I think DAAP Slap will be the new Rick Roll

if you want to 'solidify your standing in academia' don't go to UC...

if you want to land a well paying job go to UC!

It's not really a matter of "solidifying your standing in academia," you have to specialize in something for a MS or PhD to really mean something. When you can demonstrate that and show your worth to an institution, it won't matter what the ink on that piece of paper reads.

As far as the faculty that you will be bouncing ideas off of, UC has some of the best out there and they're very accommodating I was never turned away or told to make an appointment when seeking advice...plus there isn't that ivy league hubris to worry about. As jk3hl alluded to above, UC is very practice oriented but the MS degree is really what you make of it, just be aware of your surroundings.

If you are serious about pursuing a MS degree at Cincinnati then the best person to talk to would be Aarati Kanekar, the MSArch Program Coordinator...aarati.kanekar@uc.edu

I agree that the faculty is very accommodating and friendly. However, with very few exceptions, I found that they were not as current with the discourse. Due to its location, UC has a very difficult time attracting and keeping top notch faculty members. I can think of at least 10 schools off the top of my head that have a stronger faculty. There are a lot of good reasons to attend DAAP, solidifying your standing in academia is not one of them.

Well, they are ranked , or were ranked, particularly high for a non ivy league school, and beating out programs like Columbia and UPenn. They must be doing something right.

msmit106, LITS4FormZ....what is DAAP doing right?

What are better schools for academia?

The ranking thing is easy to explain. Start of by doing yourself the favor of not using rankings to influence where you go to architecture school. I went to Cincinnati for that reason and was very disappointed. The ID rankings are practitioner based, employers are asked who are the best entry level employees, or something along those lines. Because Cincinnati has an internship program that requires internships, students come out with excellent entry level skills. Because the city of Cincinnati does not offer enough internship jobs, students travel all around the country to intern. This means that more practitioners have employed Cincinnati students which would make them more likely to give them a vote on the ranking survey. Other top notch schools are in cities that can support the local interns so they get less national exposure. Furthermore, DAAP has a particular large architecture school which means more graduates in the work force and more votes for the survey.

So that explains the ranking problem.

Things DAAP is doing well: Excellent facilities for digital fabrication and a great computer lab. The shop kicks ass too.

Great exposure to other disciplines as you share the building with industrial designers and artists.

The internship program is a great opportunity for students to get themselves out there. Because you intern in non-summer quarters, it is much easier to get an interesting job as there is less competition.

What schools are better for academia?

I don't quite understand the question, maybe you can clarify. When you get to a certain caliber of school the question has more to do with your interests.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."


Like I said above, to get ahead in academia you have to specialize in something that makes you marketable to institutions. msmit106, is correct in saying that you shouldn't allow rankings to have too much influence on your decision.

msmit106 also is correct in pointing out what UC does right, they are very good at getting their graduates jobs. Since you are not trying to work in professional practice UC's greatest benefit doesn't really apply to you. Therefore, your greatest assets are the people with whom you will be working with.

http://daap.uc.edu/said/msarch/faculty

If you are serious about applying to DAAP, then I'd start talking to professors. Aarati is a good start, I just wouldn't cold call her (some people have trouble with her accent at first).

Rezsonya, I still resent for not treating me to more frat lunches.

Michael Smith, you know there's no such thing as a free lunch...