This has been covered many times on here. Basically what's "BEST" may not be "best for you". Do your homework, look at every program you can, and take a good long look at the School Blog Project to see what schools are producing. Also search the forum. There's many a thread on this topic.

exactly

Use the following to access online resources on architecture programs --

www.archcareers.org

www.naab.org

Remember, there are no best schools -- only the best program for you based on the criteria you use to make this decision.

Dr. Architecture

Cooper Union is the best school.

okay, thanks for your help

if you expect to be a student who would belong at a 'best' school- then one would expect you do your research and see what programs interest you... but for my 2 cents (And these schools are VERY different):

Cornell
Cooper
Ohio State
UVA
Michigan
UC Berk
Kansas

are some of the better ''undergraduate'' schools...

McGill University in Montreal is pretty great.
University of Oregon is good if you are interested in sustainability.

my school is better than yours

My dad is a fireman and a cop and a doctor and can beat your dad up!

University of Florida. We won the championship, did you not hear?


I am serious. The best. Do a search, you'll see.

As an alumni, I have to say that RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) has a very good program. It has evolved a lot over a number of decades, but if you have the talent and the drive to work hard, it will provide an excellent education. One thing that might distinguish RPI's approach from other schools is (at least when I attended...) that they don't spoon feed you. You are expected to learn on your own accord. They will provide you with challenges, and it is up to you to figure it out. They will not "teach" you "how to design". Some people "get" it, many simply don't. It comes down to talent and determination, and being able to take initiative.

ITT Tech Institute of Drafting and Design. Havn't you seen the commercials? They train you. TRAIN YOU!


Seriously though. Just look at schools work/ lecture series/ faculty/ students/ facilities and decide for yourself. Your opinion about what you want to be in architecture will change a few times in school and the school's "goodness" will change too. Some schools that used to be the "good" schools might not be as good as they think. Takes alot of research.

That being said, undergraduate is what you make of it. Just go where you want and bust your butt there. Some of the best architects i know went to schools i've never heard of and would never think of as the "best schools".

i am the best so fuck you all. i hold the mutha fucking keys and no, you can't have them.

i teach breakdancing classes without a degree in 'street dance'

b, if only i'd of know before leaving the d, i would have hit you up for a lesson or three. i still re-watch those vids you posted awhile back of wiggles. that shit makes me want to move.

Evita, Cooper is the ghost of architecture past.

thanks, guys, this has really helped a ton.

Cooper is the ghost of the less-affluent architect's future, so unless you enjoy working for bald white men I would recommend applying to Cooper Union.

Only you can answer this question, homie.

Cooper's curriculum just spurs excitement into my undergrad experience fantasy, but when i think about it, it's seems a little bit overrated, and since i'm not from ny it would be hard to check it out or go to any open house.

As a Cooper Union student, I would like to give an observation. Yes, it is true that the current status of the school is not what it once was but, one must remember that it was also never what we have imagined it to be.

Today, the school does not operate how it once had, contrary to many people's beliefs. Although Hejduk is gone, his legacy is not trying to be relived. Under the instruction of Dean Vidler and many other brilliant faculty members, multiple pedagogies and ideologies have been brought to the table. Some of these ideas would have never tolerated under Hejduk's supervision. This is a good thing.

The important thing to remember is that what Cooper has always provided, is the ability for a student to find there own voice and, I assure you that it is still happening. You can be as nostalgic as you want but, at the end of the day, it is undeniable that Cooper is still a good school and provides an extremely strong undergrad (and now masters) program.

Is Cooper Union still free?
I applied there many years back but got rejected...those jerks ;)

Cincinnati
Pratt
UVA
Michigan
UC Berk
AA Dip
Rice
Cornell

Cooper is not on the radar anymore, sorry.

And yes, it's still free.

these are top m.arch programs or b.arch programs

i'm going to have to agree with mjh33.

for one, if you accept a list that someone terms as being 'on the radar' you do not belong at cooper. and don't mistake this to mean that cooper students either live in a vacuum or arrogantly deny any 'radars' that are out there.

the school fosters an environment and attracts the student who is concerned with engaging in the ultimate form of academic exploration with the highest care for intelligence, articulation, and craft. and by craft, i do not simply mean how clean your miter joint or precise your construction lines are (which, by the way, are both clean and angelically precise).

from the day you walk through the front doors, you are taught how to respect space, how to move in space, how to see space, and how to craft space as a means of caring for your environs. cooper has also diligently denied jumping on the latest trend-wagon, i.e. caring for your environment is not reduced or equated to learning the tricks of 'sustainable design' but considered in a broader context across multiple disciplines.

at cooper, you will see a 17-year-old present a project at a jury and engage in an idea that will blow your mind. and then the next 17-year-old will get up and do the same thing. and then, and then. . .

this is not because everyone is trying to be 'different', but rather because they care so damn much and, this is critical, have the brains to push their limits and engage in unbelievably complex and inventive dialogue. and if you can't do it, you simply don't last very long.

and despite myths, there is no lack of knowledge or capability to produce scripts in rhino or detail a roof connection.

the end of year show is coming up soon, i strongly encourage people to attend.

when is the year end show by the way?

cooper gets me excited, even though i should probably not be considering another undergrad degree.

RISD is good too.

oh, mjh33 and uhhhhh, you slay me...

do cooper student study abroad

WOW...seem i am going to the best undergrad program this fall

undergrad is what you make of it. no such thing as "best/ better". I know peeps from just about every school listed above and alot of them suck hardcore/ didn't get into grad schools.... I went to Kentucky, not really on anyone's "top" list/ on the radar, but almost all my friends got into their top choices grad schools/ working for their top choice firms (harvard, ucla, penn, rice, columbia, sciarc etc etc/ SOM, graft, morphosis, berke, lewis tsurumaki lewis, reiser + umemoto etc etc.). Just goes to show you that no matter what school you go to, some cool shit could be going on there that you wouldn't know about if you went just on "reputation"/"radar"/ etc

does lebbeus woods still teach at Cooper?

my 2.5 cents

Best undergraduate program...

is the one that fits your interests and stimulates your development as an architect

I visited eight schools when I was doing my undergraduate search and I ended up going to the second one I visited.

The design intelligence list is a good start but until you really go there and talk to professors AND STUDENTS (non-tour guides) you won't know if its a good fit.

That being said I'd endorse the following schools based on the people I've worked with

Ga Tech
Cincinnati (I'm an alum so I may be biased)
Auburn
Cornell
Va Tech
Kansas
UVA
UT Austin

Best of luck in your search and get that SAT as high as possible!

oh, danny wills, you slay me...