MArch Architecture

Entry year
2025/26
Course code
K10B1
Application
University
Level
Postgraduate
School
School of Architecture and Environment
Campus
Frenchay
Duration
Two years full-time, three years part-time
Delivery
Full-time, part-time, starts September
Programme leader
Dr Karl Hutchison and Ms Louise Ciotti

ARB/RIBA Part II validated course

This course is open for applications

Introduction

This Master of Architecture, RIBA part II, ranks among the top 20 in the UK. You'll take part in live projects with genuine client briefs, in well equipped studios and workshops, and choose from three specialisms in your second year to develop an individually distinctive portfolio.

Accreditations and partnerships:

UWE Bristol has an excellent reputation for its architecture courses, and the calibre of its graduates. We have been ranked sixth nationally for student satisfaction for our Architecture courses in The Guardian University League Tables 2020.

If you have Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) or Architects Registration Board (ARB) Part I accreditation, this course is an excellent opportunity to achieve your Master of Architecture, plus RIBA and ARB Part II accreditation. Part III accreditation is also achievable here.  

In order to register as an Architect in the UK, you'll need to have completed Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 qualifications as identified on the ARB list of accredited qualifications. Please contact us if you need advice about accredited qualifications and qualifying as an Architect in the UK.

Hone in on your career aspirations

You can specialise in one of three or more areas, such as Social Architecture, Conservation or Urbanism, in your second year, to help differentiate your skills and develop a unique portfolio.

You will have attentive support from an excellent department with extensive research expertise and complementary knowledge, and learn from industry-experienced tutors and practising professionals.

Learning incorporates working on live briefs from genuine clients, and studying cities and buildings on national and international field trips. It will encourage and develop your design skills, and introduce you to working directly with clients and end users, and running an architecture practice.

This course also offers further real-world experience with excellent connections to industry and local communities and puts on a high-profile end-of-year show in Bristol, attended by local, regional and national practices.

Where can it take me?

Take a look at our online yearbook of student projects from our architecture and product design courses.

See a showcase of our students work from the MArch Architecture course.

Watch: The learning and teaching experience

Structure

Content

The MArch is a design-led course aimed at developing architectural professionals who show an ethically responsible attitude towards society, clients, users and the environment. It imparts the knowledge and skills you will need for a successful career in architectural practice, and prepares you for the office-based aspects of the role which also acts as a primer for the RIBA/ARB Part 3 examination.

The optional modules listed are those that are most likely to be available, but they may be subject to change.

Year one

The Masters of Architecture course is delivered over two years full time or three years part time. All modules are core to the award and students are required to successfully complete all modules (total 240 credits) to achieve the award.

For full-time students, the first year combines Design Studio A with Architectural Representation And Modelling, Advanced Cultural Studies, and Professional Practice modules.

You'll study:

  • Design Studio A (30 credits) - Typically involves two or more projects, including a 'live' project involving hands-on construction, or working with a client or user group in small groups, as well as a more theoretical individual design project. Involves a taught Technical Substantiation course.
  • Advanced Cultural Studies: Narratives of Built Form (15 credits) - Explores the relationships between buildings and ideas by applying theories from a range of disciplines, including architecture, art and design, archaeology, psychology, and science.
  • Architectural Representation and Modelling (30 credits) - Fine-tune your knowledge and ability in drawing, modelling and other relevant media for analysis, formal experimentation and conceptual speculation when designing and representing projects.

Plus, one optional module from:

  • Live Project Studio*
  • Design in Practice.

*this module is offered to full-time students only and is the recommended choice.

Plus, one further optional module from:

  • Logic to Artefact
  • Low/Zero Impact Buildings
  • Urban Greening: Planning, Design and Delivery.

Year two

This is where you begin to specialise, the modules listed are subject to change to reflect current issues in architecture and urban design, as well as College research and specialisms. This introduces the principles of research and you can also explore your specialist modules in more depth in the Design Research module. There are also modules in Advanced Cultural Studies and Professional Practice.

You'll study:

  • Design Studio B (60 credits) - This is where you produce your final year design thesis, and focus on your choice of Sustainable Architecture, Conservation or Urbanism.
  • Advanced Cultural Studies: Narratives of Architectural Theory (15 credits) - You look critically at the theories behind architectural phenomena, including philosophical approaches to the social, economic, political, technological and aesthetic cultures architecture emerges from.
  • Design Research (30 credits) - Generate your own design research project, experiment and work directly with materials, drawings or film.
  • Future Practice (15 credits).

Part-time study options

This structure is for full-time students only. Part-time students study the same modules but the delivery pattern will be different. If you have family, financial, work and other commitments, you can study this course part-time over three years.

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved we'll inform you.

Learning and Teaching

Where possible, we have designed taught modules to integrate with learning in the design studio and professional practice. The course comprises weekly studio-based lectures, individual tutorials and group seminars, as well as regular project design reviews. Design projects are the focus for constructional, structural and environmental technical studies, taught by specialists through lectures, seminars and studio tutorials.

Visiting practitioners, academics and internal researchers contribute to the teaching, and support your specialist knowledge development.

For more details see our glossary of teaching and learning terms.

Study time

Full-time: Two years

Part-time: Three years

You will study alongside full-time students, so will enjoy the same level of tutorial support and peer learning in the studio. The first two years include the studio work, and you need to commit to two days a week (typically a Monday and a Thursday) during term time in addition to another two days a week of independent study. You would also need to be available for a week-long study visit.

Assessment

Assessment focuses on presentations of project work, portfolio submissions, and illustrated reports and essays.

For more details see our full glossary of assessment terms.

Features

Professional accreditation

This course provides an opportunity to achieve a Master of Architecture and Part II accreditation from the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects. Students can progress to study for their Part III at UWE, in order to join the UK Register of Architects.

This course is also accredited by the Board of Architects Malaysia.

Currently, and up until December 2027, UK graduates wishing to register as an architect will need to have an ARB accredited Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 qualification, alongside relevant work experience. 

From 31 December 2027 ARB will only accredit Master’s level qualifications (Level 7 in England, Level 11 in Scotland) and the professional diploma which follows. This means that from 2028 an undergraduate Level 6 qualification in architecture will not be required for registration as an architect in the UK.

Fieldwork

Each year, we arrange a field trip that is integral to the studio projects, so you can study cities and buildings, attend public lectures and, on occasion, meet local organisations and students. Destinations so far include Istanbul, Amsterdam, Paris and New York.

Study facilities

Frenchay and city centre study facilities

Do want to have the best of studying in the city centre and having access to our best workshops in campus? Here you can do just that. At UWE Bristol, you can study your MArch Architecture course on our Frenchay Campus as well as our Bristol city centre design studios. You would mix it up and study between both sites, or depending on the modules you choose, spend most of your time based in the city centre.

Located in the heart of the city, you'll get an environment of professional practice working from our central design studios. Plus, it's just minutes away many of the main city's architectural practices. This means that you're perfectly placed to benefit from the many networking opportunities available, both on site and in the centre.

More on our facilities

You'll learn in our modern, well-equipped facilities including our award-winning Design Studios on Frenchay Campus.

You'll be able to:

  • Study and collaborate on group assignments in our dedicated MArch studio space.
  • Develop skills in design, sketching, CAD and environmental modelling on industry-standard software.
  • Create architectural models using laser cutters, 3D printers, 3D routers and other equipment available in our workshops and laboratories.
  • Test lighting in environmental physics and acoustics laboratories.

Find out more about the facilities and resources UWE Bristol has to offer.

Take a personalised virtual tour of the Architecture facilities and experience what a typical day could look like here for you.

Learn from industry

Get involved in workshops and projects led by professional structural and mechanical engineers, as well as architects from practices like Zaha Hadid Architects, Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios, White Design and Stride Treglown.

Gain experience

We arrange and promote a range of internships. For instance, we have funded internships with Womad Festival, Hands-on-Bristol and the Beckery Island Regeneration Trust.

Socialise and learn

Our Architecture Society arranges lectures from visiting professionals, plus field trips and social events that bring colleagues and like-minded students together. 

Showcase your work

Like many of our postgraduates, you can showcase your final year projects at our annual Plan+Make degree show. Take a look at some of our students' exhibits on Tumblr and Flickr.

Architecture student showreel

A showcase of student work from the MArch Architecture course at UWE Bristol

Life

Postgraduate support

Our support includes access to fantastic facilities, study tools and career consultants, plus practical help to access everything from funding to childcare.

Bristol

A stunning city for student living with all the qualities to make you want to stay.

Sports, societies and activities

There is more to your experience here than study. Choose to make the most of it and try new things.

Health and Wellbeing

We provide support in the way you need it.

Campus and facilities

Discover our campuses and the wealth of facilities provided for our students.

Careers

Careers / Further study

The MArch course not only introduces design skills, but in the second year focuses on the experience of working in an architecture practice, preparing you for the next stage of your architecture career. The course has RIBA and ARB Part II accreditation.

Our award-winning careers service helps you develop your employment potential through career coaching, a vacancy service for internships, placements, jobs, global opportunities, volunteering and community activity plus support for entrepreneurial activity, and access to employer events.

 

Fees

Supplementary fee information

*The UK Government recently proposed that tuition fees for Home students will increase by 3.1% to £9,535 from 1st August 2025. This increase is subject to Parliamentary approval and the vote is expected to take place later this year.

Any tuition fee which is impacted by this change will be updated following approval.

Please see GOV.UK for further information.

Students taking this course as a continuation of Part 1 in Architecture may be funded as an undergraduate. For further information please see our tuition fees pages.

Find out about the MyWorld scholarships, which are available for home postgraduate students studying a creative technology-related course (full-time or part-time). 

Entry

Entry requirements

We normally require an architecture honours degree of 2.2 or above from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. 

If you don't meet the above criteria, we'll assess your application and you may be required to attend an interview or provide a sample of work. If this applies to you, please upload your portfolio and details of your practice experience with your application.

You're very welcome to come and visit us and our school, please contact us if you would like to do so.

English language support

If you meet the academic requirements but require additional support to take your language skills to the required level, you may be able to attend one of our pre-sessional English courses. Students who successfully complete the pre-sessional course can progress onto their chosen degree course without retaking an IELTS or equivalent.

Read more about our Pre-Sessional English Programme.

English Language Requirement

International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).

*The University accepts a large number of UK and international qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section.

How to apply

If you don't meet the entry requirements, as stated above, you may be required to attend an interview or provide a sample of work. Please find our advice on this process below:

Advice on submitting a sample of work

Should a portfolio be required we'll ask you to give us access to an online portfolio where your work is stored. Once we have received the links (URL) to your sample of work , the MArch Architecture team will review your application and portfolio. We'll sometimes ask applicants to attend an interview (via MS Teams for overseas applicants) to discuss their application and portfolio in more detail.

For general portfolio advice and what to include, please see our portfolio and interview guidance.

Advice on interviews

The purpose of the interview is to consider your application and your future studies at UWE Bristol. The interview will cover your previous experiences both as a student and in professional practice, if applicable. We'll also wish to discuss your portfolio and approach to architecture.

For further advice on the interview, please see our portfolio and interview guidance.

Please see the general information about applications.

Read more about international applications and key international deadline dates.

For further information

Apply now Apply Book an open day Open day Order a prospectus Prospectus

You may also be interested in

Postgraduate Certificate Professional Practice and Management in Architecture

MSc Urban Planning