architecture-banner

Architecture BA (Hons)

Experience your designs coming to life by harnessing your creative ideas, imaginative vision, and humanistic and ethical understanding to gain an architectural skillset that can change the world and build the future environments in which we live.

Overview

Head of Leicester School of Architecture, Kate Cheyne, discusses why you should study at DMU.

Studying Architecture at DMU is about developing the skills and knowledge to have a real impact in our community and the world around us – you will create buildings of the future that offer innovative solutions to the global climate emergency.

Learn about the history of architecture and design, alongside completing technical, practical and professional exercises relating to ethical architecture in the commercial world. Teaching and learning focuses on the design studio, where you will undertake projects in a range of spatial, social and topographical settings, from the smallest of residences and objects through to complex megacities and events. You will work in partnership with students across our built environment courses like you will in professional practice.

Discover how to bring your designs to life by exploring and experimenting with model-making and software. You’ll be taught by both academic researchers and current practitioners so that current industry thinking feeds into your learning.  

This course is professionally validated, preparing you for a postgraduate degree in Architecture, which most graduates will progress onto.

Key features

      • Be part of a community that’s working together to change the construction industry from within, so that we can be the changemakers the world needs to address the global climate emergency.
      • This course is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), with students also exempt from RIBA and ARB Part I examinations.
      • The Leicester School of Architecture (LSA) has a 125-year history of nurturing the next generation of architects with a future-facing curriculum that focuses on the ‘craft of making’.
      • Create work with real impact in the community by working on live design projects in the city of Leicester. Past projects have seen students reimagining Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, renovating a derelict site to build an immersive theatre and creating wild pools and saunas on the River Soar.
      • Architecture at DMU is in the top 15 for ‘Graduate Prospects’ in the UK, according to The Complete University Guide 2022. Graduates have gone on to work for some of the best architectural practices in the UK and worldwide, including Heatherwick Studio, Make Architects and Shigeru Ban Architects.
  • Benefit from the very latest facilities in our award-winning Vijay Patel Building, including dedicated multipurpose studios, CAD labs and workshops offering metal working, woodworking, digital printing, water-jet cutting and prototyping.
  • We provide core workshop materials at no cost, and give cash awards – £150, £200 and £300 in years one, two and three respectively – to support personal materials/printing costs*.

janusz-moore

"The facilities in the Vijay Patel Building are outstanding and the teaching staff are really supportive." - Janusz Moore, Architecture BA (Hons) graduate. Awarded a Commendation in the Silver Medal category of the RIBA President’s Medals 2021. Learn more.

 

 

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: K100

Duration: Three years full-time

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

Duration: Three years full-time

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements 

We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds.

A good portfolio and normally:

  • Art and Design Foundation or
  • 128 points from at least 2 A levels or
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DDM or
  • International Baccalaureate: 32+ Points

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access QAA Accredited AHE Diploma with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above

We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course.

We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above.

International students

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band, or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Interview and portfolio

Applicants with relevant qualifications will be invited to submit a portfolio of work. Please see our portfolio advice page for full details.

Non-standard applicants may be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams with a portfolio.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Accreditations

 

First year

  • Studio 1
  • Studio 2
  • Architectural Communication 1
  • Building Performance and Technology 1
  • Architectural History and Philosophy

Second year

  • Studio 3
  • Studio 4
  • Architectural Communication 2
  • Building Performance and Technology 2
  • Building Performance and Technology 3
  • Architectural Theories
  • Urban Studies

Third year

  • Studio 5
  • Dissertation: Cultural and Contextual Studies
  • Technology and Environmental Studies
  • Practice, Profession and Ethics

Overview

The Leicester School of Architecture (LSA) emphasises learning through modelling and making, both manually and digitally, making it an important feature of the course. We encourage and support you to become a productive student by focusing on the design studio as your key learning environment.

In the design studio you will:

  • Work and collaborate with peers and tutors in drawing, digital drawing and fabrication, model making, discussion and debate
  • Meet regularly with design tutors for small group learning, individual advice and guidance, assessment and feedback
  • Engage in instructional/guidance lectures and workshops to develop key manual and digital techniques
  • Have design work reviewed by guest architects and critics

A programme of lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops support your learning in the four key strands of the curriculum:

  • Architectural design – project-based learning and assessment
  • Architectural communication – project-based learning and assessment around key skill sets including CAD, BIM, digital modelling and fabrication
  • Technology and environment – project-based learning and assessment combined with testing your knowledge of key principles
  • History and theories of architecture – assessment based on online tests and short written assignments, culminating in a written dissertation, or equivalent, in the final year

In the final year there is an additional focus on

  • Professional practice and ethics – project-based learning and assessment

Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) Your precise timetable will depend on the optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 20 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 21 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

RIBA and ARB

dmu-riba-arb

The Leicester School of Architecture is fully validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board

Commonwealth Association of Architects

dmu-caa

The course is on the Commonwealth Association of Architects’ approved courses list.

Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia 

architecture-LAM-accreditation

Architecture BA (Hons) and Architecture MArch is accredited by Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia allowing students to pursue a professional qualification in Malaysia.

Facilities and features

Art and design facilities

The award-winning Vijay Patel Building brings all of our art and design courses together providing inspiring, flexible spaces, studios and facilities which invite creativity and innovation.

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our state-of-the-art workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building supports students to be both ready for industry and future leaders in their respective fields.

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad

You will also benefit from resources and support in the Architecture and Design Resource Centre, our online learning space.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
placements-img-01

Placements

Many of our students follow the conventional route to qualification and registration as an Architect. This involves a monitored, paid placement in an architectural practice, commonly called the ‘Year-Out’ which is undertaken following graduation from the BA programme and before returning to complete the MArch programme, to gain exemption from the RIBA/ARB Part 2 examinations.

The final year of professional experience is gained following graduation from the MArch programme. Both periods of professional experience in a practice, contribute to the RIBA/ARB minimum requirements for practical training. At DMU, professional experience is monitored and recorded through the online PEDR which is an assessed component of the Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Practice, the last stage of architectural education leading to exemption from the RIBA/ARB Part 3 examinations and subsequent registration as an Architect in the UK.

The School offers a range of careers resources and opportunities, such as final year mock-interviews, engagement with the RIBA East Midlands Mentoring programme and the opportunity of involvement with the Leicester Atelier which provides links with industry as part of your studies.

dmu-global-img-01

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have recently undertaken DMU Global trips to European cities including Copenhagen, where they explored first-hand historical and contemporary Danish design, and Berlin, which provided the opportunity to examine the city’s art, artists and museums to gain a broader design perspective. DMU Global trips have also taken students further afield to India and New York.

graduate-careers-img-01

Graduate careers

Many of our graduates follow the conventional route to qualification and registration as an Architect. Others use their degree to launch careers in related fields such as architectural conservation, urban design, research, planning and project management, or go into other fields such as journalism, heritage and history, film, web design, lifestyle design, game design, event design and digital animation, strategic management and political advocacy. 

Recent employers include Heatherwick Studio, Make Architects and Shigeru Ban Architects.

Tom Cox secured a Part II Architectural Assistant position with Bristol-based practice Wotton Donoghue after spent five ‘great years’ studying Architecture BA (Hons) and Architecture MArch at DMU.

Take your next steps

More from DMU