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Programme Specification

Every taught course of study leading to a UAL award is required to have a Programme Specification. This

summarises the course aims, learning outcomes, teaching, learning and assessment methods, and course

structure. Programme Specifications are developed through course validation and are formally approved by UAL

Validation Sub Committee (VSC). They are available to prospective students through the course web page, and

must be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure currency of information (for example, following any modifications

or local developments).

Awarding Body

Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body (PSRB)

University of the Arts London (UAL)

Architects Registration Board (ARB)

Teaching Institution Central Saint Martins

Final Award M ARCH: Architecture

Length of Course Extended Full time (EFT), 2 years

UCAS code

Date of production/revision May 2017

This section is available to provide any introductory information on the course. It might include explanation of the position of

courses which form a named pathway within an ‘umbrella’ programme.

The M ARCH: Architecture is a 240 Credit Postgraduate qualification that provides the second degree in the professional pathway toward registration as an architect – commonly referred to as Part 2*. The M ARCH provides the necessary credit structure and duration for professional accreditation by ARB and RIBA. In content, the M ARCH will consist of the same units as its sister course, MA Architecture: Cities and Innovation – and students on the M ARCH and the MAACI will study as a combined cohort. However, the M ARCH curriculum will include an additional 60 credits across the two years: 20 credits (7 weeks) during the Summer Vacation between Years 1 and 2, and a further 40 credits (14 weeks) immediately after the end of year 2. In total the M ARCH runs for approximately 80 weeks over two calendar years. *Currently prescribed by ARB and awaiting RIBA validation (expected 2017).

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Course Aims The aims of the course identify the rationale underlying the student’s educational experience and own personal achievement

from studying on the course and its affect upon the student’s long term achievement and career.

This course aims to:

• Enable students to undertake a professional course leading to a career as an architect, satisfying the requirements for accreditation by ARB/RIBA.*

* Currently prescribed by ARB and awaiting RIBA validation (expected 2017)

• Enable students to apply high-level architectural thinking and design skills to understand the needs of communities in contemporary cities and propose timely, innovative, and inclusive architectural design solutions which recognise, promote and support sustainable communities and built environments.

• Enable students to adapt to changes in the architectural profession, and through experimentation, collaboration and interaction, develop alternative approaches to architectural practice which transcend the traditional paradigms.

Course Outcomes The course enables the student to demonstrate the following subject knowledge and understanding, intellectual and

academic skills, practical subject skills, key attributes and transferable skills. Each outcome should be detailed below.

The outcomes that you will have demonstrated upon completion of the course, are:

Outcome: Develop innovative and sustainable design proposals, at urban, architectural, and detail scales which engage with the social, economic and physical infrastructures of built environments, addressing the needs of communities and individuals in the contemporary city. (MC Subject Knowledge) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.1)

Outcome: Show originality in the application of research, analysis, design-skills and the testing of new ideas, including in the development and application of methods of collaboration and public engagement with a range of audiences and constituencies. (MC Experimentation,

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Collaborative and/or Independent Professional Working) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.1)

Outcome: Evaluate and make appropriate choices about the form of visual, oral and written media which are best suited to research, analyse, critically examine and communicate your design proposals to specialist and non-specialist audiences. (MC Communication and Presentation] [RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.2)

Outcome: Evaluate material, constructional, environmental and structural processes and techniques and understand how these support and are integrated into sustainable design solutions. (MC Technical Competence) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.3)

Outcome: Engage in the advancement of knowledge through research and critique, and present this work through clear, reasoned and well-structured argument based on architectural history, theory and the broader social and political contexts of the arts, design and society. (MC Research, Analysis) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.4)

Outcome: Reflect upon and respond to changes in the profession of architecture and the construction industry in response to local and global issues, and in relation to procurement, production and legislation, recognising new emerging roles in architecture and alternative approaches to practice. (MC Subject Knowledge, Personal and Professional Development) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.5)

Outcome: Employ architectural thinking and design skills, professional judgement and initiative in responding to complex circumstances in the context of a changing profession. (MC Subject Knowledge) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.5)

Outcome: Reflect upon your work, and the work of others, to recognise your continuing learning needs in preparing for practice and qualification as an architect. (MC Personal and Professional Development) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.7)

Outcome: Engage in collaborative working practices, with both professionals and non-professionals in the development of innovative design processes and solutions, drawing on multidisciplinary practices

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across art and design. (MC Collaborative and/or Independent Professional Working) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.6)

Outcome: Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks as a creative, resilient and professional practitioner. (MC Personal and Professional Development) (RIBA/ARB Graduate attribute GA2.6 & GA2.7)

Learning and Teaching Methods: Provide a summary of the relevant learning and teaching methods for the course (i.e. lectures, seminars, independent

learning).

The primary means of learning for each student is through studio practice. This is supported and developed through:

• Unit and project briefings;

• Set and self-initiated project briefs;

• Inductions, lectures and seminars;

• Collaborative workshops and interdisciplinary study teams;

• Peer learning;

• Self and peer assessment;

• Guest speakers;

• Group discussions, reviews and critiques;

• Working with clients on live projects;

• Mentoring;

• Independent study.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching

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State the notional learning hours and provide a percentage breakdown of timetabled teaching and learning activities per

level.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching – this is the percentage of your time spent in timetabled learning and teaching. You are expected to study for 2,400 hours over 80 weeks; below is the amount of time which is timetabled activity. The rest of your learning time will be self-directed, independent study.

Percentage of time spent in timetabled learning and teaching – 23%.

Assessment Methods: Provide a summary of the relevant assessment methods for the course.

In Unit 1:

• A Portfolio that incorporates and presents the design outcome of each project. This work should be communicated through a range of visual media and methods appropriate to the nature of your work. The work of your portfolio will be linked to and underpinned by your Research Methodologies Report;

• A Research Methodologies Report that provides clear information about the development and implementation of your design engagement methodologies through both reflection and analysis. This report will become a shared document with the entire cohort and will further inform your work in Unit 2.

In Unit 2:

• A Presentation and Placement Report that critically evaluates professional practice in relation to your own placement experience;

• A written Major Project Proposal of approximately 750-words, outlining the aims, objectives and proposed methodologies for the project. This should conform to the model provided;

• A portfolio of work; including drawings, models, and other forms of communication, which shows the process and outcomes of your design propositions. Your choice of communication methods should take into account different audiences and stakeholders;

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• A bound Critical Design Report which documents your learning throughout Unit 2; providing a clear articulation of the research and development process associated with your Major Project;

• With your colleagues, you will organise and host a Symposium to present and discuss the outcomes of your Major Projects.

In Unit 3:

• A Constructed Prototype (Group Project): To a recognized scale, or 1:1 Full Scale, according to project and site;

• A Technical and Constructional Diary (Individual). This will record the stage of research and design development using conventional techniques (sketches, detail drawings, specifications, budget analysis) as well as unconventional methods (photography, video, time-lapse photography, models, 1:1 experiments). It will include a self-reflective component in which students assess their teamwork, initiative and issues/problems plus solutions.

In Unit 4:

• A bound Reflecting on Professional Practice Report at A3 Size that presents your research and final technical and professional audit of your Major Project. The Report will contain key chapters as follows:

o Feasibility Report & Project Objectives;

o Full Client Brief;

o Community and Public Consultation;

o Statutory and Legislative Constraints of the project including statutory planning context for the project, necessary permissions, urban, policy or strategic design issues;

o Building Regulations;

o Sustainability Assessment and Audit;

o Budget and Funding;

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o Contract and Procurement Strategy;

o Reports on Consultants Roles: Structural/Mechanical/Others as necessary;

o Constructional Documentation (Sample).

Reference Points List any policies, descriptors, initiatives or benchmark statements used in the development of the course.

The following reference points were used in designing the course:

• FHEQ Level Descriptors (Level 6 & 7);

• University Strategy for Student Learning;

• External industry advice and guidance;

• QAA Subject Benchmark for Architecture;

• ARB/RIBA Criteria for Architecture comprising General Criteria for Part 1 & 2 (11) and Graduate Attributes for Part 2

Programme Summary

Programme structures, features, units, credit and award requirements:

List the course details that constitute the agreed student entitlement for this course. This should include unit titles and credit,

types of learning, and details of tutorial support. If the course includes a work or study placement (including Dip Professional

Studies), the duration and a summary of expectations around arrangements must be highlighted.

The course is offered in an extended full-time mode over two calendar years. This means that your learning is timetabled over 80 weeks across two years. You are expected to commit 30 hours per week to your studies, within which your taught input will normally be scheduled over two/three days. The course has been designed in this way to enable you to pursue your studies, whilst also undertaking part-time employment, internships or care responsibilities.

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The course is comprised of four Units.

The first, Unit 1: Methodologies for Architectural Engagement (60 Credits), consists of a series of projects intended to allow you to experiment with multidisciplinary approaches, as a means to develop your own design process, and also to test methodologies which can engage the public in architecture and spatial practice: approaches that expand and challenge the conventional role of the architect. These are tested and refined through design propositions. Through this process you are introduced to a variety of research methods and issues relevant to the discipline, which are then directly implemented in the creation/realisation of design work. While developing work for Unit 1 you will be researching and securing an industry placement to be undertaken in Unit 2.

Unit 2: Innovating in Architectural Practice (120 credits), begins with your Industry Placement. Working with your Mentor you will engage with your chosen practice in order to analyse the ways in which the nature of the practice informs their work. Following your placement you will begin on your Major Project. This is designed to allow you more freedom to explore the way that architectural practice can engage the public through action and intervention. You will define your own brief, based on research and analysis of a chosen site, and develop a real intervention in order to engage the public in a design process and outcome.

Unit 3: Constructing in Detail (20 Credits), provides an opportunity to explore technical aspects of making and construction in close detail, at 1:1, and with your own hands. You will engage with the conditions and constraints of structural, constructional and material systems through direct physical experience in a constructional prototyping project. The Unit will involve research and testing, collaborative teamwork and constructional implementation, and will primarily involve working as part of a team.

As a culmination to the course, and following the completion of your major project, Unit 4: Reflecting on Professional Practice (40 Credits) will rehearse the integration of key areas of subject knowledge by asking you to engage in professional reporting. This Unit is integrally linked to Unit 2 Innovating in Architectural Practice and will ask you to apply the technical and professional knowledge and understanding that you have gained so far, demonstrating your understanding of the complexity of practice through a retrospective reflection on the detail professional context of your own major project. This Unit seeks to simulate the multiple demands and regulatory controls that professional practice is subjected to, including; Planning, Building Control, Cost, Contract, Consultancy and Constructional Documentation.

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You have to pass all Units to gain your M Arch. However, your award classification is based on your achievement in Units 2 and 4 only.

Distinctive features of the course: Identify and list those characteristics that distinguish your course from other, similar courses. Refer to both the student

experience on the course and future possible career opportunities.

• Live Projects with external clients are routinely offered through the course;

• Collaboration and multi-disciplinary team-working are at the heart of the learning and teaching experience;

• Each student allocated an advisor;

• Placement with architectural practice or relevant organisation.

Recruitment and Admissions

Selection Criteria The criteria used to make a decision on selection must be fully listed. It must be clear how an applicant’s suitability to study

on the course as demonstrated at the pre-selection and/or interview stage will be judged (good practice examples are

available through the Programme Specification Guidance). Procedures for selection must adhere to the Equal Opportunities

Policy of UAL.

Applications are welcomed from candidates from all cultures, life experiences and educational backgrounds. M ARCH Architecture at Central Saint Martins is open only to candidates with a first degree in architecture, prescribed by the Architects Registration Board, or equivalent.

When making an application, you are asked to submit an accompanying portfolio. We welcome applications in digital format or online.

Selection will be on the basis of the following criteria:

• you have a clear research agenda, related to the aims of the course;

• you can analyse a design problem from a number of perspectives and generate a range of design responses to a particular problem;

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• you can show an understanding of technology, environment and professional practice and how they relate to architectural designs;

• you can show that your personal and professional aspirations are compatible with the aims and objectives of the course;

• you can make appropriate choices about the way in which you communicate your design ideas, process and proposals;

• you have appropriate levels of skill in drawing, model-making, 3D/CAD, as well as written and verbal presentation skills;

• you can demonstrate the necessary fluency in your design process to be able to benefit from the course.

Selection and portfolio review teams normally consist of two people. For overseas applicants, a decision regarding the offer of a place on the course will be made on the basis of a portfolio review and Skype or telephone interview, undertaken by the selection team.

All applicants will be required to provide referees, who will in turn be asked to complete a referee questionnaire. References and interviews help the interview/review panel determine whether the personal and professional aspirations of the applicant are compatible with the aims and objectives of the course.

Notes are kept in relation to decisions made following the interview/portfolio review process.

Entry Requirements List the academic entry requirements relevant to the course, noting any requirements that are above the UAL minimum, or

any course specific grade requirements. Language requirements such as IELTS must also be provided. Entry requirements

will constitute the standard, conditional offer for the course.

Applicants should have an Upper First Class (2.1) Honours Degree, or equivalent, from an ARB Prescribed course in architecture (or equivalent), and normally at least one year of relevant professional experience.

Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate their competence in English to IELTS Level 6.5 by the production of an IELTS Certificate or evidence of an equivalent level of achievement.

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Course Diagram Insert a course diagram which includes; units and their credit values, plus credit values per year/level, category of units (i.e. core or specialist), progression routes, years/levels of the course, any other relevant characteristics that distinguishes the course

YEAR ONE AUTUMN TERM SPRING TERM SUMMER TERM

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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60 credits Unit 1 Methodologies for Architectural Engagement

120 credits Unit 2 Innovating in Architectural Practice

PLACEMENT 20 credits Unit 3 Constructing in Detail

YEAR TWO AUTUMN TERM SPRING TERM SUMMER TERM

38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

Unit 2 Innovating in Architectural Practice (Continued)

40 credits Unit 4 Reflecting on Professional Practice

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KEY

Week Formative Assessment Point Week Summative Assessment Point