Architecture (with Placement year)

Help shape the world we live in and learn how to succeed in architectural practice with our Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) accredited and Architects Registration Board (ARB) prescribed degree course.

• Our course is rated 3rd in the UK for Academic Support within Architecture courses by the NSS 2024.

• Study on a course (BA Hons Architecture) developed in line with industry standards, accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Part 1 prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

• Expand your knowledge by participating in an optional European field trip each year to cities such as Lisbon, Venice, Rome and Vienna, or applying for one of our Turing Programme summer scholarships to work in Barcelona or study in Venice for four weeks.

• Bring the world of work to life through Live Briefs; designed and developed with regional employers to give you exposure to ‘real world’ problem-solving.

• Connect and engage with practitioners through our regular extra-curricular workshops, guest lecture series, annual practitioners event, and End of Year Show.

• Utilise our dedicated studios and workshop facilities to learn how to draw, make models, and use all relevant software and digital techniques.

If you’re fascinated by the built environment, and have ambitions to create spaces that are innovative, meaningful and purposeful, this is the course for you.

By studying Architecture at ARU, you’ll gain the theoretical, technical and design skills to shape the built environment for a sustainable future – and to work as a professional architect.

As a collaborative individual, you'll be keen to make connections that will help kick start your career. We'll guide you towards the right work experience and support you throughout your course.

You'll take part in Live Brief projects throughout your degree, collaborating with city and borough councils, Timber Development UK, and local and London firms such as Studio Forty, Studio Mai, Stace LLP, Levitt Bernstein, Sheppard & Robson, Barr Gazetas, LSI Architects, Vonberg Architects, RH Partnership Architects, Suzanne Brewer Architects and Aukett Swanke.

We'll encourage you to go on site visits, where you'll gain hands-on experience. Our links with professional institutions such as the RIBA Mentoring Programme, as well as local firms, ensure you'll stay up to date with industry practice.

As well as benefiting from your lecturers' knowledge, you'll also benefit from a network of visiting designers, artists, historians and theorist plus, national and international architects and scholars, focusing on contemporary, relevant themes such as climate change, passive house techniques, fire and safety measures, environmental strategies, and social and political challenges.

Accredited by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), you can be sure that this course will give you skills that reflect emerging technologies and knowledge, and will be in demand with employers when you graduate.

At ARU, we believe it's important to recognise our students' hard work. That's why, at the end of each academic year, we showcase and celebrate your achievements with an End of Year Show.

Our architecture studios are exciting, creative places with industry-standard equipment. Here, our experts will deliver a learner-centred and research-led approach to architecture.

You’ll become skilled in developing design concepts, experimenting with different media, and representing your ideas through drawings, physical and digital models.

But you won’t be restricted to the studio. You’ll go on site visits so you can analyse the language and style of buildings, their construction, and see projects taking shape in real life. Together, we’ll explore building design, ‘buildability’ and sustainability.

Year 1:
History and Theory of Architecture (Introduction)
Folio Skills
Essential Skills for Architecture
Architecture and Planning Design Studio A
Architecture and Planning Design Studio B
Design Explorations
Building Technology
Elements of Construction Design

Year 2:
Design Studio A1 (30 credits)
Essential Skills (15 credits)
Technology A1 (30 credits)
Cultural Context A: Histories and Theories of Architecture (15 credits)
Design Studio A2 (30 credits)

Year 3:
Design Studio B1 (30 credits)
Technology B1 (15 credits)
Design Studio B2 (30 credits)
Cultural Context B: Histories and Theories of Architecture (15 credits)
Technology B2 (15 credits)
Ruskin Module (15 credits)

Year 4:
Major Integrated Design Project Phase 1 (30 credits)
Cultural Context C: Dissertation (30 credits)
Major Integrated Design Project Phase 2 (45 credits)
Professionalism, Values and Ethics (15 credits)

Throughout the course, we’ll use a range of assessment methods to help measure your progress. These will include design projects, presentations, timed assignments, exams and coursework.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Architects Registration Board
• Royal Institute of British Architects