Architecture – PgDip

This course is a professionally accredited Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Architects Registration Board (ARB) route to a Part 2 qualification. The three year route allows you to combine study with work in architectural practices offering both a professional and academic advantage.

The course is a natural continuation and extension of our existing Part 1 course. It places critical investigation of environmental and social agendas at the centre of its teaching.

In the first and second year you consider • the social and political context of architecture • research-based methods of urban analysis • forms of participatory and collaborative practice • advanced environmental and technical studies.

In your final year thesis projects you can investigate contemporary issues relevant to architecture and society by devising your own project which demonstrates your interests and emerging areas of expertise.

We encourage you to include ideas about environmental design and integrating original technologies across all years.

The course helps you build the confidence and independence to succeed as an architect by allowing you to follow your own ideas and direction. You are supported by a diverse and enthusiastic teaching team who encourage a strong sense of community and teamwork.

The three year route has many advantages and suits a range of personal circumstances. You typically attend one full day at university each week. This allows you to spend three or possibly four days in architectural practice. This flexible course structure includes an option to extend the period of study up to a maximum of six years.

You can also choose take up to twelve months of practical experience (year out) during the three years of study. This allows for direct entry from graduating Part 1 courses, if you are already in practice, with no formal need for a full prior year of experience.

Working in architectural practice is not a condition for entry to the course. If you prefer not to work in practice alongside your studies, you need a period of six to twelve months architectural experience before enrolling on the course. If you complete the course in three years you benefit from full-time student status.

You take an internationally based project in the second year during a block week, alongside students from other disciplines. In previous years this project was in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The course benefits from partnerships in and outside the University to architectural practice and industry.

Links with the University arts faculty and other courses that share similar interests in social regeneration and urban planning create opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaborative practice every year.

Specialist environmental and structural studio tutoring is provided by leading professional consultants such as Arup and Buro Happold and visiting architectural practitioners support studio on a regular basis.

MSc level
The three year full-time route comprises 80 academic credits per year. The PgDip (Part 2) can be awarded after three years with an option to gain a masters level degree after a fourth year of academic study.