today a member asked couple of questions about graduate schools. He/she does not have a degree in architecture but plans to get masters in architecture. The question was raised if he/she stands a chance against students with the background in architecture.
During my graduate studies (about 10 years ago) we were mixed with students from different backgrounds. They were of course studying a year longer than the students with the architecture background, but somehow they kept up with us. Or did they?
There were cases when studio, history, structures, theory and other professors were repeating topics that we already learned in undergraduate schools and some of the students were getting frustrated that the topics had to be repeated because there were students with us that never learned that. We were doing simple wall sections, we already knew that, but they didn't. We drew perspectives, again, but they didn't' know how to do it. They didn't know some of the most important precedents and we had to sit there and listen, again! Some people didn't even know what a diagram was, what articulation meant, what a purlin is and much much more.
Some students were so frustrated! We felt that we were wasting our time AND money and that we were not learning anything new and quit frankly I feel that I didn't learn anything new that I already didn't know from undergraduate school!
I've worked on many group projects in graduate school. My projects were a lot better when I was grouped with somebody with a degree in architecture. Teachers noticed the difference in presentation, quality of work, concepts, speed and quantity of information, so they forced us to work with somebody without the architecture degree. When they did that, I felt the entire semester that I had to baby sit, and I did. Why would I be held back because somebody else didn't study arch in undergraduate school? It is not their fault that they don't know as much as we do, but it is not also my fault either!
I know you can come back here and say NO, students should not be separated and that we learn from each other blah blah....BUT I'm curious how you feel about this topic? How was your experience in graduate schools once you got mixed with people from different backgrounds? Did you feel like you were being held back? Would you want to be separated? Do you feel like they are learning from you and that you are not getting anything in return from that? If you had group projects, did you have any experience working with somebody that doesn't have architecture background and how was it?
I've learned a lot from some of the people in my class, but I can't say that I learned anything architecture related.
Although some of your statements are a bit harsh I do mildly agree with the general premise. I always felt that the classes with students of a similar educational background to me allowed us to learn more and get more in depth discussions going than when grouped with some students with less architectural education. This was more evident with studio work, I found, than in other subjects though.
I think it comes down to the classes and the students. I concentrated on digital fabrication in graduate school and most of my studios required a strong background in modeling software and fabrication techniques. We had some M.Arch 3s that got right on top of it and picked up the skills they needed quickly and others who had to be taken through at a much slower pace. Those who put the time in were able to bring a great new perspective and really helped motivate the studio as a whole. Those who didn't get up to speed as quickly tended to drag down the rest of us a bit; so while I would have liked to lose some classmates, I was thankful for others.
Would I be willing to lose the students who advanced the studio just to get rid of the ones who didn't? Probably not.
I think when you're in the situation of watching and waiting for people to catch up, you need to find a way to lead by example- try not to get bogged down by their pace and just give them an idea of where they need to be headed. Then it's up to them.
Jul 31, 09 6:06 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.
MArch I and MArch II students to be separated?
Hello all,
today a member asked couple of questions about graduate schools. He/she does not have a degree in architecture but plans to get masters in architecture. The question was raised if he/she stands a chance against students with the background in architecture.
During my graduate studies (about 10 years ago) we were mixed with students from different backgrounds. They were of course studying a year longer than the students with the architecture background, but somehow they kept up with us. Or did they?
There were cases when studio, history, structures, theory and other professors were repeating topics that we already learned in undergraduate schools and some of the students were getting frustrated that the topics had to be repeated because there were students with us that never learned that. We were doing simple wall sections, we already knew that, but they didn't. We drew perspectives, again, but they didn't' know how to do it. They didn't know some of the most important precedents and we had to sit there and listen, again! Some people didn't even know what a diagram was, what articulation meant, what a purlin is and much much more.
Some students were so frustrated! We felt that we were wasting our time AND money and that we were not learning anything new and quit frankly I feel that I didn't learn anything new that I already didn't know from undergraduate school!
I've worked on many group projects in graduate school. My projects were a lot better when I was grouped with somebody with a degree in architecture. Teachers noticed the difference in presentation, quality of work, concepts, speed and quantity of information, so they forced us to work with somebody without the architecture degree. When they did that, I felt the entire semester that I had to baby sit, and I did. Why would I be held back because somebody else didn't study arch in undergraduate school? It is not their fault that they don't know as much as we do, but it is not also my fault either!
I know you can come back here and say NO, students should not be separated and that we learn from each other blah blah....BUT I'm curious how you feel about this topic? How was your experience in graduate schools once you got mixed with people from different backgrounds? Did you feel like you were being held back? Would you want to be separated? Do you feel like they are learning from you and that you are not getting anything in return from that? If you had group projects, did you have any experience working with somebody that doesn't have architecture background and how was it?
I've learned a lot from some of the people in my class, but I can't say that I learned anything architecture related.
Although some of your statements are a bit harsh I do mildly agree with the general premise. I always felt that the classes with students of a similar educational background to me allowed us to learn more and get more in depth discussions going than when grouped with some students with less architectural education. This was more evident with studio work, I found, than in other subjects though.
I think it comes down to the classes and the students. I concentrated on digital fabrication in graduate school and most of my studios required a strong background in modeling software and fabrication techniques. We had some M.Arch 3s that got right on top of it and picked up the skills they needed quickly and others who had to be taken through at a much slower pace. Those who put the time in were able to bring a great new perspective and really helped motivate the studio as a whole. Those who didn't get up to speed as quickly tended to drag down the rest of us a bit; so while I would have liked to lose some classmates, I was thankful for others.
Would I be willing to lose the students who advanced the studio just to get rid of the ones who didn't? Probably not.
I think when you're in the situation of watching and waiting for people to catch up, you need to find a way to lead by example- try not to get bogged down by their pace and just give them an idea of where they need to be headed. Then it's up to them.
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.