well well... thanks justin for the introduction heheh.

UM is the fastest growing architecture school in malaysia right now, and probably the most sought after. there are several reasons for this:

i. UM is in KL
ii. UM is the most prestigious university in msia, and internationally recognized too
iii. UM's architecture is accredited by RIBA and PAM. graduates will get both qualifications (RIBA & PAM part 2), which is british and msian accreditation.

why people go to UTM

i. UTM is the most established architecture school in msia and the graduates are internationally recognized
ii. as justin said, UTM is the benchmark for all architecture school in msia as they set the standard
iii. UTM has the biggest architecture resource in msia

actually, UTM and UM is not very different schools. although both are trying to establish a really distinguishing mark. UTM is moving away from the technical school template, and UM i believe is going after theoretical studies. prof saari is coming to stay with me in sheffield this august. probably i'll have some time to discuss with him on the difference between UTM and UM. u think u can wait, winnie?

being selangorian didnt stop me n my bunch from joining utm. most of us from kl didnt have any problems adjusting to jb life. much less hectic. but if hectic is what u want, singapore is just about 45 minutes away.

the choice between UM and UTM is a difficult one. if u're going international, go for RIBA. if u want a more established course with a record of excellence, go for UTM. UTM is currently undergoing RIBA assessment. we're targeting to be accredited by RIBA by 2010, that's before u graduate (if u enrol this year).

UM and UTM have the same template anyway. the only reason why UTM hasnt been awarded with RIBA part 2 is bcoz the original instruction by the govment that UTM take SPM leavers rather than STPM. RIBA only accepts STPM/A-level students, so it took us awhile to change from a 6 year post SPM degree course to a 5 year post STPM degree course, which was 3 years ago.

justin here was the last batch of the old system to come in from SPM.

frankly, go to UM. it's new, radical and it's open to a lot of things. if u favor (or trust) tradition and established method of learning, come to UTM. here's another catch:

about 65% of architects graduating from local schools out there are from UTM. somehow they tend to favor UTM graduates whom they could relate to. most of the lecturers of the other universities are from UTM too, and i think a huge chunk of UM's lecturers are from UTM.

so between UTM and UM, not much different to me. just take ur pick, u're not losing anything.

best architecture course? go to bartlett, bauhaus or AA laaa.

not sure about UiTM's diploma course. UTM chucked its diploma course 3 years ago, and relocated it in KL. so we now have two separate system running concurrently: 3 years diploma (post SPM) in KL, 5 years degree (post STPM).

i think by 2008 it will be split into 2, which is 3+2 years instead a 5 year degree. reason? so that people could take a breather. i assume UiTM is following this approach too. all degrees in malaysia are required to take STPM/A-level students only. no more SPM leavers.

hmm... if u're applying using STPM, then u'll have a hard time competing with other students if u do not have BM. a way around this usually (for those who had trouble speaking/writing BM especially foreigners) is to apply using A-levels. however, i cant be sure whether BM is actually a requirement for STPM holders nowadays. it was a few years back. u'd have to check.


WINNIE,

site visit is a constant happenings in the world of architecture. but usually, trips are organized for the students in groups by the department or the tutor themselves. usually if the site is quite far away, u'll have a day or two to spend on site. this is part of a training of an architect.

trips can be as often as 3times a semester. established universities such as UTM or UM will provide transports, and sometimes cheap accommodation as well. depends on the arrangement done by the department. frankly, it's not something u should worry about.

however, what justin said is when u want to organize ur own personal trip. for example, if kenyeang held a talk in penang, would u like to spend 8-9hours sitting in the bus from JB to penang, and another trip back?

if u ask most of us, the answer is simple: we dont mind.

with the new development of WPI in johor, u'll be looking into a lot of development in johor. UTM have set up its own design firm where lecturers will become practicing architects and will be working with students as well. this firm will tap from the new developments and if u're lucky, u might have a hand in constructing/designing new buildings in johor even before u graduate!

other schools of architecture in msia do not have their own design firms. they have individual private firms where members of the faculty practices, but non are representative of the school.

euro,

USM is one of the senior school of architecture in msia. they are well established in the housing and planning field in msia, which is their specialization. USM's syllabus is very stable at the moment, and since they've used the international curriculum since god knows when, they're not going into any changes for atleast the next 5-7years.

the faculty members are experienced and have published a lot of material relating to the fields mentioned above, and are mostly the sought after experts ESPECIALLY when a scandal errupts about something in those fields uncovered by the media.



STPM requirement for UTM is the same with UM and any other local Us in msia. i'm sorry i couldnt be more specific, as i'm currently in my honeymoon, so not in direct contact with UTM's intake dept. will provide info later within a week.



all schools of architecture (other than polytechnics) have been conducting their course in english for quite some time.

UM, UTM and USM are all currently using international standard. what i meant by non international is when the intake of students before (before 2000) were all from SPM. international standard for intake into degree courses are STPM/A-levels. so after 2000, they've standardized everything. USM have been using the STPM standard all along.

contrary to most belief, the intake requirement for all universities in malaysia are pretty low. although some are still higher than overseas requirement. however, we're talking about competition of intakes. if 2000 students apply for architecture in UM in 2006, probably the top 100 will make it, where their results may range between multiple As or so.



no. not currently. malaysia does not recognize twinning programmes for architecture (refer professional code for architects).

i'm doing my PhD currently fully sponsored by the government through UTM. i've always wanted to study up to PhD level, and UTM is one way for me to achieve this dream. .

currently in singapore changi airport. will update later.

actually UTM's staff:student ratio is 1:15. that's the maximum allowable ratio for architecture studio. intakes per year is about 80-100 where yearly applicants are about 1500-1700 by average. that means only 1 student actually made it out of 15.

other more popular courses usually has a ratio of about 1:40 to 1:70, depending on school and year of intake.

architecture is not exactly popular, but there are only 5 professional fields in the world, and architecture is one of it (besides medicine, law, accountancy and engineering). more and more fields are becoming legally termed as professional.



chance has more hand in it than my "brightness" lol. since everyone assumed its hard to get sponsorship for post graduate studies, NO ONE actually applied when i applied. my results are above average, but not exactly spectacular. u see, sometimes understanding the situation is quite important in determining ur chances.

its the same with average students who got into universities. sometimes, its just a matter of luck that they got in, not necessarily bcoz they knew someone or use under-table money .

i'm here to help people understand the system. remember, for architecture, u dont need to be good at drawings. u need to be creative!

thanks justin. that kinda explains it roughly. the title "professor" is being used differently in the US compared to the REST OF THE WORLD. in the US, professor is any person who teaches in the university, regardless if he obtained a phd, expert in the particular field, experienced or not. funny eh?

euro, i'm not sure whether univ of northumbria is recognized or not coz i couldnt check it immediately right now. will try to get the info for u later. but to be sure, there arent that many schools of architecture in the UK that is not recognized.

i have designed some minor buildings (bungalows/house rennovations). but the biggest design that i've had my hands on it is the Johor Administrative Building in Parcel C3, Nusajaya. it's still under construction, should be completed by late next year. it's a collaborative work though, but alot of my ideas are in it .

so to put it simply, i'm doing a bit of both, practice and teaching. that's the only way to keep us (lecturers) up to date with all the skills and knowledge of the field.

currently, the main requirement for SPM holder to take archi course is: STPM/A-level or equivalent.

creativity is more important than artistic abilities. to put it simply, u need creativity + logic for architecture. do try to score on subjects that centres on those.

as euro replied: STPM or A-levels will take u straight to degree. but i'll explain this further.

unlike most science or arts based courses, architecture requires a specific preset of skills (mainly communications that includes drawing skills, public speaking, writing etc). the so called "foundation" course is usually during the 1st year of the degree course itself. that's why architecture courses take slightly a bit longer to finish than most other courses (5 years instead of 4).

first of all, what qualifications r we talking about here? a-levels? matrics?

whatever it is, minimum requirement for architecture is 2.3. some universities goes as high as 2.7, so it depends. however, applying with a 3.0 for 2.3 university doesnt mean u'll get in. it depends on how many people with better qualifications than u applied that year.

as for the guidance for the course as well as interview, do scroll back to earlier pages of this topic. it has been discussed before .

as justin mentioned, UM have already been awarded with RIBA (part 1 and 2) qualifications. UTM is currently working to finalize the new curriculum that would comply to all international recognitions (not just RIBA). UiTM have just started to look into their curriculum. i dont think USM is doing anything about it coz all they need to do is "apply". UIAM, UKM and UPM are still working to get PAM's (pertubuhan akitek malaysia) part 2 recognition. same goes with ALL private architecture schools.

actually, malaysian construction industry is not that bad today compared to before 1997 (pre-economic crisis). alot of new architect firms opened and they seemed to be able to sustain themselves with non-government projects. in construction industry, the more non-government projects out there, the better our economy actually is (regardless of what's happening in other parts of the economy).

it's simple math really. if u're staying in a housing area (not apartment or kampung), look around u. how many neighbours are renovating their houses? usually its one or two. how many people buying/replacing their cars? these are usually indication enough that money is circulating. for us architects, house renovation really means that people have alot of money to spend, and it has to come from somewhere.

government give away construction projects coz it's one of the easiest way to stimulate the construction industry. construction costs are expensive, and not many corporation could afford spending money on this other than the government (we're still 3rd world). but if private people/corporation are spending money on construction, that means the must be lotsa money circulating around.

oh another thing. if there is another economic crisis, the construction industry is the first to collapse. within 6 months, the rest of the country will follow suite. if malaysian construction economy is as bad as ur friend mentioned, then u guys should really think of surviving rather than studying right now...

we have had 3 intakes so far. it was 10 for the 1st batch, 9 for the 2nd, and about 5 on the 3rd.