Why study this course?
Our Architecture (including foundation year) BA (Hons) is designed to offer an alternative route into higher education if you can’t meet the necessary entry requirements for the standard three-year degree. It’s also the ideal course choice if you’d like to practise your skills before embarking on the bachelor’s part of your degree to explore your potential within multiple creative practices.
On completion of this four-year degree you’ll receive exemption from RIBA Part 1 and you’ll be prepared to continue working towards Parts 2 and 3 to register as an architect with the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
The foundation year on this bachelor’s course in architecture is an intensive year that will equip you with studio and workshop skills to help you progress on to more in-depth study of architecture in the subsequent three years of your degree. You’ll learn how to make informed decisions about your own work, become a creative practitioner and gain confidence to present and defend your work.
The foundation year will be shared with others studying a degree with a foundation year in our School of Art, Architecture and Design, so the subjects you’ll study will not be directly linked to architecture but you’ll get to explore different creative practices. There is an emphasis on engagement with technology, materials, forms and processes to develop your practical skills in all creative practices within the School. You’ll also attend lectures and seminars that will introduce you to of historical, contemporary and cultural contexts within a range of creative practices.
Following the foundation year you’ll join students studying the standard three-year degree and graduate with the same award and title as them.
If you find that another discipline in the School will be more suited to your interests and abilities, there will be flexibility to allow you to change your specialism at the end of your foundation year.
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course.
Modular structure
Year 0 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies: Foundation (core, 30 credits)
Formats (core, 30 credits)
Project (core, 30 credits)
Techniques (core, 30 credits)
Year 1 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 1 (Architecture) (core, 30 credits)
Design Project 1.2 (core, 30 credits)
Design Skills 1.1 (core, 30 credits)
Technology 1 (core, 30 credits)
Year 2 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 2 (Architecture) (core, 30 credits)
Design Project 2.2 (core, 30 credits)
Design Skills 2.1 (core, 30 credits)
Technology 2 (core, 30 credits)
Year 3 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 3: Dissertation (Architecture) (core, 30 credits)
Design Project Development 3.1 (core, 30 credits)
Design Project Resolution 3.2: Comprehensive Design Project (core, 30 credits)
Integrated Design Audit (core, 30 credits)
Where this course can take you
Our previous alumni of the Architecture BA (Hons) course have worked for companies such as Caruso St John, David Chipperfield Architects, Macreanor Lavington, Tony Fretton Architects and SANAA in Tokyo.
What is a degree with a foundation year at the School of Art, Architecture and Design?
This is a four-year degree course with a built-in foundation year (Year 0). A foundation year in our School of Art, Architecture and Design is the starting point for many of our art, architecture and design students and acts as an introduction to the wide range of creative practices explored within the University. You may join us with a clear idea of the subject you intend to study or you may use it as an opportunity to explore a number of different directions or experiment with your creativity. A foundation year degree is also a great choice if you don’t meet the necessary entry requirements for the standard undergraduate degree. You’ll graduate with a full undergraduate degree with the same title and award as those who studied the three-year course.
