Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 1) at UCA

Take the first step on your journey to becoming an architect on our highly regarded BA (Hons) Architecture degree course, accredited by ARB/RIBA, and taught at UCA Canterbury.

You’ll focus on learning about space, regulation, and society, and how design decisions can impact on the individual, on sustainability, and on climate.  

We don’t expect you to have all the answers to these big questions – just an open mind. You’ll need to be ready to experiment, rethink processes and narratives, and learn as you go.

With dedicated studios, an enviable position in the cathedral city of Canterbury, and a team of staff who are mainly practice-based and industry-driven, you’ll have the space and the support you need to learn and to create. 

 

Course entry options

Select from the options below to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

Accreditations, partners and industry connections

RIBA logo

RIBA

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body and charity, driving excellence in architecture.

ARB logo

ARB

The Architects’ Registration Board (ARB) is an independent professional regulator, accountable to government. It ensures only those who are suitably competent are allowed to practice as architects.

What you'll study

What you'll
study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated Foundation Year

For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Foundation Year.

This year of preparatory study is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and the English speaking and writing skills you’ll need to succeed.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated International Foundation Year

Launch
Launch Week is the first week of your academic journey at UCA - it is an intensive week spent gearing up for your study objectives and getting to know your course staff, peer group and the School community in greater depth.

Projects 01
You’ll be introduced to fundamental issues, processes and skills that will be relevant throughout your studies, and gain understanding of the relationships between the body and the built environment through the design of a spatial enclosure. This enclosure must provide shelter, and accommodate the basic needs of at least one occupant, serving to protect them from changing climatic conditions.

Constructing for Equity 01
In this unit, you will be introduced to the technological principles, civil regulations, and societal challenges that inform contemporary building construction. We will outline two key challenges to structure your thinking - social justice and equitable space, and the climate crisis, and the diversity of approaches needed to tackle it.

Briefs and positions 01
You’ll prepare a basic set of briefing materials that will inform and guide your development of a small-scale design proposal in the subsequent design unit Design 02 – Iterate and Adapt. To achieve this we want you to engage in creative studio-based speculation, professional site or scenario analysis and culturally critical research.

Opportunity
As you start Term 2, Opportunity Week is an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with external partners, with the aim of broadening knowledge and skills.

Projects 02
Building on the knowledge gained in Briefs and Positions 01, you’ll undertake a small building design project, using existing and new skills to produce your work. We want you to speculate and engage with design as an agent of social, political, economic, environmental, and ultimately architectural change. The project proposal will be to reuse or transform a small unused or underused building to become multi-use.

Critical Analysis 01
We want you to understand that the role of the architect is not always in isolation. This means seeing that objects, spaces, and systems can be designed and built by ‘constellations’ of different actors, in which the designer is situated. We’ll show you this through critical engagement with histories and theories of spatial and object design practice.

Material and digital practices
This unit introduces you to basic ideas around representation as a critical practice, and core theories of the design and production of small-scale objects in 2D print and 3D physical form. Working between the physical and virtual worlds, you’ll build the foundation on which you begin to develop your visual communication skills and technological competence.

ATOM activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across the university. Collectively they form a small fraction of your curriculum that is determined through your own personal choice and interest.

Launch
Launch Week for the second year will be spent gearing up for your study objectives and re-orientating after your first summer break.

Project 03
In this unit we want you to explore and interrogate a landscape and develop small scale architectural interventions within it, understanding the importance of the spaces between, how human settlements may have formed and deformed the landscapes around them, the ecologies that exist in these spaces, and strategies of care that act as cultural elements in the environment. You will explore the relationships between interior and exterior spaces and how the architectural interventions that we make may be experienced by those who inhabit them.

Constructing for Equity 02
In this unit, you will expand your knowledge of the technological principles, civil regulations, and societal challenges that inform contemporary building construction. You’ll look at how non-western perspectives, culturally diverse contexts and vernacular practices can inform low-carbon approaches to building.

Briefs & Positions 02
In this unit, you’ll prepare a developed set of briefing materials that will inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal in the subsequent design unit Projects 04. You’ll do this through three processes - creative studio-based speculation, professional site or scenario analysis and culturally critical research.

Opportunity
The second term begins with Opportunity Week, an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with external partners.

Projects 04
With the knowledge you’ve gained across the year you’ll be challenged to complete a medium-scale building design project, which interrogates a complex set of functional programs. You will do so in the context of the city and its people, the environment and climate; addressing contemporary social, aesthetic, and political concerns.

Pathways and Mentors
In this unit, we’ll challenge you to reflect on the design skills, knowledge and techniques you are acquiring and identify potential alternative career paths that you might not yet have considered. In the course of this unit, all students will have the opportunity to engage with a design professional in a structured series of engagement and mentoring sessions.

Critical Analysis 02
The unit, a progression from your first year of study, is primarily concerned with theory and represents a step-up in challenging you to interrogate ideas, designs and actions. Specifically, it asks you to use theory to develop understandings of the ways in which ideas are both contextual and connected to wider logics and world views.

ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across the university. Collectively they form a small fraction of your curriculum that is determined through your own personal choice and interest.

 

Launch
For your final Launch Week, you’ll spend the week getting ready for your final year of study, and re-orientating after your first summer break.

Projects 05
This unit has two components – a portfolio and report, all pertaining to your detailed proposals for a housing scheme. The portfolio will focus on design of the masterplan down to the spatial design of an individual home, while your report will explore the legal and procedural characteristics of practicing as an architect in the UK in relation to your emerging design.

You will be introduced to the RIBA Professional Experience and Development Resource (PEDR) document submission and “Year Out” requirements.

Critical Analysis 03
You’ll produce a piece of self-directed research on a subject that is related to the historical, theoretical and critical concerns of your subject discipline. The subject matter will be informed by the specific interests that you have developed on your course to date.

Briefs and Positions 03
This unit is about preparing an advanced set of briefing materials to inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal for the Final Major Project. You will consider a context at the scale of an expanded spatial or material network, through creative studio-based speculation, professional site or situation analysis and culturally critical research.

Opportunity
Opportunity Week is an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with external partners.

Projects 06
Your final unit will see you complete a large building design project that establishes a sophisticated dialogue between topography, local, social and political issues, city scale structures, regional objectives and the way that these impact the lives of individuals.

 

This course is designed to offer you (if eligible) the opportunity to study part of your degree aboard at a UCA partner university, while still earning credits towards your UCA degree.

For more information please visit the Study Abroad section

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated Foundation Year: £9,250
  • BA course: £9,250

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated International Foundation Year: £9,250 (see fee discount information)
  • BA course: £9,250 (see fee discount information)

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated International Foundation Year: £16,950
  • BA course: £17,500

Please note: The fees listed on this webpage are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules.

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.

Facilities

Each year of the course has a dedicated open plan studio space for group tutorials and personal working. Facilities for the course include: laser cutters, 3D printers, virtual reality lab, 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics and fully-equipped computer studios with Macs and PCs programmed with industry-standard software for design and animation.

View 360 virtual tour

Architecture studios, UCA Canterbury

Architecture TrakLab, UCA Canterbury

Architecture studios, UCA Canterbury

Fabrication Lab, UCA Canterbury

Connie Latham

"The campus was really important to me as the facilities were excellent and the staff all seemed really helpful. After doing my foundation course, UCA was the only place I applied to for the Architecture degree, because I loved the atmosphere."

Connie Latham

Entry & portfolio requirements

Entry & portfolio
requirements

BA (Hons) course

The standard entry requirements* for this course are one of the following:

  • 128 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
  • Merit at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
  • Distinction, Distinction, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
  • Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
  • 128 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
  • 29-32 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 16 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And five GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including Mathematics and English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply. 

Portfolio requirements

For this course, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View more portfolio advice

 


BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year

The standard entry requirements for these courses are one of the following:

  • 64 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
  • Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
  • Pass, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
  • Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
  • 64 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
  • 24 points from the International Baccalaureate, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And five GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including Mathematics and English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply. 

Portfolio requirements

This course does not require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.

 


*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades -  in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.

BA (Hons) course

The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

A GCSE pass at grade 9-4/A*-C (or international equivalent) in Mathematics is also required.

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

You will be required to submit a portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application. View more portfolio advice

 


BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year

For this courses you need to have completed 12 years of schooling (with good grades) and show strong evidence of your ability to successfully complete the programme and progress onto your chosen degree.

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

This course doesn't require a portfolio.


English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:

Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?

You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:

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