Maybe you should describe your situation a little more to get better feedback.

Q:Is it a bad thing to double major in architecture and architectural engineering?

Can you major in both? My impression is that you can major in architecture and structural engineering. Architectural engineering is usually a 4-5 year program.

Architectural Engineering is a degree in structural engineering. Not quite the same thing as a BArch or MArch degree.

Thank you for your advice. I have been in touch with several admissions officers and from what I have been told, architecture and architectural engineering are entirely different majors, with very different requirements. Architecture is a very rigorous program, and therefore it would be difficult to keep up with both. But thank you for your advice.

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Educationally wise I am wondering if there are any programs that you could recommend as either an experienced architect or architecture student.
I am currently interested in a university that has a 2+4 program. The first 2 years are spent in full time studies, while the last four consist of full time work and part time studies. This results in an accredited bachelors in architecture. The negative side is that the college's tuition is fairly expensive.

This leads to another of my questions. Is it possible to go through the Intern Development Program (IDP) before receiving the degree. If the program could be done before college graduation, then perhaps the 4 years of work could also be used to finish the IDP program, and receive an architecture license immediately after graduation.

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In General

I would like to know if there are any colleges that encourage the incorporation of research into the field, such as researching new materials/functioning design/other stuff. It sounds like structural/material engineering, I know. The issue is that I enjoy science and creating new things, doing new things, so I don't want to leave behind the engineering part. I want to engineer a building, as well as make it aesthetically pleasing, but I have heard that architecture has been split between the engineering and the design. So now I'm torn between the majors of architecture and architectural engineering.

To answer the last question, yes it is possible to attain IDP credit prior to graduation. See from NCARB's website for the specifics. NCARB

First off, I would remove the preconceived notion of "engineering" as making a building work and "design" to "make it aesthetically pleasing." This is a limited view of our built environmenent and will not help in your decision making. Both Engineering and Architecture is so much more than that.

Second, "architectural engineering" as a discipline can be Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and construction engineering. They are heavily entrenched in the construction industry, both in negative and positive aspects.

As for whether you should go into engineering or architecture, that is a tough question that only you can answer; and yes, in the end, you may never know if you made the "right" decision if there is such a thing. Some may not have had the choice or known there is a difference, so you're in a better starting place than most. As cliche as it may sound, it may help to ask some fundamental questions about what you really want to do; orchestrating multiple complex and sometimes contradictory systems into semi-quantifiable results, or being able to quantify a single (or at least very few) complex system(s). I know that sounds like bullshit lingo, but thats the only way I can say it right now.

Yes, contradictions exist in architecture (its a complex system made up of complex systems, how can there not be?). For example, the social need may contradict the security needs, or as a practical example, the finances may contradict the programmatic needs. Yes, you may never get a clear "answer" or even a "question/problem" to begin with. Yes, preference, bias, taste, criticism, politics, history, context, social/economic dynamics, etc can come into play with architecture. You'd be surprised at the number of people that go into architecture that HATE that, and went into architecture without knowing it is a part of it. No spreadsheet or analytical software can "resolve" the architectural process as there is no resolution as most people would define it.

Having been on both sides (technically I've worked more in a structural engineering firm than architecture firms at this point), I really think it comes down to that. Of course there are practical things like salary, job opportunities, competitiveness, job/career/life satisfaction, education cost, education time, etc etc. But really, think about what is important to you. You may want to shadow both engineers and architects. There are some related fields that may be of interest such as environmental design, environmental engineering, material science, mechanical engineering, building technology, civil engineering, etc etc.

I know several that have done both architecture and engineering (structural). Its tough, not only mentally, but in terms of time and being at the right school that allow that to even happen.