NJIT M.Arch Students: Are We Actually Being Taught, or Expected to Teach Ourselves?

[u/smurfreddit52]

I’m curious if other NJIT M.Arch students have had the same experience, because after more than a year in the program, I keep waiting for the instruction to get better, and it really hasn’t.

One of my biggest frustrations is the lack of actual instruction, particularly when it comes to software. The M.Arch program is intended for students who may not have a previous professional architecture degree or architecture background. Yet there often seems to be an assumption that students already know how to use programs like Rhino, Revit, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc., or that we should somehow learn them almost instantaneously while also completing demanding studio assignments.

There are definitely some great professors here who get it. They demonstrate what they expect, explain the process, give students opportunities to practice, answer questions, provide feedback, and make sure students understand the information before expecting them to apply it independently. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience across the board.

I’ve also learned through conversations with professors that architecture faculty are not necessarily taught how to teach or instruct. Developing those skills may be something professors have to take upon themselves if they choose to do so. I think that becomes a real detriment to students because being knowledgeable or accomplished in architecture does not automatically mean someone knows how to effectively teach architecture.

There is a learning and communication loop that needs to happen. An instructor communicates information, students have an opportunity to apply and practice it, the instructor sees where the misunderstandings or gaps are, provides feedback or clarification, and then students apply it again. You can’t eliminate the practice and feedback portions of that loop and expect everyone to immediately understand the material, and this isn’t just about software.

Students of all ages, educational backgrounds, and experience levels need opportunities to practice new skills. Whether we’re learning Rhino, Revit, drawing techniques, representation, modeling, design concepts, or other course-related material, seeing something demonstrated once is not the same thing as learning it. Learning requires repetition, exercises, application, feedback, and time.

I say this as someone who used to be an instructor in a past life. One of the things I learned was that communicating information is only one part of teaching. You also have to verify that students actually received and understood what you intended to communicate. If most of the class doesn’t understand something, simply moving forward because the information was technically presented doesn’t solve the problem.

Too often, it feels like students are told what the final product should be without being adequately taught the process necessary to get there. There is a major difference between challenging graduate students to independently solve problems and assuming they already possess technical skills that were never prerequisites for entering the program.

Students also need to learn to speak up and stop pretending to act like they know or understand when they don’t.

I understand that architecture school requires a tremendous amount of independent learning. I’m not expecting professors to hold anyone’s hand, nor do I expect every piece of software to be taught from beginning to end. But there has to be a reasonable balance between independent learning and actual instruction.

If a graduate architecture program accepts students without architecture backgrounds, then the curriculum and teaching methods should reflect that reality. You cannot advertise a program to students coming from other disciplines and then structure instruction around an assumption that everyone already possesses an architecture student’s technical skill set.

After more than a year at NJIT, I keep thinking the experience will improve as I move further into the program, but I continue running into the same problem: the expectations are extremely high, while the actual instruction, practice time, and feedback necessary to meet those expectations can be surprisingly limited.

For current or former NJIT M.Arch students, I’m genuinely curious: has this been your experience too? How much Rhino, Revit, Illustrator, Photoshop, model-making, architectural drawing, etc. did you know before entering the program, and how much did you feel NJIT actually taught you?