Is English your second language?

Is that important for either of the programs?

Well, If English is your native language... I hope you have someone proof read your Harvard application.

I got admitted already...I would appreciate direct response to the questions.

both are a waste of money, but i think the harvard name will look better when you search for jobs.

Why did you apply without fully understanding the program(s) ?

I got a fellowship to invest in

kishkash-anything specific that brings you to say the programs are a waste of money? Is in regarding tuition vs. the monetary payoff they produce afterward? I'd be interested to know what informs your opinion.

Thanks

i think that policy education and pretty much everything MDesS degree teaches can be learned ON THE JOB. Thing is- there are no jobs!!

I think it could be learned on the job if you are working for a firm or company that has a business model built on a similar approach to problem solving. I researched the SCIFI degree as best as I could and went to SCI-Arc to talk with Zellner and Bergman about the goals and ambitions of the program.

My desire to study there (attending in September) has everything to do with my specific interests and goals. These goals are not necessarily tied specifically to the Architecture industry. I considered an MBA, a real estate and development degree, and also this degree that looks at urban design, planning and policy. For myself, the goals of the program lined up best with my desires. I think everyone has to do that-determine if the degree they are getting or interested in has to do with their own ambition or not. Anyone on Archinect or elsewhere could say "this degree or that degree isn't worth it." The problem with that logic is that it is unable to know what the individual will choose to do with the degree.

We could tell all the students coming out of high school to forget about studying Architecture because of the state of things. However, what is developed in someone that studies Architecture, I believe, is incredibly valuable to society-regardless if that individual will actually practice as a traditional architect when they finish.

ichweiB:Well said. Are you going to SCI FI at sciarc? Can i get connected with you somehow? I can give my email.

Yes. I am going to start the program in September. Yeah- email me or give me your email. If you click on my name, you should be able to contact me via email.

"Is English your second language?"

only ignoramus white people say stuff like that.

fadetoblacko: Dude, read his/her post. If English is his native language. he has no business applying to Harvard with those skills. If he is a native English speaker he is either not that bright or lazy...

By the way, being bright or lazy has nothing to do with race so don't assume that my comment was racially motivated.

Or he's cixelsyd.

he is my friend, and obviously his native language is not english, so your just stating the obvious and sounding obnoxious by avoiding his original answer, or maybe you dont speakeh da english?

Living in a foreign country myself, I fully understand how challenging it can be to communicate effectively when not speaking your native language. I appreciate the subject matter and scale you are interested in (urbanism, environmental planning policy).

fadetoblacko is right. Its more productive to stay on the topic and apologize for not doing that. Those post-grad programs I'm not too familiar with, but both are really great schools, so congratulations on getting in. Good luck on the decision.

I'm not sure how well the Mdes degree is thought of by employers. There's a sense that it was set up by the GSD (or is it now HDS?) to generate funds to support it's core professional programs (MArch, MUP and MLArch). I know people who roundfile MDES resumes on receipt for this reason.

dude u gotta be on Crack not to go to the GSD. There is no other option, dont listen to the Mediascapes garbage. If you want people to think ur a CAD, Rhino or Maya monkey only, then u know what to do. But if u want people to think ur a CAD,Rhino or Maya monkey who can actually think, then u kno what to do.

Urbanist, that's what it originally started out as, and that was my perception initially. I think now it's changed quite a bit.
The degree has gone from a one-year moneymaking degree to a 2-year research degree, with a small thesis as graduation requirement. They just don't take studio with the rest of us, that's all. Since they don't have studio they pour their time into some of the research seminars and workshops, and good work comes out.
I must say I have gained a newfound respect for the people in that program, and I graduated with a MArch II. They just take on different career trajectories with more research-based interests, versus those of us on the more traditional design career path.

I went to sci-arc for my MArch degree.

As a word of advice...my classmate and I often referred to the
SCI-FI program as SCI-FAIL.

Not recommended. Some years there were like 3 or 4 students in
SCI-FAIL. It also didn't seem too rigorous.

GSD for the MDES for sure.

That's extremely interesting to read about the perception of sci-fi by other Sci-Arc programs. What about the other program, Mediascapes? Isn't Sci-Arc's mediascapes akin to MIT media Lab?

At the GSD the perception of the msdes by march students is that they are not on par with one another.

i also wonder about other arch schools and programs in which one feels like the other is less demanding.