I will be applying to their MArch program next year. I have been going to the studio reviews and lectures at both CCA & UC Berkeley and toured both. Recently I had email the dept. chair at CCA to setup a meeting with her to discuss the program offerings and how they are different from Cal which I will also apply to. After the meeting I was quite happy talking with the Dr. Berman and would be pleased if I could get into the program there. If Dr. Berman does the interview with you she is very personable person and great to talk to.

For me the reasons that the CCA program are of interest to me in no particular order:
1) Large shop and lots of hands on projects, activities, I like hands on more than strictly theoretical digital works (previous I worked doing steel fab). Although they also have all the awesome new computers, plotters, and other digital goodies.
2) Located in the SF Bay Area so I could continue to network in my backyard while I go to school to land a job once I am done
3) Many faculty are young practicing professionals in tune with current practice and movements in the industry
4) Environmentalism is an integral part of the program, evidence shows they placed third in the Solar Decathlon (1st for Architecture)
5) They make up for being an art school by bringing in professionals form the engineering field to teach the technical subjects (which being a Physics undergrad I am very happy about). CCA also partner up with other schools like Santa Clara University for engineering projects like the Solar Decathlon.
6) The program is well funded being a private school
7) A new program with eager faculty to develop a stellar program
8) Probably easier to get into than Cal, I hope so because I am not sure how well I would stand against other applicants at Cal.

Downside to CCA
1) Price, walking out with a masters degree and close to $100k in debt as apposed to Cal which as a CA resident I would only amass at most a third of the debt at CCA.
2) Cal has a respected reputation in the architecture industry and carries more weight to open up doors, CCA grad program is new and doesnt have much weight or history for their name in architecture
3) As a top rated school the student there are sure to be motivated and competitive and tough to get into, going to a private art school is far from my regular peers as an undergrad physics at a Cal State school which might be a good thing or a bad thing.
4) Now with the strain on the state budget the UC program will be stressed.

In the end the education is what you make of it not the school name or reputation. And if I was so lucky to be accepted into both and had a choice to make I would now choose CCA.

a couple of my friends go there,..I am UCLA, but I go up there to take there workshops and stuff...It looks like a great place to be in my opinion. Good vibe, nice facilties, and the classes they do on the side seems pretty advanced. I would totally go there.

and i agree, in the end it the education is what you make of it.

Hi Ian, Thank you for insight view. I have been reading a lot from school website. It is nice to know you really like the program after you visited the school. I am going to SF in late March. I would like to visit CCA and Berkeley. How long in advance should I contact the department for an appointment?

I didn't apply UCB this year. I found one stats about the acceptance rate back 2006. It is like 6% for architecture program in UCB.

I have same concerns as you about tuition and job aspect about CCA. Do you have a chance to talk about these two concerns with Dr. Berman? How does financial aid award in architecture program? I also looked over AIA SF website. It seems majority of people who practice in bay area are from UCB. Do you have a chance to talk architects in bay area how they value graduates from CCA? I am also thinking to move to SF in summer so I can gain residence for next year. How do you feel about Berkeley after you visited?

I applied to CCA, Parsons, Pratt, and SAIC this year. I found admission officer in CCA was most helpful. He always answered my emails. And, when I found out one of my recommendation letter was lost in website (It was empty when they downloaded from my application), he said I can just ask my recommender to email him. The other three either didn't answer me at all or said they will contact me if they found something missing. It basically told me don't bother them.

Hi ff, it it possible you can help me to talk your friends who are in the program?

Thank you!

skyocanwalker when you visit the school try to include sitting in on a crit review, this way you get to see the students work and listen to the gossip from the grad students about the program and faculty short comings and successes. By chatting with future fellow students you can get a pretty good vibe on a school beyond any discussions you have with the faculty. When scheduling a visit now that school is in session for the spring semester faculty will be busy so getting an appointment on short notice will be difficult.

UCB has a great program and looking at the stats they certain have their choice of picking some great applicants. And with so many qualified applicants I will still apply but I wont be disappointed if I dont get in next year.

From my understanding of the financial aid options at CCA for the architecture program there are merit based scholarships, work-study, student teaching assistants, and various other financial assistance programs available. I agree with you that there are a lot of UCB grads that practice in the Bay Area and it is tough to find someone from CCA practicing in architecture. CCA grad program is newly accredited and will probably take a few years to get a number of grads out in the industry to develop any namesake in Architecture. What I liked about CCA is that so many faculty are practicing and that as a part of the MArch program there is a required internship both of which could really help to get letters of recommendation for jobs and develop the internship into a job (which a few of the grad students at the CCA open house had done). But also there are a number of opportunities where the students are able to work with practices on certain aspects of projects and proposals. As for employers and how they feel CCA vs Cal grads, I have a few acquaintances in the hiring position at some architectural firms and they tell me evaluating a potential hire is much more about the individuals portfolio, experience, and personality than the name of the university on the degree. Berkeley is a great school and I love the campus and the city, the students in the program are super cool and the faculty there are great too. Both CCA & Cal share a lot of the same guest lecturers, I have seen some of the same jurors judging the student crits at both Cal and CCA, and even there are firms who have some staff that teach at Cal while other staff in the same firm teach at CCA, and there are projects where students form CCA and Cal even work on the same project (so I am told). Even though they are different programs I do see there there is also a lot of similarities in the program and the sharing of blood.

Probably the best person to contact to discuss MArch program at CCA and even gets grad student contact info for people in the program would be Christopher Falliers, not a friend of mine. He is a professor and a Chair in the Architecture department, he hosted the grad night and would probably gladly answer any questions you have, you can email him at cfalliers@cca.edu

skyoceanwalker I am curious why did you apply to CCA? What do you think of their program? that goes for anyone else who want to chime in I would like to here what others think about CCA MArch program.

Go to CCA, the students are prettier there.

haha okay, you might be very correct.
iancand, you are right about CCA & Cal being similar.
Most of my undergrad studio teachers in Cal also teach in CCA as well, and our studio worked on the same projects that were done in CCA, hence they brought in crits from CCA sometimes.
Just like you said, I do think CCA has more younger faculties who are working professionals well connected in SF. CCA would be a good place to build connections, which i think as important as your portfolio.

Ian, Thank you for sharing the information.

I like San Francisco. I would like to stay in SF after the school. I thought it would be better to go to the school in SF.

I mainly choose the programs within art schools because I had computer science and statistics background. I would like to be able to take classes from sculpture, industrial design,...etc. Those sort of art disciplines.

When I first heard about CCA was from SAIC(The school of Art Institute of Chicago) faculty when I visited SAIC architecture program. I asked how the director thought about the program in Chicago compared to east coast school (I am in New York). He mentioned RISD and then CCA on west coast. He thinks CCA has a pretty strong program. I haven't heard the school before. Sorry for my ignorance. Here in New York, what we heard mostly are Pratt, Parson, RISD. Then, I came home and did some researches. I have read most of faculty profiles from CCA. CCA actually has lot of full time teacher compared to other schools (That's a plus to me). I found lot of professors in the school actually doing exciting stuffs in their practice. I also watched Dr. Berman's interview in architecture daily. I really like what she said in the interview and thought about the same things about architecture.

And, it seems like CCA pushes students and faculties to all different competitions and have very good results. Winning competitions are very good ways to get started in design fields. Also, I like CCA required everyone to have internship from their third semester. I think it's very good way to get real experience too. In the end, we all need to work.

Too bad, haven't found any current student in the forum. I found two blogs from CCA in archinect. But, they haven't really posted anything yet.

skyoceanwalker I agree that CCA is relatively unknown to most, evident with the lack of discussion of their BArch of MArch program here on Archinect. I only stumbled across CCA by mapping out the schools in California on NAAB's website, and since it is so rare anyone talks about applying to CCA I am curious what you and others think about the program.

According to NAAB, BArch in CCA has almost 20 years history. It has been for a while. I search the past threads. There were only like 2 or 3. People who went to the school seemed all had very good experiences.

Besides, like you said before the education is what you made of it. I think to the end the most important thing is whether your education is worth what you paid for. You might pay for solid training. Someone else might pay for brand name. I would rather choose solid training than brand name.

I remembered someone also said in some other thread. By attending a new program, you will be the one who helps shape the program and also will be someone to build your school name. That sounds quite exciting too.

I haven't had a chance to visit yet. From all search I did, I am actually pretty happy I applied the school. I hope I can get in.

And, also the program in CCA seems smaller. I would expect more interaction with students and teachers. That is also plus.