“Look to the person to your right. Now, look to your left. Only one of you will become an architect in the traditional sense of the word. If you want to make it, you’ve got to have PASSION for architecture.”
I won’t lie. As I sat in our first lecture listening to those words of caution my professor uttered, I was scared sh*tless… what if I didn’t have enough of that passion he was talking about? As it turns out, the next few years of my life were to be grueling but rewarding in so many ways.
The reputation of McGill was undeniably a major factor in my decision.
Why McGill Architecture?
A kiosk sits right at the entrance of the university campus for the first two weeks of school selling t-shirts with “McGill University: Canada’s Harvard” sprawled across the front. The reputation of McGill was undeniably a major factor in my decision. But various other features made it a standout choice for me: its central location within a creative, hip and bilingual Montreal (home of the Canadian Centre for Architecture), its gorgeous leafy campus with its incredible grey-stone grand buildings, the international mix of students, and the general spirit of higher education within the university.
The choice for architecture itself was a natural path for me. I was an avid generalist wanting to learn about every subject that I could in school from Math, Business, History, Engineering, Fine Arts, the list goes on… However, practical that I am, I wanted an education that would lead to a profession. Architecture was the generalist’s dream.
The Selection Process
Unlike other architecture programs in Quebec, prospective students entering into the program of architecture at McGill are expected to come from a Pure & Applied Science background (like me) and submit a portfolio of their creative work. Students coming from the province of Quebec directly enter U1 and will normally finish their B Sc. Arch within 3 years. International Students and out-of-province students will enter U0 and will finish their degree within 4 years. Their first year serves as a bridge to complete all the required Chemistry, Physics and Math courses Quebec students would have undertaken already. Approximately 50 students are selected each year. The competition is fierce and the quality is high.
But most of all, it’s where you learn with and from your peers.
The Next Three Years
The core of the program lies in Studio coursework where you are assigned 1 to 4 design projects to work on per semester by yourself or in groups. It takes up 6 credits out of the usual 15 credits for each of the 6 semesters. The student to teacher ratio is approximately 14:1 meaning we get regular valuable one-to-one time with our professors. We are each allotted a desk for this course at the beginning of the year and this becomes your home where friends are made, you work endless nights, sometimes have bloody box cutter accidents from model-making but most of all, it’s where you learn with and from your peers.
The other classes are meant to complement your architectural education including, but not limited to architectural history, freehand drawing, civil engineering, digital representation, landscape, law, building technology, and sustainable design. You are also allowed to take 6 credits worth of any classes outside the School of Architecture. I decided to take a German languages course in anticipation of my exchange semester in Vienna, Austria. Speaking of which…
Education Outside McGill
The School of Architecture offers a wide range of study abroad opportunities like bilateral exchange programs (Mexico, United States, France, Denmark, Austria, Italy, and Belgium), summer courses abroad (Greece, Italy, Japan, etc.) and traveling fellowships (in July 2010, students are going to India). If you have the means to do so, these are opportunities not to be missed!
We are also required to complete a 10-day Sketching School where our class spends the entire time sketching scenes of architectural interest in a remote setting. Not only do you spend a great time, you end up with many beautiful watercolours you can give as Christmas presents (great when you’re on a student budget!).
Competitions are also a great way to increase work in your portfolio and learn about important the real-world aspects of architecture. It has become tradition for McGill students to enter the Canadian Center for Architecture 48-hour Charette Competition as well as a competition to design a room in the Ice Hotel in Quebec City.
Though the lectures occur in our auditorium, I consider the weekly evening lecture series given at McGill extra education. Renowned guest-speakers from around the world to the city of Montreal itself give amazing lectures about the discipline of architecture and related fields.
Facilities
McGill has access to a wide number of unbelievable facilities some of which are aging but are definitely still valuable:
- Blackader Library for Art and Architecture (among its many other libraries)
- Online access to thousands of scholarly journals
- John Bland Canadian Architecture Archives
- A (small, and smelly because of unshowered architecture students) 24-hour computer lab with plotter
- 24-hour studio workrooms where each student is allowed their own desk and storage space
- Media Center where you can loan out SLR cameras and HD video cameras
- Photo studio (somewhat primitive, but adequate)
- Workshop with a very helpful technician
- 24-hour (smaller) workshop
- Laser cutter
- CNC-miller
- 3D Printer
- An architecture student-run café that is renown campus-wide
Character-defining Features of McGill Architecture
McGill has always been known as being more conservative and traditional.
McGill has always been known as being more conservative and traditional with a greater emphasis on a theoretical approach. As a research university, McGill excels. The teaching staff and graduate students, as a collective, have garnered numerous awards and taught and shared their knowledge at McGill for a long time.
Our new program director, Michael Jemtrud has been radically transforming the school towards innovative research into new media and has embraced the integration of new technologies within architecture. With his appointment, a new wave of technologically inclined, younger professors has joined the staff like a breath of fresh air amidst the more conservative professors.
As students, we are expected to learn the more practical and technical aspects of architecture, such as how to work with AutoCAD and drafting by hand, independently within our peers. McGill does not have a co-op architecture program so you are also expected to find jobs and internships on your own time. The career help is limited to the Engineer Career Centre (who are great with editing CVs and prepping for interviews) and a small billboard where the student advisor pins job ads.
McGill is not a technical university, and to many students’ dismay, find themselves unprepared technically for the workforce but learn quickly during their internships. At school, we learn to critically assess concepts behind architectural approaches instead of learning instructions as to how to do things as they are. McGill is not a university where you are held by the hand, but it is instead where you learn to become a thinker and leader through greater responsibility. As our director once told me, McGill is a school where leaders are born, not just technicians.
Of those who finished, several are debating between careers in fields other than architecture.
Was My First Year Professor Right?
You really do need passion for architecture, whether you have it from the onset or develop it over the years. About 8 people out of the original 54 dropped out of the program and of those who finished, several are debating between careers in fields other than architecture (industrial design, graphic design, law, museology, etc.), which is probably an average percentage for any program. Because of the recession, peers and I had a difficult time finding internships because many architecture firms had limited their student hiring budget. Anyways, this is to be expected from a career where job security isn’t a given…
What I can say for sure is that Architecture is one of the greatest general university educations you can receive mixing fine arts, science, engineering, sociology, history, music, law… almost everything! Whether you end up an architect or not, you’re leaving the program with an unbelievable education that will be useful in many other applications.
As for me, after taking a course in Heritage Conservation, I became fascinated with restoration and theory of architectural conservation. My architectural passion lies in saving beautiful historical architecture and documenting our built past as a way to learn about society. I’m rounding out my studies with a minor in Construction Engineering and Management (but have yet to finish my minor courses so have not commented on them) and am currently interning at an architectural firm specializing in heritage conservation. I plan to continue with a Master’s degree (which is required to become a professional, certified architect) as well as one day soon, study to become LEED certified (the current standard for green building in North America).
You are more than welcome to view my work on the following website: http://issuu.com/miramui/docs/0708portfolio. Please take note however, that this portfolio dates back from Winter 2008.
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the t-shirts say: Harvard: America’s McGill