I graduated in 2014 with a dual degree in architectural history and economics and then went abroad to intern for a residential architecture firm in Israel. Over this past year I applied to M. Arch programs and after hearing back, I am having hard time deciding which school to attend
Accepted: UNC Charlotte, Kansas State University, Buffalo (Scholarship Money Awarded), Wentworth Institute of Technology, UCLA
Rejected: UT Austin
Wait Listed: City College of New York
ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Non Sequitur
Mar 23, 15 11:09 am
take the cheapest.
Sorrowful Giuseppe
Mar 23, 15 2:03 pm
I went to Buffalo for my Masters of Urban Planning and also took some architecture class in 2012, but I never gradated, I dropped it out after a year and went for traveling.
I'll simply say that it is a good school for undergraduate education, but not as good for Maters as it for BArch program, although there are a few very good professors. I really have a high respect for those guys.
There are a few so called "specialization" you are supposed to focus on at you studio.
My favorite was Material Culture - basically you have to work on buildings tectonics, materials and at the end you have to build a full scale building / structure. I found it very interesting an in term of design and intellectual challenge. Here you would meet the most of the best professors in the school.
The rest ones are more related to social architecture, technology and things like that.
It is a poor state school and they can't afford much facilities that are important for grad students, but I noway mean it is a bad school, in fact it is a really good planning school and BArch school.
As for Buffalo NY. well... 60 years ago it was the richest city in US and many great architect left their footprints there. You would see amazing buildings of the past glory of Buffalo, which is gone now. It still has very nice downtown and very artsy, hipster areas like Allentown. There a few big companies that respect a degree from UB Buffalo as well.
You will need a car there for 100% coz there are places you just don't need to be in and the weather is totally crazy. The winter starts in November and won't stops till May. It is also close to Toronto, which you can visit but I doubt you would have a time.
If I were you I would go to UCLA.
Good luck!
Driko
Mar 23, 15 4:01 pm
I would go to ucla but if it's too much I agree with everyone else and just take the cheapest one.
lionshcra
Mar 24, 15 7:49 pm
Take the cheapest. You'll thank yourself later. I went to WIT a few years ago. It was alright, but within the past year they've got through some major administrative turnaround so I can't comment on the quality of the program leadership. Fwiw, I was better prepared for the work environment (especially CDs and CA related work) then my GSD coworkers, however they're admittedly more creative.
One thing to consider is whether the connections/alumni network at your M.Arch could help you find a job once you get out. The co-op office was terrible at helping me find leads while I was there or afterwards. The professors did hire a few of my classmates to their practices and give a few others leads, but that was probably a handful of the 80 or so in my class.
ROB4
Mar 24, 15 8:12 pm
No brainer, UCLA is by far the best school you got into. A state school, but you can get instate tuition after a year.
So just a little bit of a background:
I graduated in 2014 with a dual degree in architectural history and economics and then went abroad to intern for a residential architecture firm in Israel. Over this past year I applied to M. Arch programs and after hearing back, I am having hard time deciding which school to attend
Accepted: UNC Charlotte, Kansas State University, Buffalo (Scholarship Money Awarded), Wentworth Institute of Technology, UCLA
Rejected: UT Austin
Wait Listed: City College of New York
ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
take the cheapest.
I went to Buffalo for my Masters of Urban Planning and also took some architecture class in 2012, but I never gradated, I dropped it out after a year and went for traveling.
I'll simply say that it is a good school for undergraduate education, but not as good for Maters as it for BArch program, although there are a few very good professors. I really have a high respect for those guys.
There are a few so called "specialization" you are supposed to focus on at you studio.
My favorite was Material Culture - basically you have to work on buildings tectonics, materials and at the end you have to build a full scale building / structure. I found it very interesting an in term of design and intellectual challenge. Here you would meet the most of the best professors in the school.
The rest ones are more related to social architecture, technology and things like that.
It is a poor state school and they can't afford much facilities that are important for grad students, but I noway mean it is a bad school, in fact it is a really good planning school and BArch school.
As for Buffalo NY. well... 60 years ago it was the richest city in US and many great architect left their footprints there. You would see amazing buildings of the past glory of Buffalo, which is gone now. It still has very nice downtown and very artsy, hipster areas like Allentown. There a few big companies that respect a degree from UB Buffalo as well.
You will need a car there for 100% coz there are places you just don't need to be in and the weather is totally crazy. The winter starts in November and won't stops till May. It is also close to Toronto, which you can visit but I doubt you would have a time.
If I were you I would go to UCLA.
Good luck!
I would go to ucla but if it's too much I agree with everyone else and just take the cheapest one.
Take the cheapest. You'll thank yourself later. I went to WIT a few years ago. It was alright, but within the past year they've got through some major administrative turnaround so I can't comment on the quality of the program leadership. Fwiw, I was better prepared for the work environment (especially CDs and CA related work) then my GSD coworkers, however they're admittedly more creative.
One thing to consider is whether the connections/alumni network at your M.Arch could help you find a job once you get out. The co-op office was terrible at helping me find leads while I was there or afterwards. The professors did hire a few of my classmates to their practices and give a few others leads, but that was probably a handful of the 80 or so in my class.
No brainer, UCLA is by far the best school you got into. A state school, but you can get instate tuition after a year.
UCLA! no question about it!