Help shape the world we live in and learn how to succeed in architectural practice.
in the country for Academic Support.
Source: NSS 2024
Gain the theoretical, technical and design skills you need to create spaces that are innovative, meaningful and purposeful, as well as sustainable.
You’ll practise developing design concepts, experimenting with different media, and representing your ideas through drawings and physical and digital models.
You’ll also benefit from site visits and our connections with national and international architects, designers, artists, historians, and theorists, learning about up-to-the-minute themes and challenges in architecture.
Our Architecture degree is prescribed (Part 1) by the ARB and has been awarded RIBA Part 1 Full Status, unconditionally. When you complete our course you'll fulfil the first part of the three-part process to become a registered architect in the UK, and be exempt from the ARB and RIBA Part 1 examination.
Study at an award-winning university
We were named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2023. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.
The journey into architecture has been incredibly varied, from life drawings and model-making to technical construction and calculations. It has been a great experience.
By studying architecture at ARU, you’ll gain creative and practical skills, such as computer-aided design, which will help you stand out from the crowd.
Our architecture, building and planning graduates earn more than the sector average: £4,000 more a year than the sector average 15 months after graduation.
Every summer we host our End of Year Show, the perfect opportunity to showcase your work to employers.
Thanks to hands-on activities and a vibrant student experience, you’ll engage with architecture's dynamic world and learn how to become a brilliant architect!
We’ll start by exploring architectural practice and considering how conceptual, abstract ideas become functioning, usable buildings.
You’ll learn about the materials, methods and structural evaluations involved in construction, as well as the history and theory of architecture.
You’ll also develop your practical skills, and learn to express and communicate ideas in different ways.
In Year 2, you’ll continue to hone these skills through a series of architectural briefs and projects of varying complexity.
Finally, you’ll examine current issues and trends in architecture – with a particular focus on ethics – and complete a major project that brings together everything you’ve learned.
Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.
To prepare you for university study, you can take a foundation year at the start of this course. Find out more about foundation years.
You can choose to take an optional placement year as part of this course. Placements typically happen in Year 3, and your course will take four years overall. Find out more about placement years.
Read profiles of teaching and research staff on this course.
Head of School
Senior Lecturer
Senior Lecturer Practitioner
Lecturer
Senior Lecturer
You’ll be based in our School of Architecture and Planning, with use of:
All our architecture students can take part in team activities such as designing and building structures on campus.
Being just 35 minutes from London by train allows for numerous short study and site visits and workshops.
UK students, apply through Clearing for a September 2025 start
Call our Clearing line