Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)

The School that Changed a City I write this review not as an alumni but as an Angeleno. When the Sci-arc moved to its current location from Marina del Rey in 2000 the surrounding neighborhood was empty, desolate, and filled with crime and homeless. People say there are three things that fuel a thriving community: housing, dining, and schools. It has been almost over a decade since housing and restaurants slowly and carefully moved in, but it wasn't until Sci-arc finally purchased the build that it rented for so many years. That catapulted the community into the fast lane. Housing sky rocked, hip restaurants and boutique stores moved in, mega complexes started to get built. It's a milestone that changed the entire eastside of Los Angeles. Architects Home Grown The connective tissue between Sci-arc and downtown Los Angeles is undeniable and beneficial to both parties. Students and faculty architects are deeply engrained in the current rising of Downtown Los Angeles.

Fitting to see they can't seem to crack the lists of top architecture schools, trophies just for placing I guess, although one of the highest tuition costs in the country doesn't seem justified if the prestige isn't really all that great with hiring firms. Not as advertised in my opinion (though they do seem to self-advertise heavily), it is a good old boys club as far as I am concerned, intelligence takes a backseat and only a handful of students who play that game will really thrive from a system like that. They seem to take whoever they can get, with a very high acceptance rate for an "elite" school. In my own experience making the mistake of attending the MArch2 program for two semesters, the literacy rates were dreadful, "easiest A you'll ever get" I had heard a few times in conversation when I mentioned that it bothered me some of my graduate peers struggled to read English at a supposedly elite educational institution in the United States. For how "competitive" they lauded the student body to be when I voiced complaint, in my architectural theory classes most of the students could hardly read written English, much less participate their words in any meaningful discussion with professors who struck me as the incredibly elitist type that could care less who they're teaching. After all it's not like they will remember many of the student livestock, mostly mislead into coming from overseas, once they've paid for the last semester of extremely over-priced tuition. It's also worth mentioning that the studio instructors browbeat students into spending what I always considered a second tuition cost on supplies, pedestals, expensive 3d-prints due most classes, and in render-farm credits necessary to finish animated assignments. The burden of most of those payments is thrown damn near entirely on the student. Just in case I haven't supplied enough of a warning, have fun with your sorry excuse for a workspace. That's right, each student was given what was called a desk made out of a few trash pieces of plywood or particle board that must be some sort of minimalist inside-joke between the faculty. Maybe with the previous dean it was a better situation, but Hernan has not been very impressive. But again that's just my opinion, perhaps if they were more transparent concerning graduate job placement statistics, or lack thereof... 1/5 Avoid Like The Plague

Basically sci-arc is a scam especially their edge-program. They shouldn’t open stuff like fiction and entertainment, as far as I most student goes bankrupt after enrolling that program! Imagining a film school teaching architecture design then congratulations you will never able to compete with the real architect. Anyway, they only benefit for their selves, for example my professor do scam and make more than 150K per year, so he bought a houses in LA in just 2 years. Do go there, you will be put into a trap and it takes you few years or you never strong enough to go out from the trap.

The school that is proud of their high number international students! I don’t know about others, I was clearly misled by chair of admission who told me I will be hired to work on a project that the institute has won, located in South of Paris. He explained how lucky I would be to be able to work while I study as other students had to look for work after graduation. It was a lie. After I arrived I had to ask about the project multiple times, and eventually I was told it has been a miscommunication. A miscommunication! No projects. So it was only a small lie to get me on board. The lies still continue in every occasion. I’d say this school is highly unethical in many ways. Also, you will use broken chairs and desks made of cheap materials. Stay away.

Sciarc is simply a scam. They really need to redefine their purpose as they don’t seem to understand they don’t train architects in any way. They train artists (who 3D model wired buildings only) or maybe they know but still pretend they are training architects. The tuition is extremely high (unless you have money to through out of the window and have time to kill) and since the school is not popular (they heavily self advertise otherwise and fake their rank but do not believe everything you read please), they literally take in anyone (I repeat anyone) who applies (and pays). In sciarc it is very popular to bump into students who seem totally out of place, if you feel they are indeed out of place, consider the possibility that you may be the one who is out of place! Companies do not like to hire from sciarc either unless they look for “CAD monkeys” (sorry but this is the truth) for $4 to $6 per hour. (So sorry) Some call sciarc an “OPT SHOP” too since foreign students who plan want to stay in the US enroll to sciarc to take benefit from the 3 year OPT. Not recommended.

Interesting place to work. Many new lofts and shopping areas. Being that L.A. has opened up businesses again it's lot's of people out. 6ft away!!

Two years of graduation, two years of unemployment...Can the school more focus on Architecture, don't miss-leading people for things like Film,Media.Etc.So expensive and without STEM Visa.

Simply one of the best architecture schools in the world. the program is intense as it is rewarding!!!

Believe ALL the BAD THINGS you hear about this school. Do not fall for their lies and fake promises. You will end up in debt and heartbreak. Please, do your research and do yourself a favor and attend a community college, a UC or a Cal State. A degree is a degree!!! You do not need to attend this school in order to be an architect. The only people who can afford to attend this school are funded by mommy and daddy. If you do not have money do not attend this school!!!!

DO NOT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL! I repeat, do not attend this school. Especially if you are offered a scholarship. They offer scholarships to minorities (black/hispanic/latino) as a method to increase the number of minorities within their yearly stats. This all stems from a commitment to empower minorities within the field of architecture but Sci Arc falls extremely short of that. It is all a facade to show progression and diversity in the school. They offer you an exciting opportunity, only to take it away from you the following year. They do not care about your education, they only care about money, if you do not have money, do not fall for their empty promises. Save yourself the grief and attend a UC or Cal State. You'll be better off.

The School that Changed a City I write this review not as an alumni but as an Angeleno. When the Sci-arc moved to its current location from Marina del Rey in 2000 the surrounding neighborhood was empty, desolate, and filled with crime and homeless. People say there are three things that fuel a thriving community: housing, dining, and schools. It has been almost over a decade since housing and restaurants slowly and carefully moved in, but it wasn't until Sci-arc finally purchased the build that it rented for so many years. That catapulted the community into the fast lane. Housing sky rocked, hip restaurants and boutique stores moved in, mega complexes started to get built. It's a milestone that changed the entire eastside of Los Angeles. Architects Home Grown The connective tissue between Sci-arc and downtown Los Angeles is undeniable and beneficial to both parties. Students and faculty architects are deeply engrained in the current rising of Downtown Los Angeles.

I am having a hard time really writing this review because the news I just heard....but here is goes. Wednesday I went to their Wednesday lecture series to hear Raimund Abraham http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/FQbtB8N4gzuiA1feV7i0Ng?select=19anjMpn84iN4jnTx5B9xg . The school is amazing in so many ways. It is located in an old train depot. It is totally open with just walls separating some areas but you just walk right through people doing their presentations and people working in the studios. During the lecture people had cans of beers and the professors didn't care. The lecture was great. Raimund Abraham spoke about his life and his work as an architect. Sadly when trying to pull up how to spell his name I found out that just a few hours after his lecture he was in a car accident downtown (which is where Sci-Arc is) and died. Very very sad...RIP! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/arts/design/06abraham.html My blog about my experience http://southparkinla.blogspot.com/2010/03/sci-arc-wednesday-lecture-series.html

Southern California Institute of Architecture, best known as "SCI-Arc". This is not your average Architectural School. Instead of green campus, it's got concrete slab. Instead of organized metered parking structures, it's got an empty lot of parking. Instead of ivy league insignia, it's got.. hmm.. actually nothing. Instead of classrooms in glorious historic buildings, it's got sections of studio tables in this mile long abandoned freight depot. Seriously, how cool is that! If you walk around the building, you'll find their seasonal Architectural/Design Exhibitions and some pin-up of students works. They also organize seasonal lectures of some famous and upcoming architects/designers/modern thinkers/people who influence the latest in architecture. They also have summer programs called "Making + Meaning" for people who are interested in Architecture and don't have time for a 5-years degree. For more information, check out their website: www.sciarc.edu.

Urbanism is at work here at SCI-Arc, both literally and figuratively. certainly, it's a school that practices what it preaches. i remember coming to this formerly abandoned freight depot not so many several years ago...amid the squatters, rat dung, shattered windows, profuse graffitti (hiding a few artistic gems!) and bleak urban wasteland strewn with trash and debris, my bud and i picked up a stray decayed plank of wood and some kinda (URO) Unidentifiable Round Object and had a brief game of baseball 'inside.' i use the term 'inside' inside the quotes b/c it was inside in name only, really, it was more like a rotted open-air shell exposed to the elements. Fast forward several years later and i'm taking night classes here with a real character of a professor who knows his shit, hangin' with some friends who are full timers in the M. of Architecture program. It feels good to know something great became of this space!

I'm not a student here and my review is purely for their Wednesday night lecture series that is open to the public. They have some great guest lecturers and forward thinkers that come to speak about their industry and life experiences and you, yes YOU are invited to be a part of the dialogue. Next week Benjamin Bratton will be giving his lecture in his theory of computational theory which is said to be "mind-blowing." you can be the judge. http://www.sciarc.edu/lectures.php the last lecturer i checked out was dan the automator. pretty cool imho.

I have the poster for an old speaker series on my closet door. The lecturers are a well curated because they chose people who are critical, cross-disciplinary, and international. I like how they value engagement and innovation. In addition to making models, students have to have an opinion about the issues related to what they create. This is my current dream school, even if I have a different major.

AGAIN, I hd trouble finding Sci-Arc, this time not only because MTA drivers have no idea, but they are doing construction right outside: as usual the entrance is not where I thought it should be, though it's easier to find, given that there are so MANY entrances for students. ONCE I found the exhibit and that took some walking, I was VERY IMPRESSED: The LATIMEs had written a review and I, not realizing that it had been open for a month, thought i'd better get there as it closes at the end of the week. You have to check with them, I guess , about their exhibits or use your 'psychic powers.' This exhibit , curated by Sylvia levin, the SCI arc curator, is called the DUCK AND THE DOCUMENT are FRAGMENTS of post modern 'procedures' or designs, which contain all kinds of interesting 'artifacts' or objects relating to the various projects, INCLUDING the price, for example of a new home in bethesda, Md in l969! OH if only .....nevertheless, I am neither ran archtect nor a great reader of 'documents; but this exhibit is VERY VERY interesting and easily comprehended: it's not TOO big, but even though it might look SMALL, its very dense and if you can get there before Sunday, do so!! IT is, after all in the ARTS District and there's plenty else to see. By the way the person at the exhibit itself is very young but very nice, and Maria at the front desk, warmed up when i told her about the review.....go figure.

if you decided to spend lots of money and earn an architecture degree, come here. the school is totally screw over all students on price. there are better options value-wise available to spend money for a degree sci-arc provides really bad student services *the school is spending tons of students tuition showing off in any aspects to attract new people paying for it *no free parking for such expensive tuition *expensive prints for school needs *expensive art supply *worst wifi compare to other universities(each students are only allow to connect to unstable, slow with two devices) *blocking A lot of websites to student on campus. no music, no video, no gaming? such a stupid and conservative regulation *they strongly ask all students to spend thousands of dollars(more than 2000$) to build a PC that they provides the worst internet service and internet freedom of all places. the 2000 workshop PC can not be used for anything other than regular school work. such a waste of money *there are so many restriction for students *expensive parking *worst class schdule ever, they will arrange all your class, option is not an option *not all teachers are good, there are some class is shitty and you are paying for it *almost zero credit transfer for all college transfer student

Fitting to see they can't seem to crack the lists of top architecture schools, trophies just for placing I guess, although one of the highest tuition costs in the country doesn't seem justified if the prestige isn't really all that great with hiring firms. Not as advertised in my opinion (though they do seem to self-advertise heavily), it is a good old boys club as far as I am concerned, intelligence takes a backseat and only a handful of students who play that game will really thrive from a system like that. They seem to take whoever they can get, with a very high acceptance rate for an "elite" school. In my own experience making the mistake of attending the MArch2 program for two semesters, the literacy rates were dreadful, "easiest A you'll ever get" I had heard a few times in conversation when I mentioned that it bothered me some of my graduate peers struggled to read English at a supposedly elite educational institution in the United States. For how "competitive" they lauded the student body to be when I voiced complaint, in my architectural theory classes most of the students could hardly read written English, much less participate their words in any meaningful discussion with professors who struck me as the incredibly elitist type that could care less who they're teaching. After all it's not like they will remember many of the student livestock, mostly mislead into coming from overseas, once they've paid for the last semester of extremely over-priced tuition. It's also worth mentioning that the studio instructors browbeat students into spending what I always considered a second tuition cost on supplies, pedestals, expensive 3d-prints due most classes, and in render-farm credits necessary to finish animated assignments. Consider these ghost fees. The burden of most of those payments is thrown damn near entirely on the student. Just in case I haven't supplied enough of a warning, have fun with your sorry excuse for a workspace. That's right, each student was given what was called a desk made out of a few trash pieces of plywood or particle board that must be some sort of minimalist inside-joke between the faculty. Maybe with the previous dean it was a better situation, but Hernan has not been very impressive. But again that's just my opinion, perhaps if they were more transparent concerning graduate job placement statistics, or lack thereof... 0/5 Avoid Like The Plague

if you are set on pursuing architecture and are interested in producing innovative, avant-garde designs then this school is for you! I'm currently in my 1st year of grad school at SCI-Arc coming In with bachelor degrees that are completely unrelated, I can give you my two-cent on how school life here is radically different from any other school life that you've been through. the only degree you can pursue here is architecture with a variation in focuses depending on programs but overall, this school is just architecture so in that sense, all you hear about day-in and day-out is architecture. at first, it was too much for me. I wanted to just get away from school at least for the weekend and forget about architecture. but there is no escape since you always need to put in many hours even on the weekends to produce quality work. after one semester, I've assimilated myself into this new culture of thinking towards architecture and about my own studio work. this school is like a sweatshop of architecture. people will work hard in pursuit of producing aesthetically pleasing, quality work at whatever cost. whether it's paying $10k to complete their thesis work, paying $200 for one large print job, creating pedestals and shelves to create a gallery quality presentation and also working at school for many days without showering or sleeping. essentially, presentation is everything here. I've asked several students who have previously studied at other architecture schools and they all agree: expectations for presentation quality work is much higher here. people here come from all walks of life. more than half are international students; therefore, people have different ideas/personalities/customs/backgrounds, which has allowed me to open up my mind. but I have to say, I've met a lot of interesting and/or strange people. but perhaps that's what makes them so creative. this is definitely a whole another world compared to my typical, large, public school undergrad experience. on the upside, people here are nice in the sense that people are willing to help you. there is a sense of studio culture as we all are in it together - a sense of community. however, when it comes to critiques, there is a sense of competitiveness that looms the air. everyone is quite driven here and will take whatever measures to get their presentations right. in my short time here, I have done countless all-nighters, stressed out profusely, and have pushed myself harder than I can imagine. I've grown as a person and changed my values on life. Having been stripped of my basic needs as a human being, I value sleep more than anything and practice time management with rigor. the one thing I look forward to in the day is eating and that gives me the most pleasure in life for now. This school has definitely reshaped me as a person and Id like to see how much more I can transform and mature.

Best architecture school in the world. The faculty and accomplishments of the alumni need no description. What school has so many pritzker prize winners?

Took a tour of the historic Sci-Arc building while an Arts District architectural tour led by docents. If you have the opportunity to walk through the school, you'll find it quite interesting if you're even a casual fan of architecture and design. Head up to library and you'll find a custom made conference table worth admiring and photographing.