What is it like being an Architcture major?
Only the coolest major ever! Fundamentally it could be seen as the study and design of buildings, but more than that it is an examination of the structure, manipulation and impact of space. How do we interact within spaces, and with the spaces themselves? What defines a space, and how can spaces be ordered and arranged? All of these questions are asked in architecture. It engages both the cerebral and philosophical questions, the why and to what end kind of questions, as well as the nuts and bolts questions, the how, when and where questions. It combines the abstract with the concrete better than any other major. It's a major that will push you to work long hours with little sleep at times, and will be more rewarding because at the end of it all, you have produced a body of work more substantive than just another term paper or essay. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, but architecture rocks.
You can learn just about anything. Architecture incorporates art, science, history, culture, philosophy, aesthetics, sociology and so on and so forth. It is an all encompassing major. You get a more critical eye on things, not just buildings and such, but you learn to be more discerning.
What is it like being an Architecture major?
It is no lie that Architecture is a challenging and time consuming major. The department faculty and students could not be better though, since the department is fairly small, and lots of individual guidance is available on your work. You get to be on a first name basis with many of your professors, which is definitely something you won't find in Politics or Econ. Instead of doing a written JP, the department has everyone take a Junior Independent Work studio course, both semesters of your Junior year. The bulk of your efforts are on the studio work which can be rather time consuming. The thesis is written though, and builds on (pun intended) what you learn from a semester of studio in the fall of your senior year. The great part about studio is the intense camaraderie that develops from spending hours working together in the Architecture building. The great part about the studio as well is that you work in close proximity to graduate and PhD students, who can guide you as well in the wee hours of the morning. You get more access to grad students as your friends and colleagues, not just your smug preceptors.
