted to transfer back.

Not sure about tuition at UBC as a foreign student, but Vancouver is a heck of a lot more expensive cost of living than Eugene...or Portland for that matter. Additionally, since you are not a Canadian resident you might want to double check your opportunities for taking part time work in Vacouver while in University. Things to consider since after you graduate and start working few people will care where your diploma is from, but I'm sure you will care a lot about the monthly payments on your debt.

>NoNameNum3: do you know what it was about the program at UO that those students didn't like?

>aquapura: actually tuition is considerably cheaper at UBC, since I would be paying out-of-state tuition at UO. Good point about working in Vancouver while at University though. I should double check with the adviser.

Thanks so much for your responses!

can anyone who posted here last year comment on their choices. I am in a similar point-- where I am considering UBC, Oregon among others I have been accepted to.

Vancouver only has a high cost of living if you want to own a house. If you're renting a place, the price is comparable to other big cities in Canada like Toronto. So if you plan on buying a house I say don't go to Vancouver unless already wealthy.

I'm also curious to know the reputation and quality of education of UBC as well.

I graduated from UBC, thought it was a good school. Good people there, good dedicated studio profs, Ray Cole is a leader in sustainability... Good design professors there... Patricia Patkau is probably the most well known faculty member in the States... Good professors in history, theory... Sherry McKay, George Wagner, Christopher Macdonald... There were regular studies abroad when I was there (including summers abroad and whole semesters- Rome, Hong Kong, Athens, Greece, northern europe... Also usually the studio options each semester included a design build studio... I graduated a number of years ago, but I believe the architecture school has since merged with Landscape Architecture... As a part of a larger university, you'll have opportunities to take interdisciplinary seminars with other schools... One course I recall taking was on "Gender and Space", which was with Womens Studies and Gender Studies... Interesting to be able to take courses with other graduate students in other fields...

The program is pretty rigorous, tough... Studio crits are difiicult, the emphasis is about half design studio and half your other core courses... The way the M Arch is structured is: first couple studios (first two semesters) are foundation studios... You take the studios with the rest of the entering class... In your second year and beyond, you are in "Vertical Studios" which are open to basically any student, so you will be taking studios with students from different years... Essentially at the beginning of the semester, each professor does a slide presentation / introduction to the studio, and students select their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices, you may or may not get the one you want... The selection process for who gets into a particular studio is mostly based on choice, but if a studio fills up, they also try to look at your overall studio work, and seek to distribute studio enrollment to give you a diverse set of experience... Overall it works out well... Graduation includes a semester of writing a paper (with a DS mentor), and then a semester of a design project with your thesis committee, which you will have to defend at the end... It's not an easy program, a bunch of people I know dropped out, or flunked out, or took more time than 3.5 years to graduate if they were struggling... Some took time off in between... It's not easy, but probably typical of most M Arch programs... But I'd say that as far as cost goes, it's alot more affordable than American schools, and you'll get as good an education as most... Professors have taught all over... Columbia, Harvard, RISD, others... I think the school did used to tend towards more of a Modernist bent, they are interested in craft and details... By that I mean a bit Northwest modern, like the Patkaus stuff etc... These days I think there's a bit more diversity, some younger profs with different interests and ideas...

Reputation wise, I'd say it has a good enough reputation... Not sure how the job market in Vancouver is these days now that the olympics is over... Probably as good as anywhere I guess... People I graduated with have been working at all kinds of firms, in Canada and in the States... Mostly in Canada... Good offices in Toronto and Vancouver mostly... A couple working in other countries I know...

I think, architecture education is anyway what you make of it... Don't expect your hand to be held... But the professors are good people, nice enough, will challenge you, won't let you off easy... I'm pretty happy with it, you need to work hard, build up a good portfolio, from my experience, looking for work afterwards it's not so much about the prestige of an Ivy league school name that matters, it's more what you've learned and how strong your work, your portfolio is...

Hey thanks for the great response Brink. Have you been successful in finding internships and jobs since graduation. Also did any of your classmates in the U.S. find work in Canada or is it hard to get a work visa?

Also can I take courses in landscape architecture on the side? I am sure I will find this out soon, at the open house. :)

I'm sure you could take courses in landscape as electives... Not sure about Americans working in Canada... I'm pretty sure if it is at the University can be done... After graduation I think maybe on TN visa as an architect? I don't know about internships... It's a tough job market right now everywhere and fir everybody but I think if you put together a strong resume and work samples you could get internships... These kinds of things are all about your own initiative, has very little to do with what school you go to IMHO...

Out of school... International students some did find work in Canada after graduation... I can think of a couple at least...

Job markets in a good year are much larger in the States tho... More firms generally...

Hi!

I ended up going to UBC, and am now working on my second semester here.
Overall, I'm glad I chose this school, but it was an extremely hard decision to make.

As bRink said, I've found the faculty here to be very passionate about teaching. I feel like they really take the time to make sure that you're learning. Everyone is very friendly, and I find that there is a lot of interaction between students from different years.

I'm currently taking a studio called "Culture of Making", which all first year students (including most advanced placement students) are required to take. This studio is heavily focused on structure, materials, and details which I'm enjoying learning about.

In regards to study abroad programs, they have a Japan semester abroad that is offered once every two years. It's a very unique program, where 15 students go with one of the professors during the fall semester and do a full course load of work while in Tokyo. They are also offering a study abroad in Brazil this summer. I think they only have one study abroad offered through the Archiecture department every summer (last year I think they went to the Netherlands) but I've also heard about one that goes to Italy through a different department that students are allowed to participate in.

As an American student, you can get a work permit after 6 months of living here (this allows you to work off-campus), and I've heard that you can work for 3 years after you graduate with your student visa. You might want to double check though. There are quite a few American students here, and I know a few that have worked during the summer or are planning on working here after graduation.

In terms of living costs, it is probably more than what you'd be paying in somewhere like Portland. BUT as you probably already know, tuition is so much cheaper than any American school, so in the end you'll be saving much more money here.

Hope this helps...

:) - thanks for the update! curious, are there opportunities to work as a TA/RA for tuition remission or a stipend for international students?

this may help:

pdx is #2 on the strip clubs per capita ranking.

so when you've had a terrible crit, you could nurse the wounds with some foul smelling hipsters over country club/rainier/pbr whilst looking at your ex-studio mate bring down twice what you'll ever see...

How much of UBC studio work is digital? Do they push digital concepts or is it more of a traditional pencil and paper-based studio environment?

This thread is making me feel more confidant with my UBC decision by the minute.

I used a drafting table maybe 1 semester while at UBC... The software I used most was Microstation, other software... Some studios used Maya heavily, some people used 3D studio or formZ... photoshop stuff... This was years ago (pre BIM) so didn't really get into things like generative components, or grasshopper, etc. while in school... But I'd imagine that they would have kept up with things... I'd say as far as media goes, it is up to you... They care more about the thought process, design concept, and finished work than what tool you use... You could CNC a model, or build a physical model, or show renderings, or hand drawings... Or photoshop collage... Build a full scale mockup in the shop... Whatever works best for you...

Studio profs whose classes seemed to be heavy on the digital visualization included: Oliver Lang, Jerzy Wojtowicz... Others... But I think overall the school cares most about how effectively digital tools are used... It's more about thought process, they don't get seduced much by smoke and mirrors, they'll kill you in a crit if you can't communicate the idea behind the digital images you create... Although they like provocative imagery, artistic communication, I think it's more about concept... There were some people who would use mixed media, prints and collage on boards as their method of communication, and that was fine too, so whatever is best to express your idea... I don't think you will learn 3D rendering or software in school, it's sort of something that you learn on your own... It's certainly not part of the curriculum, but most people end up learning the tools as they go along... Some studios which require a particular tool would offer a couple tutorial sessions with TA's that would teach you all the software... And the TA's would be there in the studio to assist you as well...

Not sure what new things the school has as far as tools go... Back in the day the computer lab was *okay*... I'd say it was sufficient, but if you wanted a state of the art machine, it's not a bad idea to have your own laptop you could bring to the studio and work on...

oliver lang still teaching @ UBC?

hmm... not sure... haven't been back to UBC in a while... i'm pretty sure he's still around, practicing in vancouver anyway...

It seems like it's exactly how bRink describes it still. Studio professors don't really care what media you use to present your work, as long as there is thought behind it and it shows your ideas clearly.

I am taking a Design Media course right now and we have covered basic Rhino and grasshopper as well as lasercutting, and using the CNC machine. We are going to cover animation in a few weeks using Maya (I think). Although the professor very briefly introduced us to these programs, it has been up to us to learn how to do what we want to do (with the help of the TA's).

Sadly, we do not have a computer lab (this was one of the greatest shocks for me, coming to this school!). There are only 4 computers in the studio shared by almost everyone in the program and maybe one or two in the downtown studio, so you will definitely need your own computer. I think it's good to have your own computer anyways, so that you can work from home if need be.

Also, I've heard of him a few times but I don't think Oliver Lang is teaching here anymore...

:) So, what I'd like to know is how they expect you to acquire the software. Is it free from the school, do they suggest you get "illegal" torrents, or do they actually expect you to pay for it? Nobody pays full price for those programs right? Coming from a visual arts undergrad I have CS4 but none of the 3D modeling programs (except sketch up of course).

I'm pretty sure they provide licenses of Microstarion to students, not sure... I would check the website or give them a call... Not sure about the other software...

Regarding Microstation, it was the first modelling software I learned in school, I found it to be a pretty robust software overall, good for learning 3D on, I've since learned to use alot of different software- autocad, revit, 3d studio, form z... Sketchup which you can anyway download for free... I think microstation is sufficient fir what you would do in school, it's a good solid modeller, you can do most thing like render, etc. Draw in 2d, etc. Not the easiest software to pickup at the beginning but it's an all in one package which will make it easier for you to learn other software later... Once you graduate, it's probably good to know a few others like autocad, revit and 3D studio, but there are also a number of offices that use microstation exclusively for everything from construction documents, bim, rendering, etc... I think most Canadian government projects are in microstation as well...

Also keep in mind you can get student licenses for most stuff who'll enrolled, something useful if they don't have free licenses, wish I had taken advantage of student software mire back in school...

The real question is -

Would you buy a "case" or a "too-fuh" to drink?