Different from clothing, animation, interaction, etc., architecture majors not only exist in art schools, but also in many comprehensive universities.
Especially in top universities such as the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, it has become the most representative advanced discipline of the university.
So for most art students who do not have a science and engineering background, applying for architecture majors,
How should you choose a comprehensive university or art school?
#1
Differences in application requirements
M50 Winland Art
Realistically speaking, "how to choose" requires offers from multiple colleges and universities as a premise;
Considering how to choose a comprehensive university and an art school before you start preparing for the application is tantamount to worrying about whether to go to Peking University or Tsinghua University in the future.
In terms of the difficulty of application, comprehensive universities and art schools of the same grade also have different emphasis.
Let's start with two of the top streams of British architecture, RCA and UCL, as examples.
First of all, RCA's Master of Architecture application requirements clearly state:
"Although most of the students have an undergraduate background in architecture, students from other backgrounds are also welcome to apply, especially those who have about one year of work experience in architecture-related fields."
Unlike many comprehensive universities that have explicit requirements for undergraduate grades, RCA does not require a GPA, but instead states that applicants should "obtain a RIBA (Part 1) first-class degree or above in architecture".
The RCA also requires applicants to have "one year of experience working in a design practice", while undergraduates without work experience will be judged on the basis of their portfolio and personal statement.
In terms of application materials, in addition to the regular application form, electronic portfolio, and personal statement,
RCA also asks students to provide a video of about 2 minutes to describe their explorations in the portfolio, as well as their personal views and opinions on architecture and design.
In addition, in terms of portfolios, RCA also put forward detailed and clear requirements. In addition to the requirements for the number of pages, projects, and formatting, the RCA places special emphasis on:
- The project should be completed independently;
- You can add any medium to express your motivation for learning;
- Pay attention to typography to make it more suitable for on-screen presentation;
- All projects should be supplemented with pictures and descriptions to connect the project trajectory;
- A portfolio should reflect your personality, plasticity, and depth;
- The work includes research, innovation, and exploration, and it is necessary to experiment more in visual effects and the use of materials, but also to meet the rigor of ......
Let's take a look at UCL-Bartlett's Master of Architecture application requirements.
First of all, the biggest difference from RCA is that UCL has rigid requirements for applicants' undergraduate grades:
Undergraduate degree in second-class architecture, with an average score of at least 85-87 from accredited institutions and at least 90-93 from non-listed accredited institutions...... No one is missing.
Secondly, like the RCA, UCL also requires applicants to have at least one year or so of work experience in a related field.
In addition to this, in terms of language, the Master of Architecture requires IELTS 7.0 (with no less than 6.5 in each sub-score), which is obviously much more demanding than RCA 6.5.
When it comes to the most requested part of the portfolio by the RCA, there are only three lines left in the UCL section:
- A portfolio should showcase your ambition and curiosity
- Accept Group work, but indicate your role in it
- No more than 20 pages (including cover and table of contents)
From the comparison of the application requirements of RCA and UCL Master of Architecture, it is not difficult to find that the most important thing in the application of art colleges represented by RCA is always the work:
The language is poor, the practical experience is less, the undergraduate grades are lower, as long as the portfolio is good enough, there is still a discussion;
On the other hand, comprehensive universities represented by UCL first pay attention to academic hard indicators:
If your grades, language, etc. are not up to standard, and if you do not upload materials according to the general application process of the institution, your work will not reach the tutor at all, let alone have room for transfer.
UCL Master of Architecture Portfolio Requirements:
Seeing this, you should not easily think that the application to an art school is easier than that of a comprehensive university, after all, even if the architecture major is in the RCA with an acceptance rate of only about 5%, it is still the top 10 major with the lowest acceptance rate!
So if you want to apply for architecture majors in RCA, UAL and other art colleges, what should you do to break through the encirclement and get an offer?
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#2
Curriculum & Career Development
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Different admission requirements have laid the foundation for students enrolled in comprehensive universities and art colleges to have different advantages;
Under different training models, architecture students in comprehensive universities and art colleges have also embarked on different career paths.
Let's take Lunyi-Central Saint Martins and the University of Bath, a prestigious school of traditional architecture, as examples.
In this year's latest update of the CUG2024 Complete University Guide rankings, the University of Bath not only ranked in the top 5 overall, but also ranked first in the UK for architecture.
Unlike design schools, architecture at the University of Bath focuses more on the real-life construction of buildings than on conceptual design, so there is more engineering and structural aspects of the curriculum.
For example, the four-year duration of the undergraduate architecture course in Bath is one year longer than most institutions, and the curriculum mainly includes:
Design Studio, Digital Display, Architectural History and Practice, Structural and Environmental Engineering Code, Design Practice, etc.