Top Architecture Schools
The top architecture schools not only challenge the student but also provide comprehensive career training that enables the successful graduate to enter into her chosen field with confidence and inspiration.
What an Architect Does
There are two separate fields in which an architect can apply developed and reinforced skills—structure and landscape designs. For the sake of this discussion, the focus is on the former, which is the most common employment field for graduates of top architecture schools in the United States.
The structural architect learns through a comprehensive offline or online degree studies how to meld vision and skill in designing homes, office buildings, public buildings, bridges, churches and so many more of the structures seen every day but rarely examine.
Applicants to the top architecture schools will not only love and appreciate architectural history but be inspired by the masterpieces still in existence. They will have backgrounds in art and math. They will absorb computerized drafting classes and welcome technical material and lessons on forces and stresses on structures, building codes, ergonomics and influences of material composition, texture, light and shadow.
Education and Training
The top online universities offer a five-year architecture degree program that is aimed toward students with no previous architectural experience. Once you receive your professional degree in architecture, you still must wait and gain experience before you can take—and hopefully pass—the licensing exam.
All 50 states require a minimum of three years of experience, most often obtained through apprenticeships with architectural firms, before granting permission to take the exam; the training standards to qualify, however, must meet or exceed standards established in the Intern Development Program, a program developed by the American Institute of Architects and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards or NCARB. Those students who gain practical experience while earning the Bachelor of Architecture degree may have the three-year requirement shortened. Ambitious students often seek related employment with a firm while studying via an online school for their professional degree, gaining a significant portion of both requirements simultaneously. Many continue their education after graduating from top architecture schools to gain additional skills and qualifications that can enhance career advancement.
Once you have at least your professional degree and have met the intern training standards, you can apply for the licensing exam. When you pass that, you are awarded the coveted licensing that enables you to call yourself a fully qualified architect.
Approximately 20 percent of the architects licensed in the United States are self-employed, having formed their own firms or partnerships. The remaining 80 percent are employees of both private firms and public institutions.
Architectural positions are expected to increase by approximately 11 percent during the next seven years with a significant portion of that growth in the self-employed sector. Competition for slots within prestigious firms already established will probably increase in an already competitive field, prompting more architects to form their own businesses and specialize in specific types of architecture.
As in every field, the higher level of education you obtain, such as an online masters degree from one of the top architecture schools that complements your bachelor’s degree, will enhance your career prospects and strengthen your versatility.
