Post Professional Degree Warning

[Jason T. Radice]

I had planned on getting a Masters since I got my BLA, it was the right time to try to get the MLA. I think that if schools made it easier for professionals, working or not, to get post-prof MLAs, a ton more would. Short terms (1 year to 1.5 yrs w/ thesis), night courses, and no studio requirement (we are in studio all day, do we really need MORE time in a studio?) would make it attractive to a MUCH larger demographic. One or two lecture courses a week with a these is no biggie to handle while working (especially now). I was told by numerous schoold that they “greatly value” having practicing LAs come back for masters for their conveyance of information to fellow students, but few do. Why is that? Want to get pros in your program? Treat us like pros!

[Heather Smith]

Thanks for the warning! It has just reinforced what my husband and I believe. I think it is very tempting for recent graduates to believe that if they can’t grow professionally through employment to stay in the stability that school has to offer with a masters program. I haven’t been doing much with my BLA…concentrating on our adorable children…but Jon is taking any professional experience that comes his way whether it pays or not…to grow connections and gain knowledge that can’t be learned in the classroom…without the additional burden (and isn’t it!) of more student loans.

 

Kudos to you and kudos to LAM for actually publishing it.

[Jim Del Carpio]

Jason,

You will find it interesting to note that L.A. Profession is no longer listed in the top 50 most desirable careers. It’s been replaced by Urban Planning. It’s a viable option to an MLA II.

 

Jim

[Eli Paddle]

I read your original article in LAM and while I understand how you have viewed your experience as an MLA student, I my opinion, had you researched MLA programs as thoroughly prior to enrolling as you did after becoming disenchanted with your experience, you could have avoided this experience altogether.  I do not think many MLA programs market themselves as a vehicle for providing greater professional competency as a practicing LA.  Rather MLA programs are, in my experience, intended for those who want to do academic research, not become better designers or more skilled practicing LA’s necessarily.  Your research may hone your practical skills peripherally but usually the focus of the MLA program is research once they have managed to get the first professional degree students up to some sort of reasonable competency during the first year.  As far as employability goes, in many instances it is harder to get a placement with an MLA than a BLA.

[Boilerplater]

I was just wondering if you had looked into and of the urban design masters programs.  Going by your posts on other Land8 threads, seems like it (might) be a thing you’d be into.  I know some are 1 year programs.  I thought one of those might be a better resume booster for someone licensed with a BLA.  I was also considering a planning masters, but then I realized writing EISs & NEPA documents really wouldn’t be all that interesting.  I like physical planning, site planning, and if you play your cards right, sometimes you can get to do that as an LA.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

Now who is going to do the research to see which MLA programs are designed to strengthen job security for university professors? Are there departments dropping BLA accreditation in order to force continuation in Master’s programs? Watch for it. I know it is coming (…. and I use the word “know”  rather than “think”)

 

Has anyone seen or heard of this?

[Jason T. Radice]

There aren’t any in my region, they are all planning degrees. Don’t want to do that for the same reasons you mentioned.

[Jason T. Radice]

It’s happening with Architecture already. I’ve heard NAAB will no longer accredit BArch degrees offering only to accredit the masters. Plus, the educational standards LAAB are implementing make it exceedingly difficult to cram the requirements into 4 years, or even three for a masters. They are looking at a 3+2 program. Three yr. BS/BA, 2yr MLA/MArch. So does that mean my 5 yr BLA will become a Masters?

[Jason T. Radice]

The combined programs are advertised as post-professional degrees with both a research and studio component. I did indeed to a fair amount of research into the programs, and this particular university had offered the courses in what I wanted to study, only to find out that two out of the three classes in that subject were either no longer offered, or were NEVER offered, yet they are still in the system. The article is as much a commentary on the higher-education system, and you would not beleive the bureaucratic, slow moving and inefficient nightmare that is.

 

BTW: The original article was more than twice the size of what was published, but for space constraints it was pared down to about 850 words. Many of the questions would have been answered by the full article.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

 … might want to get that Master’s in teaching!

[Heather Smith]

Andrew,

UI is dropping BLA accreditation for a forced continuation into the Masters. Glad I went through when I did!

[Noah Billig]

Minnesota has a “combined” MLA program and an MSLA option.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

… how the public sector adjusts to a down economy. It is based on the same assumption raising taxes is. That is that they’ll get more out of the same amount of students. The unaccounted factor is that they may not attract as many students.

 

I think they’ll learn that it won’t work that way, especially in a somewhat remote setting. My expectation is that they will have a big drop in enrollment over the next few years. I believe that they could fill more seats with a good inexpensive accredited degree that is doable in four years than to follow the model of more elite schools. I hope they don’t wreck a good thing, but I think they are making a mistake by killing an advantage that they have and don’t see.

 

Good business is to offer what people want when someone else does not.  Bad business is to try to sell the same product as those with much better name recognition and reputation.

 

I went there (Idaho from Massachusetts) because it was doable in four years and it was inexpensive. People are concerned with student loans and years of not being able to make a living while in school. Even if there is not much out there in landscape architecture, losing a year or two of full time work at Walmart is also costly.

 

They were perennial 1-AA contenders in football and got the brilliant idea that they should go division 1-A. How’s that working out?

 

[nca]

I hope more schools/LAAB follow the NAAB/NCARB 3+2 model.

[Author]

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