BA (Hons) Architecture

If you are yet to make an enquiry to study with the University of Plymouth and are interested in securing a place for September 2020, you can pre-register for Clearing to receive priority treatment on results day.

Read our Clearing advice

• Join the fastest rising school of architecture in 2019 Subject Tables and the Guardian League tables.
• We are very proud of our National Student Survey (NSS) 2019 return showing 91% of students felt the course challenged them to achieve their best work and 96% of students agreed that staff were good at explaining things.*
• Gain professional accreditation from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The course is also prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB). If you complete the degree successfully, you'll be exempt from RIBA Part 1 automatically.
• A top 10 UK Young University for Art, Design and Architecture (Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2019) and in the First Class Category of Sustainable Universities in the UK (People and Planet Green League 2015).
  
• Our school has produced some of the top architects in the country! In 2013, Alumni Stephen Witherford from Witherford Watson and Mann won the Stirling Prize (highest prize for architecture). In 2019, Witherford Watson and Mann won the Stirling Prize People’s Vote. In 2017, Alex de Rijke from dRMM won the Stirling Prize.
  
• Get creative with our amazing facilities and resources. You’ll be based in our eye-catching Faculty of Arts building in the heart of the campus, with students and staff from other arts courses to bounce ideas off and collaborate with.
• Benefit from assessment by coursework only – there are no exams.
• Graduate ready for the workplace with our focus on professional development. You'll work on ‘live’ studio design projects, and we have strong links with Plymouth City Council and other regional community projects.
• Learn from tutors with industry experience and interdisciplinary research interests.
• Enrich your learning with field trips each year to project sites, European study trips, exchange study opportunities abroad and at home, and overseas summer schools. Previous destinations have included Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Copenhagen, Paris, Porto, Rotterdam, Rome, Stockholm and Venice.
• Join the Plymouth Architecture Society (PARCS), one of the most respected and active student architectural societies in the UK, with fortnightly lectures that bring architects, engineers and designers into the school to showcase and discuss their work with you.
• Gain insights into the field with talks from leading practitioners and theorists. Our Cross Professional Dialogue programme is a forum for discussion between architects, builders and others in the building industry. We also hold the annual ‘State of the Profession’ symposium with noted professionals, such as RIBA President Stephen Hodder, to discuss key issues in architecture today.

• Year 1
• In your first year, you’ll gain an awareness of your creativity through drawing, model making, writing and verbal discussion, and develop your skills and critical understanding of architecture by working on design projects within the design studio. You’ll work as part of a team on a live interdisciplinary project with fellow students. You’ll also get the opportunity to go on a study trip; in previous years this has included visits to European cities.

  Core modules

  • COMM401 Communication 4.1

    This module will introduce students to architectural presentation and representation skills. Underlying this intention will be to mainly support design studio work, especially to explore and develop the skills to discover how to communicate your ideas in two dimensional and three dimensional visual form.

  • DESN401 Design Studio 4.1

    In this module through both individual and group work, students to be introduced architectural design project. This introduction is underpinned by an engagement with creative / critical thinking, and exploration of basic graphic and three-dimensional representation skills as a means of inquiry and presentation, pursued through various project briefs of increasing size and complexity.

  • DESN402 Integrated Design 4.2

    In this module through both individual and group work, students to develop and explore architectural design project further following the skills that they gained in DESN401 module. This module will provide the opportunity for students to further engage with creative / critical thinking, and exploration of architectural graphic and three-dimensional representation skills as a means of inquiry and presentation, pursued through various project briefs of increasing size and complexity.

  • HTCC402 History, Theory and Critical Context 4.2

    This module will introduce students to the task and methods of historical enquiry and to architecture as its subject matter through a survey of architectural history up to the late nineteenth century. Followed by the introduction of theoretical discourse which describes the practice and production of architecture, the critique of architecture, and its conceptual possibilities.

  • TECN401 Technology 4.1

    This module will provide the opportunity for students to develop their understanding of basic building construction and building physics. Students will be introduced to sustainability, materials, structure, construction and building physics.

• Year 2
• In your second year, you’ll explore architectural ideas and architecture in context. You’ll focus on ideas and production, sustainable technologies, materials and building performance and continue with the study of the history and theories of 20th-century architecture. You’ll also have the opportunity for an Erasmus exchange with our overseas partner institutions.

  Core modules

  • COMM501 Communication 5.1

    This module enables students to develop their digital representation and digital design skills, by delivering lectures, workshops and online tutorial sessions focused on up-to-date digital technologies such as digital fabrication, computer-aided drawing and building information modelling.

  • DESN501 Design Studio 5.1

    In this module through both individual and group work, exploratory, analytical studies and an architectural design project in the context of a specific theoretical framework are the focus for exploring and developing creative and critical thinking (i.e. design) skills.

  • DESN502 Integrated Design 5.2

    In this module through both individual and group work, exploratory, analytical studies and an architectural design project in the context of a specific theoretical framework are the focus for exploring and developing creative and critical thinking (i.e. design) skills.

  • HTCC501 History, Theory and Critical Context 5.1

    This module will develop students understanding of historical enquiry and to architecture as its subject matter through a survey of the architectural history of the twentieth century. The module will also develop students¿ understanding of theories related to the practice and production of architecture, the critique of architecture, and its conceptual possibilities.

  • TECN502 Technology 5.2

    This module allows students to develop their understanding of building construction technologies, with a specific application to architectural design. This includes environmental factors such as daylight, as well as sustainable technologies and materials, structural systems, multi-part construction and internal environments.

• Final year
• In your final year, you’ll build on themes explored in your second year, extending your work to examine, develop and articulate a personal approach to architecture. This will be reinforced by parallel work in history, theory and technology and a focus on your professional development.
  

  Core modules

  • COMM601 Professional Studies 6.1

    This module examines the context of architectural practice, and how buildings are procured and delivered within this context. It explores the principles of business management and how businesses operate. It also considers the construct of professional and personal ethics.

  • DESN601 Design Studio 6.1

    In this module through both individual and group work, exploratory, analytical studies and an architectural design project in the context of a specific theoretical framework are the focus for exploring and developing creative and critical thinking (i.e. design) skills.

  • DESN602 Integrated Design 6.2

    In this module through both individual and group work, exploratory, analytical studies and an architectural design project in the context of a specific theoretical framework are the focus for exploring and developing creative and critical thinking (i.e. design) skills.

  • HTCC601 History, Theory and Critical Context 6.1

    This Module has an emphasis on an in depth study into either a theoretical, cultural and/ or historical architectural position that informs both individual architectural interests and the production of an architectural proposition in design studio.

  • TECN602 Technology 6.2

    This module will enable students to develop their understanding of the integration of construction and environment via a complex building design proposal. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of materials, structure, and construction and building physics focusing on relevant issues in creating a sustainable integrated design solution.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BA Hons Architecture programme specification 2019 20 0114

UCAS tariff

104 - 136

Digital portfolio
You will be required to submit a digital portfolio demonstrating a range of creative skill sets. Get some advice on how to create and submit your portfolio.

A level
A minimum of 2 A levels, General Studies accepted.

International Baccalaureate
26-34 points.

18 Unit BTEC National Diploma/QCF Extended Diploma
DMM-DDM (Distinction Distinction Merit).

BTEC National Diploma modules
If you hold a BTEC qualification it is vital that you provide our Admissions team with details of the exact modules you have studied as part of the BTEC. Without this information we may be unable to process your application quickly and you could experience significant delays in the progress of your application to study with us. Please explicitly state the full list of modules within your qualification at the time of application.

All Access courses:  Pass a named Access to HE Diploma (e.g. Preferably Art and Design or Combined), (including GCSE English and Maths grade C/4 or above or equivalent) with at least 21 credits at distinction , 12 credits at merit and 12 credits at passes to 30 credits at distinction

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