Architecture

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

Take your first step to becoming a registered architect on our BA (Hons) Architecture degree course – accredited by Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

With client-driven projects and professional placements, you'll learn from the best in architecture and how to shape cities and communities for the better. Our teaching team of professional architects and focus on sustainability ensure your practice is future-proof and industry-standard.

After graduation, you’ll have the theoretical and practical foundations to pursue Master’s study and advance in your registration. You can also begin a career in the architecture, sustainability and construction industries, such as landscape architecture, interior design and historic building conservation.

Course highlights

• Fast-track your architect registration by completing this degree and getting Part 1 qualification – an ARB requirement

• Broaden your professional experience by working with actual clients in our in-house Architecture Project Office

• Experience a professional design studio by working in our dedicated studio spaces, developing your individual and team skills

• Get a taste of working in the architecture industry by taking an optional one-year placement

• Impress future employers by showcasing your work at our annual Graduate Show

• Enrich your theoretical understanding by going on site visits to major international cities – past trips include Helsinki, Barcelona, New York and Berlin

• Advance your abilities in key software used widely in the industries – including Building Information Modelling (BIM), advanced parametric modelling, environment evaluation software, and 3D scanning and printing tools

Careers and opportunities
Many graduates on this course continue their architect training with paid, mentored professional experience in a practice, before studying at postgraduate level for a Master of Architecture degree.

You can use your skills in areas such as design practice, planning and historic building conservation.

Graduate jobs
Jobs our graduates have taken on include:

• Architectural designer

• Interior designer

• Landscape architect

• Urban designer

• Planner

• Architectural technologist

• Product designer

• Graphic designer

• Lighting designer

• Set designer

Graduate destinations
Companies graduates have worked for include:

• Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt

• Make

• Re-Format

• Grimshaw

• PAD Studio

• Hawkins Brown

• Design Engine

• Architecture plb

• Hampshire County Architects

• Squire & Partners

• Allies & Morrison

• Penoyre & Prasad

Past students, having completed their registration, have gone on to run their own practices. For example, Simon Astridge Architecture Workshop, DMWA and PCA.

Year 1
Core modules in this year include:

• Design Communication and Portfolio (40 credits)
• Design Fundamentals (40 credits)
• Histories, Theories and Matters of Concern (20 credits)
• Technology and Environment: Exploration (20 credits)

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 2
Core modules in this year include:

• Communication: Creative Practice (20 credits)
• Design: Architectural Investigation (20 credits)
• Design: Architectural Narratives (20 credits)
• History and Theory of Modern Architecture (20 credits)
• Technology and Environment: Design Practice (20 credits)

Optional modules in this year include:

• Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
• Professional Experience (20 credits)
• Student Enterprise (20 credits)
• Thematic Design (20 credits)

Year 3
Core modules in this year include:

• Communication: Professional Practice (20 credits)
• Design: Major Project (40 credits)
• Design: Major Project Reflective Synthesis (20 credits)
• History and Theory: Dissertation (20 credits)
• Technology and Environment: Discovery (20 credits)

There are no optional modules in this year.

Placement year (optional):
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year after your 2nd or 3rd year to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You’ll be assessed through coursework and presentation. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed 100% by coursework in all years.

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

• Royal Institute of British Architects
• Architects Registration Board