Degrees in Humanities and Social Science Degrees in Science and Engineering

BA Ordinary/MA Honours in:

Architecture**
MA Honours in:
Architecture in Creative and Cultural Environments
MA Honours in:
Architectural History
Architectural History and Archaeology
History of Art and Architectural History
Social and Architectural History
BEng/MEng Honours in:
Structural Engineering with Architecture
(Please see separate information sheet for
Civil and Environmental Engineering)
* Please see separate Subject Information Sheet for Landscape Architecture
** Please note: The Architects Registration Board had validated all our professional programmes in Architecture
Why study Architecture
at Edinburgh?
The Edinburgh School of Architecture and
Landscape Architecture (ESALA) offers a range
of Architecture degree programmes which are
delivered across the central University area,
including Lauriston Place and Minto House on
Chambers Street, and students therefore
beneft from access to a wide range of specialist
facilities. Students have traditionally spent their
frst year at our Lauriston Place studios, moving
to Minto House in the second year.
Lauriston Place is equipped, as a large and
fully-functioning school of art, architecture
and design, with studios, workshops, exhibition
spaces and a comprehensive library. Minto
House, which ESALA shares with History of Art, is
a building complex containing a dedicated
library, studios, the Matthew Architecture
Gallery, and extensive and very well-equipped
workshops.
The University and the city of Edinburgh
provide an ideal environment, academically
and physically, for the study of Architecture
and Architectural History. The city is a World
Heritage Site, with excellent examples of
historic architecture in the medieval planned
burgh of the Old Town, adjacent to the
University, and in the Georgian New Town.
Victorian and contemporary buildings in the
centre and suburbs further enrich the city.
What does the degree involve?
There are a range of programmes available:
the three-year Ordinary BA Architecture;
the four-year Honours MA Architecture;
the four-year Honours MA Architecture in
Creative and Cultural Environments;
the four-year Honours MA Architectural
History;
Landscape Architecture programmes.*
These degree programmes have the same
academic structure as those studied elsewhere
in the University of Edinburgh. As a student in
the frst two years, you accumulate 120 credits
per year, typically in courses of 20 or 40 credits.
BA Architecture/MA Architecture
Both degrees are fully accredited and lead to
RIBA/ARB professional accreditation.**
Stages 1 & 2
In the frst two stages, students study
Architectural Design, Technology & Environment,
Architectural History and Visual Culture.
In addition, students in second year take 20
credits of elective study from among courses
offered by the Colleges of Humanities and Social
Science, and Science and Engineering. At the end
of the second year, you will decide whether to
progress to the three-year BA or the four-year MA.
Stage 3
Design options are introduced in the third year,
and students choose according to their
developing and special interests. These
architectural studio courses address large
themes; for example, sustainability, technology,
adaptation, virtuality, and intervention.
Professional studies is also introduced at this
stage, as is design theory.
In addition, as at Stage 2, you take a 20-credit
elective course. The MA Honours programme
includes a semester of work experience.
Students on the BA programme graduate at the
end of Stage 3.
Stage 4
Following a second period of placement, you
will choose a main architectural studio course
and develop, curate and present an academic
portfolio. You also write a dissertation on a
topic of your choosing.
MA Architecture in Creative and
Cultural Environments
This is a programme for students who are
interested in architecture but who do not seek
accreditation as members of the profession.
Stages 1 & 2
In the frst two years, students study
Architectural Design, Technology &
Environment, Architectural History and Visual
Culture. In addition, students in second year
take 20 credits of elective study from among
courses offered by the Colleges of Humanities
and Social Sciences, and Science and
Engineering.
Stage 3
Students pursue their particular interests in
facets of architecture in Year 3. You choose
from a wide range of subjects including
Architecture, Architectural History, History of
Art, and Landscape Architecture.
Stage 4
Students take an architectural studio course or
a combination of Architectural History and
outside courses. Students will also write a
dissertation.
Architecture
The University of Edinburgh
College of Humanities and Social Science
April 2014
What is Architecture?
Architecture is the art of addressing afresh rationally and
imaginatively our practical need to protect from the elements,
ourselves, our social activities, and our artefacts. At the same time,
it is the art of the city, and it aims to create the built environment
in which we may celebrate living together. The student of
architecture acquires skills of observation, analysis and design,
acknowledging that material, environmental, social and historical
factors are the conditions within which architecture is conceived
and realised.
My creative experience has been enriched by studying within an art school environment.
The intimate nature of working in a specialist institution means that its a friendly place
to be and in day to day activities you cross paths with a broad range of artists and
designers. Studio provision is great, and the chance to take art and design elective
courses in first year offers new ways of thinking and working
Architecture student
For more
detailed information
on degree structure
and content, please see:
www.ed.ac.uk/schools-
departments/student-
recruitment/publications-
resources/degree-
programmes
MA Architectural History
In the frst and second years, core courses in
Architectural History are taken alongside other
associated courses (usually History of Art,
Cultural Studies or Archaeology are
recommended). A third course in each year is
chosen from subjects offered by study areas in
the Colleges of Humanities and Social Science,
and Science and Engineering, subject to
compatibility of timetables. The student is
therefore likely to study four different subjects
in these two years.
In the Junior Honours year, students take
a course in Texts and Theories in Western
Architecture and, as well as Honours courses,
they may undertake a placement. In the Senior
Honours year, students take four optional
Honours courses and prepare a dissertation.
Honours Options
A choice of options are available to students.
Each optional course deals with a feld of
architectural history in which the tutor has a
research interest. Options available vary and
not all options are offered every year.
At present they include:
Evolution of Edinburgh Townscape
Vienna around 1900
What is Modernism?
Georgian Architecture
Themes in 20
th
-century Architectural
Culture
Scottish Country House 1660-1800
The Italian Renaissance Villa
Victorian Architecture: Themes and Ideas
Architecture and Empire
German Architecture of the 20
th
Century
Leon Battista Alberti: the Theory and
Practice of the Visual Arts in
15
th
Century Italy
Architecture of the Russian and
Soviet Avant-Garde
Further Study
Students who have completed the degree
programme in Architecture to a suffcient
standard, and who intend to practise as
architects, may apply for entry to the two-year
MArch delivered by ESALA. Entry to the degree
is competitive, and progression is not
guaranteed, but many students do continue on
to this programme.
What sort of teaching and
assessment methods are used?
Architecture Design consists of a continuous
series of design exercises and projects.
Each student has a studio workplace. Work
is assessed continuously. Technology and
Environment embraces the study of structure,
construction and the sustainability of buildings.
Practical work, undertaken in the workshops,
is also part of the course. Assessment is based
on course work, essays and examinations.
Architectural History, taught through lectures
and tutorials, is assessed by essays,
examinations and class presentations, while
Honours courses are assessed by essays and
examination. In the Senior Honours year, all
students write a dissertation of 10,000 words
on a topic of their choice agreed with a
supervising tutor. MA Architecture students are
also required to undertake a placement year in
order to acquire experience of professional
architectural practice. On its completion, they
write an assessed report on their experience.
Are there any opportunities
to study abroad?
Work experience, for intending architects on
the MA programme, is distributed in two eleven
week periods through Stages 3 and 4. These
may be opportunities for students to work and
study at home and abroad. In addition, there
are a limited number of places on an ERASMUS
exchange proramme, which allows students of
the MA Architecture degree to undertake a year
abroad instead of the professional placement.
Students apply and are selected during second
year.
Are there any links with industry
and commerce?
Architecture, at the University, through its
vocational degrees, has strong links with the
architectural profession. These are helpful to
students when seeking their placement and
other forms of work experience.
What can I do after my degree?
Typically, students on the BA/MA Architecture
degree course proceed to the second degree
required by the architectural profession
(Architects Registration Board, Royal Institute
of British Architects) for certifcation to practise
as an architect. Students who take the degree
in Architecture in Creative and Cultural
Environments are able to enter a wide range of
professions connected with the building trade,
like project management or journalism.
They are also prepared for postgraduate study
in such areas as Planning. Students of
Architectural History can make contributions in
a variety of areas, such as conservation,
heritage, land management, historical
consultancy for architectural practices and
research.
What are admissions staff
looking for?
Architecture occupies a position in society
where many scientifc, social-scientifc and
artistic disciplines meet. Consequently, there
is no one subject, studied at school, that leads
to the study of Architecture. What is required is
an enquiring mind, with regard to these many
disciplines, and one that enjoys attempting to
make the observations that they generate into
the substance of architectural design.
Furthermore, the architect works with experts
in different felds and therefore needs to be able
to communicate effectively with them. What is
needed is a mind prepared to explore new
ideas and technologies.
You will fnd our most up to date entry
requirements at: www.ed.ac.uk/studying/
undergraduate/degrees
How do I fnd out more?
For further information about Architecture
please contact:
Dr Soledad Garcia Ferrari
Tel: 0131 221 6083
Email: architecture@ed.ac.uk
Web: www.eca.ed.ac.uk/architecture-
landscape-architecture
For further information about admissions
please contact:
Undergraduate Admissions Offce
College of Humanities and Social Science,
The University of Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 650 3565
Email: HSSUG@ed.ac.uk
Web: www.hss.ed.ac.uk
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