Studying Architecture

A building is much more than just mere bricks and mortar. A building’s design, feel and appeal links in with both its purpose and the organisation that it houses. For example, a building housing US Embassy would look very different from a shopping centre.

Studying architecture will teach the core techniques and technical knowledge needed to design buildings and their surrounding landscape. With there being a big push towards living sustainably, you could also learn to design energy efficient buildings.

Some of the most popular universities in the United States that offer programmes in architecture include:

• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• University Of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Maryland University
• Brandeis University

Salary and Career Prospects

Architecture graduates are employed by construction companies, architecture and design firms and sometimes in-house by retail and hospitality companies. Some professionals go on to work on a freelance basis or set up their own practice.

Some of the roles they take up are Junior Architect, Architect, Resident Architect, Project Architect, Landscape Architect and Interior Architect.

Salaries vary based on job role, industry, experience, qualifications, skills and location. As a guide, architects earn around $74,000 a year (52 lakhs INR).

Why study in USA?

The United States of America is the most popular destination for international students. Its universities are widely regarded as being among the best in the world for teaching, learning and research. In fact, American universities consistently outrank non-American universities in QS World Rankings every year.

The US economy is the world’s largest. The country is the birthplace of conglomerates like Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, Citi Group, Ford and Walmart. American companies operate in pretty much every sector or industry, ranging from IT and technology to pharmaceutical to retail, transport, and hospitality. Different regions of the United States are known for excelling in different industries. California, for example is a world-leading IT and technology hub and New York is a major business, banking and finance hub. In addition to this, several international agencies like the United Nations, World Bank are headquartered in USA.

The country is a popular tourist destination, with millions of tourists drawn to its vibrant cities, breathtakingly beautiful national parks and landscapes, excellent dining, hospitality and leisure options and historic buildings, museums and art galleries. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle are among the biggest cities.

There is no language barrier because English is the de facto official language. However, USA is a multicultural country and several hundred languages are spoken at community level.

International graduates are able to apply for a post-study work permit, or optional practical training (OPT) as it is called in the States for a period of up to 36 months.