Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 7/10/2004

Question
my son is interested in pursuing some kind of career in architecture or engineering.

i want him to go to a good school to learn this.  here's the catch - he also plays football and may end up getting a scholarship.

can you recommend some good schools that have good design, architecture, or engineering programs, and also have good football programs?  it can be either Div A or AA.

thanks.

Answer
Mike:

Thanks for your question!

Top of the list would probably be Rice in Houston, although there are likely to be a few others.  There's an excellent book from "Design Intelligence" that details the best programs.

However, if you and he are serious about architecture, I think you'll find that studying architecture and playing football are incompatible.  Architecture school is a 24-hour-a-day commitment; the standing joke is that the architecture building is easiest one to find on campus - all the lights are on 24/7!

The first year of architecture school (especially the first semester) is devoted to weeding out those who aren't committed to it - and the faculty is serious about it.  My second semester classes were less than half the size of the first semester!  From an initial freshman class of 150, we graduated about 35.

If you visit some schools of architecture while they're in session, I think you'll get the picture - lots of chin stubble, lots of bags under the eyes.  But mostly you'll find kids who are very enthusiastic about pursuing the profession and who are putting all of their free time into it.  There's no such thing as a double major if one of them is architecture!

I can remember more than one occasion when I had to choose between completing a design project and studying for a final in another class.  In fact, I once skipped my calculus final to finish my design project (two all-nighters back-to-back).

It's not impossible to do both, of course, but I think your son will very quicky find himself having to choose one or the other - especially if the architecture and football programs are quality ones.

Hope this helps!

Richard Taylor, AIA
Richard Taylor Architects, LLC
www.rtastudio.com