Navigating a shift into architecture with Kyle English (MArch '27)
BY KELLY SHELDON
Published March 13, 2025
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Kyle English (MArch ’27) came to a big realization. “Halfway through my senior year, I was getting more experience with psychology and realized that really wasn’t something that I could see myself doing anymore,” he recollected. And he’s not alone; according to research published by the Washington Post, 38% of people with a bachelor’s degree regret their choice of major. It can be unnerving to find yourself newly graduated and set up for a career that you don’t think you’ll enjoy.
It was then that his younger brother suggested that he consider architecture. “He’s always wanted to be an architect,” Kyle explained. “He had just toured the (UB) program and came home and told me, ‘Wow, you should go check it out since you’re not really sure what you want to do.’”
Heeding his brother’s advice, Kyle got in touch with Kevin Donovan, director of graduate recruitment for the UB School of Architecture and Planning, who encouraged him to come out to South Campus to see the School in action. So, he did – and that time on campus touring the facilities, chatting with student tour guides, and speaking with Kevin in depth about the program made a huge impact on his ultimate decision. “That was kind of it for me, because looking at the facilities — the studio spaces and fabrication workshop — it was really something I could see myself doing.”
While many students enter the School of Architecture and Planning as undergraduates, the School also offers a graduate-degree option for people like Kyle who decide to pursue architecture after they’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field. It’s a three-year Master of Architecture program that quickly builds students’ foundation in the fundamentals of design and thinking-through-making while offering paths for focused research during the final two years. The program is NAAB-accredited and provides graduates with a professional degree
Decision made, the first hurdle for Kyle was the application process, which he admitted was a little intimidating. “It was so different from my undergrad that I was a little hesitant at first,” he reflected. “I had never been evaluated on my creativity before…but I was confident in my application. Working with Kevin, he pointed me in the right direction. Talking with people really helped to propel me through.”
Buffalo Food Hub project in progress by MArch student Kyle English
That theme has continued during Kyle’s time in the program, where his classmates have formed a particularly supportive community. Recognizing that they were all in this unique position of starting from square one, they’ve learned to use their particular strengths and skill sets to help each other out along the way. “We all kind of figured it out together, which was nice because we all started in the same place and some of us had more experience with the programs than others.”
This sense of community has also created an amiable and collaborative atmosphere inside the studio. Kyle expressed that it’s one of the things he’s enjoying most about his time in the program: “I’m there working, but I’m also hanging out with my friends and we’re bouncing ideas off each other. The atmosphere between us as a cohort is very relaxed.”
"Just get your foot in the door - reach out to Kevin or somebody that's involved in the program...don't be afraid to try something new."
Now in his second semester in the program, Kyle paused briefly when asked about what’s on the horizon for him after graduation. “I think I want to be a practicing architect. Something that’s really appealing to me is if my brother graduates as an architect as well, eventually opening up a firm with him down the line.” That newest dream is getting one step closer to fruition with his brother joining the newest class of UB architecture students in the Fall 2025 semester. But Kyle is taking things one step at a time, recognizing from experience that it’s too soon to set plans in stone. “I can’t get more specific than that right now because I don’t know where this is going to take me,” he concluded wisely.
Kyle encourages anyone who thinks the three-year MArch program might be right for them to reach out for more information. “Just get your foot in the door – reach out to Kevin or somebody that’s involved in the program, come and just experience the campus, see how the students work, and see the facilities UB has to offer. I think that really helps put your mind at ease. The visit was what really said to me, ‘yeah, don’t be afraid to try something new.’”