Higher/Degree Apprenticeship Architect
MArch Architecture and PGCert Professional Practice, Knowledge, Skills and Management in Architecture
MArch Architecture and PGCert Professional Practice, Knowledge, Skills and Management in Architecture
Please note the entry requirements stated for this course are indicative. The entry requirements for 2025 will be published by November 2024.
Page last updated 27 September 2024
Our Architect apprenticeship will give you the master's level expertise and qualifications you need to become a qualified architect. You'll benefit from industry-experienced teachers, live briefs, field trips, workshops and real-world projects.
Our Architect apprenticeship draws on UWE Bristol's significant strengths in architecture education and our experience of supporting students through our postgraduate architecture courses. This training route enables you to complete the next stage of your professional development, investing in your training while continuing to work.
Our Architect apprenticeship (Level 7) starts in September. Over four years, you'll gain the training and specialist skills needed to achieve Part II and III qualifications, with tuition funded through the apprenticeship funding system.
Develop your skills in architectural design and construction, client contact and the operational side of running an architectural practice through this employer-funded training option, progressing your career.
UWE Bristol has an excellent reputation for its architecture courses and the calibre of its graduates. The department also has a strong reputation for design research teaching, with relevant exhibitions and symposia integrated within our postgraduate architecture courses, including the Architect apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship incorporates our strengths in sustainability, reflective professional practice, architectural design, design research and enquiry, construction contract law, teaching about professional practice and live project work. Architecture at UWE Bristol has a strong engagement with locally and regionally sited live project work and runs the 'Hands-On Bristol' live project network.
You'll learn from industry-experienced tutors and practising professionals, work on live briefs from clients, and opportunities to study cities and buildings on national and international field trips (subject to funding and employer agreement). You'll also benefit from regular workshops and projects led by professional structural and mechanical engineers, as well as architects from local, national and international practices.
With access to our award-winning, sustainably built design studios, you'll develop skills in design, sketching, CAD and environmental modelling. You'll also become familiar with using laser cutters and 3D printers and routers and test lighting in environmental physics and acoustics laboratories.
Degree apprenticeships are a flexible and practical way for your employer to invest in staff career development and address any potential skills gaps in your workplace. Your organisation will also have the full support of our experienced academic community, drawing on our strengths and expertise in architecture and our wider business network.
By retaining your talent in-house, your employer will benefit as you gain the skills, tools and confidence to make an even greater contribution to your workplace. You'll have access to cutting-edge research, such as the latest thinking on sustainable buildings, giving your workplace access to new ideas and developments in this ever-changing field.
Throughout your apprenticeship, you'll have the chance to specialise in areas such as social architecture, conservation or urbanism. This opportunity will help you to build sought-after skills, develop your portfolio and progress as a forward-thinking practitioner.
In addition to supporting your development in the workplace, this apprenticeship will help you to understand the career landscape in your sector and plan for your longer-term ambitions. Our award-winning Careers Service is on hand to give you independent advice and guidance at any point in your studies.
This is an indicative list of the structure for this course, so the modules you'll study may vary from those listed here:
Where possible, taught modules are designed to integrate with learning in our design studio and your practice.
The course comprises 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.
The MArch is delivered on a day-release format, with two days per week spent in class for 24 weeks per academic year. During the first two years there's an opportunity to attend a week-long field trip. The PGCert is then delivered in a block-release format.
Assessment takes the form of coursework, which may include essays, reports, skills portfolios, presentations and individual projects.
Learn more about assessments.
On successful completion of this apprenticeship, you'll achieve a Part II (Master of Architecture) validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and accredited by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
You'll also graduate with a Part III (PGCert Professional Practice, Knowledge, Skills and Management in Architecture), validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and accredited by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
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You're required to have:
Plus,
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.
Should a portfolio be required we will 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 will sometimes ask applicants to attend an interview (via MS Teams for overseas applicants) to discuss your application and portfolio in more detail.
For general portfolio advice and what to include, please see our portfolio and interview guidance.
The purpose of the interview is to consider your application and your future studies at UWE. The interview will cover your previous experiences both as a student and in professional practice, if applicable. We will 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.
To study an apprenticeship, you need to:
More information about eligibility for apprenticeship funding is available on the GOV.UK website.
If you’re interested in applying and have the support from your employer, speak to your line manager and/or HR team in the first instance for approval. Your employer will contact us so we can send you an application link.
If you’re not employed, you can use the following tools to find an apprenticeship vacancy with an employer:
For more guidance on higher and degree apprenticeship applications.
For course-specific enquiries, please contact the Programme Leader.
For all other enquiries, please email our Apprenticeship Hub apprenticeships@uwe.ac.uk or call +44 (0)117 32 84888.
For further information about Higher and Degree Apprenticeships.