I recently graduated from ASU with a BSD in architectural studies, & I'm having difficulty reading between the lines to interpret graduate schools' strengths and weaknesses. I'm very interested in environmental design, sustainability and most importantly a design-focused, more traditional program. I'm not so interested in a highly technical, science-based program. Could anyone offer impressions of M.Arch programs at the following schools, or recommend anything unlisted? Thanks!
UCLA
USC
UC Berkeley
Cal Poly Pomona
SCI-Arc (heard it's pretty radical over there?)
Parsons
Pratt
Columbia
U Penn
UT Austin
Texas A&M
Rice
U Miami (FL)
Non Sequitur
Jul 27, 16 1:30 pm
Is google broken?
shellarchitect
Jul 27, 16 3:48 pm
you missed a lot of schools in your list
lacalr
Jul 27, 16 4:36 pm
Try looking at the work from those schools. You can google them or even look on the Archinect site under Academia - Schools. I would base a lot of my opinion on first impressions of student work, professors, living environment and most importantly cost (don't forget financial aid and scholarships). If you're interested in environmental design make sure the schools value it as well and prioritize it. Professors that specialize in enviro design is key as well.
Renzo's Piano
Jul 27, 16 6:55 pm
Lol Non Sequitur….
Also, Caroline, what exactly do you mean by "technical, science-based program," because I interpret that in two different ways. You could either mean a school that's based in construction science and building systems, or you could mean a school that has a focus on computer science and parametric tendencies. If it's the former, I would encourage you to understand those schools a bit more as they might have a lot to offer you based on your desire to want a traditional program focused around environmental design and sustainability. Those schools from your list would mostly be (and forgive me if I misplace one as I haven't studied all of their programs): UT Austin, Cal Poly, Berkeley, and A&M. Possibly USC and Rice, but I'm not for certain on that. If you aren't interested in computer science, parametrics, or heavily theory-based programs, then from your list I would remove: SCI-Arc, UCLA, Parsons, Pratt, Columbia, and Penn. I would also stay away from schools like Michigan, and MIT.
So your list should look something like this: UT Austin, Berkeley, Cal Poly and A&M. I would also add Oregon to your list, and probably keep in USC and Rice, as they're focused on building systems but are also very design/theory oriented.
I recently graduated from ASU with a BSD in architectural studies, & I'm having difficulty reading between the lines to interpret graduate schools' strengths and weaknesses. I'm very interested in environmental design, sustainability and most importantly a design-focused, more traditional program. I'm not so interested in a highly technical, science-based program. Could anyone offer impressions of M.Arch programs at the following schools, or recommend anything unlisted? Thanks!
UCLA
USC
UC Berkeley
Cal Poly Pomona
SCI-Arc (heard it's pretty radical over there?)
Parsons
Pratt
Columbia
U Penn
UT Austin
Texas A&M
Rice
U Miami (FL)
Is google broken?
you missed a lot of schools in your list
Try looking at the work from those schools. You can google them or even look on the Archinect site under Academia - Schools. I would base a lot of my opinion on first impressions of student work, professors, living environment and most importantly cost (don't forget financial aid and scholarships). If you're interested in environmental design make sure the schools value it as well and prioritize it. Professors that specialize in enviro design is key as well.
Lol Non Sequitur….
Also, Caroline, what exactly do you mean by "technical, science-based program," because I interpret that in two different ways. You could either mean a school that's based in construction science and building systems, or you could mean a school that has a focus on computer science and parametric tendencies. If it's the former, I would encourage you to understand those schools a bit more as they might have a lot to offer you based on your desire to want a traditional program focused around environmental design and sustainability. Those schools from your list would mostly be (and forgive me if I misplace one as I haven't studied all of their programs): UT Austin, Cal Poly, Berkeley, and A&M. Possibly USC and Rice, but I'm not for certain on that. If you aren't interested in computer science, parametrics, or heavily theory-based programs, then from your list I would remove: SCI-Arc, UCLA, Parsons, Pratt, Columbia, and Penn. I would also stay away from schools like Michigan, and MIT.
So your list should look something like this: UT Austin, Berkeley, Cal Poly and A&M. I would also add Oregon to your list, and probably keep in USC and Rice, as they're focused on building systems but are also very design/theory oriented.
Hope that helps.