I don't think UH is well-recognized for its design program, even within Texas. Having experience with a couple of UH grads didn't exactly leave me envious, either.

(one man's opinion)

I went to UH, email me.

I had a couple professors from UH who did some pretty awesome work and became pretty big mentors of mine through undergrad. One of them still gives me critiques on independent competitions that I've worked on.

I wouldn't say they aren't well recognized, but I wouldn't necessarily compare them to Upenn caliber. I actually think they (UH) have a really decent program with a good mix between the digital side and the practical side. (just my opinion based on what I've learned from my profs).

Tulane has a really good program as well big on rebuilding New Orleans, which is one of the best aspects of the program. A good friend of mine did undergrad there and is now at GSAPP for her masters.

No, UH isn't the same caliber school as UPENN, but "caliber" is a function of many things. Along with Rice and UT, UH Distinguishes itself as a strong design school. I feel that this can be said because of what faculty and students are involved with and are successful at. Additionally, the things students do and others schools they attend after UH speaks to its quality.

I graduated from the Architecture program at UH and also taught an undergraduate studio there. I spent time in Vienna at the Prix Studio and have seen work from many schools. I've been impressed with what I've seen at schools across the US and Europe. That might sound a bit exegerrated as I do believe some schools are better than others in terms of what they provide, but I think UH does a good job as well.

went to penn, thought it was fantastic. amazing travel study program, and great group of people in our class.

i guess it depends on what you want to focus on, i chose penn over columbia based on what i saw at the open houses. columbia was way too conceptual (flaky) for me....i wanted learn about design & buildings not heavy on theory. penn had that balance, of course that was over 10 years ago :P

my experience at tulane is so outdated (1986-91) as to be irrelevant. (byron mouton of the building studio graduated the year before me.)

but the experience of going to school in new orleans and immersing yourself in the place is unmatched anywhere, in my opinion. it's a place that will change (/enrich) your life. no exaggeration.

If in-state tuition is a factor why not UT or TX Tech?

Your decision for your application to Penn is available on the website located here :

app.applyyourself.com/?id=upenn-des

Good luck!!!

Also, Penn is just as expensive as Cornell or GSD...

Don't you want to find out where you got in first? That might help with the decision process(?)

aquapura - yeah, I messed up big time on UT-Austin and TXTech. I missed both their application deadlines. I didn't want to live in College Station , which was a factor on why I didn't apply there. I felt that if I turn in my materials late to Austin that I would be put on a waiting list and not get preference.

My logic was I would try for 3 schools and 3 ranges(or reputations)

UH - Low
Tulane - Middle
UPenn - High

I know that I'm going to offend alot of people with that comment, but I don't mean to. In this scale, its relative.

I got my 5 year undergraduate degree from UH. It is a real strong design school so long as you dont take the path of the "good ol' boys." We also opened up the Keeland Design Center 3 years ago which gave us a huge workshop and loads of top notch equipment. I've been to a lot of schools around the nation (state as well as all the Ivy's) and Europe (even did a semester at the AA) and can honestly say that I have yet to find a school with as good fabrication lab as UH. Arizona U. has quite a nice one. But even everything the AA has we had double at UH. Though many of the studios that use it are undergrad (that might have changed recently).

as far as the program itself... well i laugh at how crap most of the graduate work is. i would never recommend its graduate program... the undergrad can be super educational and great. there are people from my graduating class working all over the world (me incl) at some really good firms.

Careful when you say a school has a low reputation...why not say less selective? I know plenty of unemployed Ivy grads with mountains of debt...

petty ----> as far as the program itself... well i laugh at how crap most of the graduate work is. i would never recommend its graduate program... the undergrad can be super educational and great. there are people from my graduating class working all over the world (me incl) at some really good firms.

WHat makes the Graduate program bad? Why does it produce crap?

I went to Tulane undergrad as well. But like Steven said it's been awhile (1991-1996.) I will say that I've been impressed with the new dean that was the associate dean at UVa. The university as a whole has done great things in the New Orleans community post 8|29. I can't call it Katrina... The School of Architecture seems to have taken an active role in the rebuilding. Spending time in NOLA is invaluable IMO.

Come on James. Proportionate to the amount of students in undergrad vs. grad, there are plenty of MArch students that go on to work in world renowned offices just as undergrads from UH or onto postgraduate programs. You like me, studied in Europe and have seen strong and weak work at the AA the Bartlett die Angewandte-and for that matter at UH too. 45 graduate students compared to several hundred undergrads is going to produce different results. I don't think I agree with your comment at all.

UH only graduates about 80-90 students total. The grad work isn't that great, IMO, but the undergrad does better than most in preparing you for professional life. Especially if study under a practicing architect. I think it worked to students advangtage to have multiple faculty who work for large to mid-sized corporate firms.

ichweiB - I'm also considering Houston, would you mind if I emailed you a few questions?

Send them on!

i graduated from tulane recently, and boyfriend currently attending upenn...both are good programs but focus on very different things:

tulane is a great balance of the more conceptual with a design build focus-- great city, great experience, great faculty

upenn is a great program[but pricey] for the high conceptual drive -- lots of paramentric, lots of crazy fun projects...great faculty, and philly is great as well [but have to say that i miss nola]

my suggestion would be this: think about your undergrad experience -- what did you wish you had been able to focus more on in your studios...design process? building what you designed? somewhere in the middle?

choose the grad school based on what you want to do more of.

from what i've seen, a school's "direction and focus" is more concentrated with the grad program -- so their focus becomes yours..which definitely isn't a bad thing when you go to a school that does what you want to do!

Jake - im not really sure if i can answer why the graduate program is unsuccessful in my opinion. it is just an opinion by the way. but ive been to plenty of thier juries and dont really think i have ever been "wowed." and im not talking about just graphic porn or scripted shit or whatever. ive done all that and seen people so much better than me do it. i would say that it does take a lot to impress me... but i have been impressed by a lot of the undergraduate work and just never with the graduates.

i would say they do have a great faculty selection. where the undergraduate has some amazing profs, we had lots that should have never been hired... in fact they shouldn't have been aloud near students. i dont think the graduate program has such a problem with these terrible profs that plagued certain undergrad studios. so its not faculty.

perhaps its the way UH teaches. in the 5 year undergrad program there is a lot of time spent on building blocks in the first few years. things that take time to help open us up and make us think. for those that really succeeded in the end of thier 5 year term, it wasn't until after 3-4 years that they really caught on. so perhaps, this education model just doesn't make sense for the graduate program thats 2-3 years. perhaps its just too little time to teach like that and the students just dont quite grasp it. its all too jammed. they might think they do, but probably about as much as a 3rd year undergrad thinks they grasp what they're doing, because they dont either.

when i apply to graduate school in the fall, UH won't even be a consideration.

michael - thats cool we can agree to disagree. theres plenty of crap at the AA too and i really enjoyed watching people in the DRL get ripped again and again with their weak statements and complete incompetence of their own projects. in the end my project there was complete shit and i knew it. but it was the process that was pure and it was the process itself that proved how shit the result was, something brett steele even liked. so the education gained was a success. so perhaps i am too harsh to judge finished results as a measure for the educational qualities of an institution, but whatever.

I am currently enrolled in the MARCH II program at Tulane. They took 9 for the programe last year but it is my understanding they are growing the MARCH II. Design wise I would say it isnt as strong as where I went for undergrad, University of Florida but still good. The designbuild opportunities are fantastic though, did two DB studios first semester and they were great experiences. Let me know if u have any other questions I would be happy to answer.

Jakethesnake,

I'm a UH MArch Grad going to UPenn in the fall. For years now, the focus has been on the Undergraduate program. The grad program hasn't seen any new hires for years. This coming year things will begin to change. With the new Dean, we'll be sing a new professor in Level III and hopefully some others will be replaced.

As far as UPenn vs. UH - there's no comparison. Different kinds of schools with different focuses and different resources. You will find different students, different professors, etc. You need to visit each and get a feel for them. You get what you pay for.

UH Grad gets people jobs. It's also a stepping stone program. MArch's go on to places, as mentioned, like UPENN, Columbia, SCI-Arc, the AA, etc...it's been consistent throughout the years as I've talked to professors that have been there a while. Or, many students stay in the Region and work in offices.

A lot of the students I went to grad school with at UH were all new to the discipline, but eager to learn. Of those that got a taste of what Architecture could be after studying something different in undergrad, they went on to get advanced degrees at more "prestigious" schools.

Additionally, I've seen students also work at great offices. UH is a design school.

I'm a Tulane Alumnus (1999 - 2005) wso I gradaute before all the big changes, and I graduated with a 5 year MArch and a certificate in preservation studies. I have to say that while the theory classes and studios were interesting and definetly taught me how to problem solve, the preservation studies preparred me for the practice of architecture and my licensing exams. Those classes dealt with materials and methods in relation to historic structures, but the exposure gave me a basis for uderstanding many of the intrcacies of the Construction Administration and Construction Documents stages of a real project.

To be able to have the option for both practical and theoretical exposure was invaluable.

In addition, I whole heartedly agree that New Orleans changes you for the better. It is impossible to live in that city for any period of time and not feel a part of it.

no they are not good to to IIT

go to IIT

UPenn is more expensive than the GSD (GSD has more money to throw around) and not as good. Have you looked at Rice?

I haven't actually looked at Rice. Should I? What do they specialize in at the grad program? They would be a private institution and therefore cost more $$$$$$

Got into all 3 schools, but little financial aid. I decided to defer where I could and try the application process again next year when I conduct better research btw

Rice is private and will cost more $$$$$. A lot of their stuff tends to be pretty theoretical from what I've see. What are the schools you got into and which let you defer?

Rice is one of the best values in the US. They pay their top candidates to addend and everyone gets a full tuition stipend at the grad level.

This is true of Rice. It's a good school. Heavily research based. I know a lot of people that went there in town. Check out Viktor Ramos' work.

Full tuition stipend eh? Hmmm, I'll have to check it out. After working in the real world at a big corporate firm and doing "Real" projects, it will be rather hard to get back into the theoretical stuff again.

Rice is deff a theory school. I had always been told while in UH that the difference between a UH Grad and a Rice grad is the UH grad showed up to jury with drawings and models, and the Rice grad showed up with words. I worked in an office for a while in Houston with a lot of Rice grads and this was very evident. They liked to sit around and talk about the building a lot... and hope that got them through the meetings. sometimes it worked, sometimes the client actually wanted to see something.