BA (Hons) Architecture

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

136 UCAS tariff points which can be made up of one or a combination of the following accepted full Level 3 qualifications:

• Three A Levels at grades AAB
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Distinction, Distinction, Distinction (DDD) at BTEC Extended Diploma
• Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
• Access to Higher Education Diploma (preferred subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)
• Equivalent EU/international qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma (35 points)

And five GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*–C) including English Language, Mathematics and a double award at Science, or two separate sciences such as Physics or Chemistry, and one other subject (Art and Design or Design Technology are recommended).

Entry to this course will also be determined by assessment of your portfolio. A very high proportion of successful applicants complete a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design.

AP(E)L – Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

• Related academic or work experience
• The quality of the personal statement
• A strong academic or other professional reference.

Or a combination of these factors.

Each application will be considered on its own merit but cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

English language requirements

IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).

We select degree applicants according to your potential and current ability to:

Work imaginatively and creatively in architecture and design:

• Engage with experimentation and invention
• Show imagination and ambition in proposals for your work.

Demonstrate a range of skills and technical abilities:

• Demonstrate an engagement with 3D and architecture/spatial design
• Demonstrate a basic ability to draw and model objects and spaces
• Demonstrate a basic ability to discuss ideas verbally and through written work.

Provide evidence of intellectual enquiry within your work:

• Demonstrate relevant research
• Reflect critically on your learning.

Demonstrate cultural awareness and/or contextual framework of your work:

• Identify historical and contemporary architecture and architects
• Identify social and/or cultural influences on your work.

Articulate and communicate intentions clearly:

• Discuss your work in group situations
• Present your work appropriately and effectively.

Demonstrate commitment and motivation in relation to the subject and the course:

• Develop your own ideas and address project briefs
• Show willingness to collaborate
• Reflect your knowledge of this course.

What we are looking for

We don't just look for a passion for architecture. We're also seeking people who are open to new ideas, informed risk taking and challenge, and who are willing to get involved in the different disciplines and practices of architectural design during their degree.

What happens next

Initial application check

We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course.  If you do, you will be invited to submit a portfolio through UAL’s online portfolio review system.

Digital portfolio

Your portfolio should be no more than 10 pages. It should be made up of your best work, showing your sensitivity to 3D design, your skills and thinking.  You can create the pages in any layout (For example: presentation boards).

It should include:

• Pages from your sketchbooks
• Drawing
• Ideas, visual research and experimentation
• Photos of your finished work accompanied by a short explanation of the piece and your thinking.

Please note the quality of the work is more important than the quantity. We would also like you to organise your work by project, so that we can see any supporting work presented alongside final outcomes.

The only files that can be uploaded as part of the portfolio are:

• Images: bmp, gif, jpg, jpeg, png
• Audio: mp3, mp4, ogg, wav, wma
• Video: avi, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mkv, mov, wmv

Portfolio advice

Your portfolio should demonstrate creative development, whether for a college project or in your personal work. By creative development, we mean ideas that have originated through your own experience and research and progressed towards potential visual proposals. Ideas, visual research and experimentation are more important than finished design solutions and can be shown in two-dimensional work, or through three dimensional objects and maquettes.

It is important that the creative work you include reflects and demonstrates your thinking, initiative and personal commitment to a particular project, theme or idea. Both in your portfolio and at the interview we are interested in you as an individual, your personal interests, your creativity and initiative in finding out about your proposed area of study. We would also like to know about your favourite designers and artists, where you have seen their work at first hand and how you have acquired more information about the work that interests you.

For more portfolio advice please visit the portfolio advice page.

Interview

Following the review of the portfolio we select a small number of applicants to move on to the next stage of the process.  These applicants will be invited to an interview either online or by telephone.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the final outcome of your application through UCAS track.

Feedback

This course receives a high number of applications, and unfortunately we cannot provide feedback to everyone who is unsuccessful. We can only provide feedback after you have had an interview.

If you would like to request feedback – please email csm.ukeu@arts.ac.uk. We are only able to provide feedback to you directly, or to someone you have told us in writing can receive it on your behalf.

Each and every application is carefully considered by a member(s) of our academic team. With so many strong applicants to choose from, it is often a very difficult decision to make. If you are unsuccessful, you are welcome to apply to us again in the future.

BA Architecture students leave with a broad and valuable understanding of architectural design practice in its many forms. The skills acquired equip graduates to become versatile practitioners in many exciting and diverse professions in London and beyond.

Recent BA Architecture alumni activity demonstrates the breadth of student activity within the subject:

• Ruben Everett is working with Michaelis Boyd Associates
• Katarina Joannides is working with Bjarke Ingalls (BIG), Netherlands
• Lily Papadopolous is working with Farrells
• James Williams is working for The Telegraph
• Myelin Mye has started Hau-Nork Studio, Bankok
• Ewelina Schraven is working at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
• Lewis Scott is working at UXUS
• Patrick Gorman is working with Ian Simpson Architects
• Richard Grenfell is working with Alan Thomas Chartered Surveyors
• Enrika Beigate has founded Beig Ltd
• Neil Quinn is working with Stephen Taylor Architects
• Benjamin Perrot is working with MUF
• Federica Zama is working with Poggenpohl
• Scarlett Hessian is working with Michaelis Boyd
• Jordan Cottage is working with The Decorators

Developing your skills - external activities

BA Architecture is designed to help you develop both transferable and industry specific skills. You'll be introduced to the issues, organisations and legal frameworks within which architecture and the creative industries operate. Media practice workshops and seminars develop your skills in drawing, model making and computer aided design and visualisation.

BA Architecture's strong links with the Arts Council, Design Council and other agencies in London and beyond create useful project opportunities, contacts and networks.

BA Architecture also works actively with clients and commercial organisations. Recent clients have included the Swiss Embassy, Saachi & Saachi, Hermes, the Home Office, TINO, Green Works and With Feeling. We also get involved in community activities in London, working with The Sorrell Foundation, The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, and local secondary schools.

We think of London as an extension of the studio. We encourage all our students to consider how London, one of the great design capitals of the world, can deepen an appreciation of architecture and design.