TA and GA positions at SCI_Arc only go to 2nd year and above students and you will be asked directly by the instructor to be their assistant the following year. So the only way to get one is to be the instructors favorite and even then that might not do the trick. It's very political.

I never had one, but I hear the pay is pretty weak for the amount of work that is expected of you, although that depends on the class and instructor. Some of the faculty tend to use their GA's as instructors.

really? i suppose that's why there's no information about it on the website. too bad. when i did undergrad, there were a bunch of TA positions, and as I mentione above, they offered full tuition waiver for the semester plus some extra money. maybe b/c it was a large state-school.

hey, since you're on here anyway, let me pick your brain on sci-arc. about the M.Arch 2 program, there's an opportunity to o study abroad at various institutions internationally. do u know if that extends the length of the program. i.e. would a student need to stay an extra semester to pick up classes he/she is required to take?

In the March2 program you can choose to study abroad only during your 3rd semester.

The first 2 semesters, or first year, is pretty structured and these classes are what they use to fulfill the requirements of the degree accreditation. Typically students don't even have electives during this year because it's an additional class at this point.

The 2nd year (semester 3 and 4) are less structured and allow the you to pick your studio(s) and a fair portion of your classes. This is when you could choose to travel, but only during the Fall (3rd semester) because the Spring is Thesis Prep. The only requirements you would miss by traveling is a Professional Practice class and your Theory elective that could be made up in the Spring during Thesis Prep.

The only downside of the travel is that aside from the Studio credit, the remainder of your credits count as electives. When you return in the Spring because of Studio, Thesis Prep and the 2 classes you missed in the Fall you don't get to take any electives. With the March2 program only being 5 semesters, and really only 4 after you subtract Thesis you do really miss out on a lot of what the school has to offer. The school has been thinking about eliminating travel for March2 because of this reason.

Keep in mind that outside of the Vico and Japan programs it can sometimes be difficult to travel anywhere else.

Thanks for the insight. I somewhat thought that the school encouraged the study abroad b/c it seems as though they advertise having relationships with many schools on their website - exchanges with Aarhus, Delft, Ibero-Americana, Applied Arts Vienna, Stadelschule, Ecole Paris. Maybe this is geared more for the B.Arch students, I'm guessing.

Scholarships aren't offered to 1st year incoming, only continuing students. Do you know if there is a good amount of them to go around? Or just a handful.

Danke!

There are not as many as it seems like there could be. I think only about 5 or 6 people in the entire graduate program end up with a scholarship although I know they are trying to put more funding towards it so there might be more by the time you are eligible.

This is in general a big difference between public universities and private schools. The smaller, more expensive, and more specialized a school is, the less likely it is to have good TAships.

As someone in the thick of it all just thought id throw out there that this past year their were 16 scholarships awarded to returning students and only 50 ish students even submitted their portfolios for those scholarships. they are varying amounts from 11,000 to 3,300. TA positions are paid for out of Federal Work Study, which is 3,000 per year. A TA will get 750 per semester for a 3 credit class or 1500 for a studio level class. As far as the level of politics involved in getting said TA position, I can say that I asked the instructor,and showed interest and now have the TA I wanted, so I think being proactive helps_ though am not ignorant to the politics that are involved at sci-arc. Also even if you don't get the TA you can always work in the library, cnc shop, woodshop, print center, and sci arc store at a 10$/hr rate (part of the same work study above) which, if you work all your hours, would be 1500 fall and spring even your first year there. So to recap, the money isnt flowing but its there and if you work hard are proactive you can get some of it, ie actually applying for the scholarships etc. Hope this helps.

damn...only $1500 a semester for studio? wow, guess that difference b/w public and private universities really is large. but yeah, 16/50 for scholarships makes pretty good odds. not plannng to work this year, hopefully to ease my way into the program, but am looing at the potential to reduce student loans next year. would be really keen on working in the cnc shop. thanks, rob(E). very helpful!

best job is the bookstore or the library. you actually have to do work in the shop where in the library you get paid to work on your homework.

you mean you don't get to do some snazzy experimentation in the shop? bookstore sounds fun too - i heart books.

meh. they tell you models/3D prints are required for passing studio/thesis/etc. I beg to differ.

everything rob(e) said paints an accurate picture. remember that sci-arc, because it's a private institution and not a university, does not have an endowment.

there aren't many books at the "bookstore," which is actually called a supply store. however, when it's not busy and things are in order, you are allowed to work on school/personal things. in the shop, you actually have to help students, clean, check equipment in/out, etc.