Green Builders Blog

Ruth W asked:


If I want to go into sustainable architecture, would it be better to get a B.S. in Arch now and then pursue a M. arch in the future with a focus on environmental design or the other way around (get a B.S. with a double major in environmental studies and studio arts & theory - a liberal arts major- now, then apply for graduate school to get a M. Arch) ?
Also, my university, UM- Ann Arbor, does not offer a professional B. Arch Degree. It only offers a pre-professional B.S. arch degree…after which I would need to go to grad school for 2.5-3 yrs. to get a M Arch professional degree…so both ways would probably take about the same amount of time.
If anyone out there is in the field of “green” architecture, do you have any advice as to how I could best build up a solid knowledge base to go into this field?
Also, is it a bad idea to have two interdisciplinary majors?? I see some people here say that these majors are for people who are lazy or unfocused and that they have many “easy” classes…but I see different subjects to be interlinked and not strictly specialized, and I am definitely not a lazy person. I am a honors sophomore with a 4.0 even after taking all the most failed courses at UM in math, physics, and economics. I have also worked hard for my sustainability/ beautification student forum to put environmental solutions in action and have designed several murals for UM buildings…I chose my majors and put a lot of work into my extracurriculars, because I love what I do, not because I am some unfocused student going to college just for the sake of going to college…But I am afraid that just because I have this label as someone with an arty interdisciplinary major, employers will see me as a lazy, unfocused person…and maybe it would be better to just go for the very specialized course in architecture now instead of leaving that for grad school?
Kitten
UM has an undergrad Architecture school that is ranked 6th in the nation by US News and Report and a grad Arch program that is ranked in the top 10.I do not consider it a waste of money. My concern is not primarily the time, because even if I get a professional B Arch now, I am still going to get an M.S. in environmental design…I’m trying to decide whether majoring in something else now will give me a better, more diverse knowledge base for architecture rather than learning technical skills right away. I want to make a real impact on the world. I considered transferring to Cornell, but I believe UM gives a better preparation for arch as a form of engineering. Cornell is a bit more arty, which is VERY appealing to me, but I feel I should learn more engineering too. Finally, I plan on applying to grad programs at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UM, etc. I did research and a lot of the programs I liked are tough to get into so I want to make sure that Interdisciplinary is a good choice.

Augustus