Architecture and the Built Environment (MArch) 24 months Postgraduate Programme By Cardiff University |TopUniversities

Programme overview

Main Subject

Architecture and Built Environment

Degree

MArch

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

Our two-year MArch in Architecture and the Built Environment will take you to an advanced level of architectural design in order to develop innovative design ideas and methods to address contemporary challenges. You’ll explore the full range of skills and specialist knowledge required to be an architect, while focusing on developing your personal and professional outlook.  You will choose and develop a specialism in one of the school’s key built environment research areas.

Whilst the programme covers the full breadth of what is needed to become an architect, you will have the opportunity to shape your learning and focus on areas that are of particular interest to you. Your studies will be shaped by exposure to world-leading teacher-practitioners and researchers who will encourage you to develop new critical and creative approaches to design.  You will be able to choose from a series of optional modules and studios, allowing you to engage with the school’s key research specialisms that will inform your design studies.

We encourage you to practice ‘grounded creativity;’ your design studies across both years will involve imaginative engagement with real-world issues and global challenges such as climate change and the UN’s sustainable development goals within localised contexts. You will further your understanding of how architecture is made and how it performs, reflecting on how your technological choices and the way these are integrated in the design process can support the wellbeing of present and future generations.

To prepare you for the demands of the architectural profession, we build on and extend your existing understandings of the historical, theoretical, cultural, political, and geographical dimensions of the architectural discipline. With a focus on innovation, professionalism and commercial awareness, you’ll be encouraged to reflect critically on the wider significance of personal decisions and actions as an architect.  

The design studio is at the centre of our community, a place where you’ll mix with students, staff, and industry practitioners and other partners from outside the school to address ethical, global, climatic and professional issues. The studio environment provides the ideal space for you to take your studies in a direction that reflects your own interests, through a process of creativity and discovery. You’ll be encouraged to develop innovative knowledge by experimenting with design, take creative risks and expand your thinking.

Following graduation from the programme you will need to complete a Part 3 programme, for example our Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture: Professional Practice, if you intend to become a registered architect in the United Kingdom.  Alternatively, the skills you develop on this module would provide you with a strong grounding to undertake a postgraduate research programme, leading to a PhD or MPhil.

Programme overview

Main Subject

Architecture and Built Environment

Degree

MArch

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

Our two-year MArch in Architecture and the Built Environment will take you to an advanced level of architectural design in order to develop innovative design ideas and methods to address contemporary challenges. You’ll explore the full range of skills and specialist knowledge required to be an architect, while focusing on developing your personal and professional outlook.  You will choose and develop a specialism in one of the school’s key built environment research areas.

Whilst the programme covers the full breadth of what is needed to become an architect, you will have the opportunity to shape your learning and focus on areas that are of particular interest to you. Your studies will be shaped by exposure to world-leading teacher-practitioners and researchers who will encourage you to develop new critical and creative approaches to design.  You will be able to choose from a series of optional modules and studios, allowing you to engage with the school’s key research specialisms that will inform your design studies.

We encourage you to practice ‘grounded creativity;’ your design studies across both years will involve imaginative engagement with real-world issues and global challenges such as climate change and the UN’s sustainable development goals within localised contexts. You will further your understanding of how architecture is made and how it performs, reflecting on how your technological choices and the way these are integrated in the design process can support the wellbeing of present and future generations.

To prepare you for the demands of the architectural profession, we build on and extend your existing understandings of the historical, theoretical, cultural, political, and geographical dimensions of the architectural discipline. With a focus on innovation, professionalism and commercial awareness, you’ll be encouraged to reflect critically on the wider significance of personal decisions and actions as an architect.  

The design studio is at the centre of our community, a place where you’ll mix with students, staff, and industry practitioners and other partners from outside the school to address ethical, global, climatic and professional issues. The studio environment provides the ideal space for you to take your studies in a direction that reflects your own interests, through a process of creativity and discovery. You’ll be encouraged to develop innovative knowledge by experimenting with design, take creative risks and expand your thinking.

Following graduation from the programme you will need to complete a Part 3 programme, for example our Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture: Professional Practice, if you intend to become a registered architect in the United Kingdom.  Alternatively, the skills you develop on this module would provide you with a strong grounding to undertake a postgraduate research programme, leading to a PhD or MPhil.

Admission Requirements

6.5+
176+
69+
4.5+
In order to be considered for an offer for this programme you will need to meet all of the entry requirements. We will be able to progress your application once the information listed in each of the points below is provided.

With your online application you will need to provide:
  • A copy of your degree certificate and transcripts which show you have achieved a 2:1 honours degree in architecture from a UK institution recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects/ (RIBA)Architects Registration Board (ARB) or a degree in architecture from a university overseas. If your degree certificate or result is pending, please upload any interim transcripts or provisional certificates.
  • A copy of your IELTS certificate with an overall score of 6.5 with 5.5 in all subskills, or evidence of an accepted equivalent. Please include the date of your expected test if this qualification is pending. If you have alternative acceptable evidence, such as an undergraduate degree studied in the UK, please supply this in place of an IELTS.
  • A personal statement in which you will need to explain why you want to study on the MArch at Cardiff University, what excites you about it, and how you think it will help you develop in your career. Please describe your particular architectural interests and what design/research agenda you hope to develop through the MArch course.
  • A portfolio of your design work which may contain a balance of academic and professional work, but which should focus on final/graduation projects from your undergraduate architecture / architectural studies degree.  Work produced within a practice context should be presented in a way that clearly identifies your individual contribution/ authorship. Other work may be included, for example, a design competition, life drawings or other creative outputs. We look for holistic approaches to design – projects that integrate analysis, conceptual thinking, creativity in spatial design and technical resolution. The portfolio should be uploaded to your application as a PDF document no larger than 10 MB in size.

2 Years
Sep

Tuition fees

Domestic
9,790 GBP
International
30,700 GBP

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