Rice, College of Architecture

Sophie visited over ten architecture schools in person and created an ambitious list of schools which would allow her to pursue her interest in architecture as it relates to the development of sustainable physical spaces and their understanding of cultural issues which may impact their design. She also wanted a school which allowed her to have work experiences during college. Rice also appealed to her because while it is a medium sized university (about 7,000 students) the architecture program is small (about 200 students) and to encourage students to connect Rice has an 11 college “residential college system” allowing a larger university to feel more intimate.

Rice offers the Bachelors in Architecture (BArch), a five year degree accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which along with fulfilling other requirements, qualifies you to take the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) to become a licensed architect. This is an important consideration for architecture students as the four year BA or BS in Architecture requires you to take a Master of Architecture (MArch) degree to sit for this license. The MArch varies in length from four to seven semesters depending on the qualifications of the degree preceeding it. This difference both adds to the cost and the length of time required to achieve licensure to practice architecture.

Rice architecture fit all her requirements.

Sophie is a fantastic student who worked hard to gain acceptance to the architecture program at Rice. Besides doing very well academically at her rigorous high school, she also participated as a varsity athlete and as a student government leader. Her architecture portfolio consisted of both hand drawings and CAD drawings as well as non architecture related forms.

Her excited email to me when she was accepted says it all “I GOT IN!!!! Thank you so much for seeing me through this process. You were the best advisor I could have ever asked for.”