Diploma in Architecture

The Diploma in Architecture programme at the University of Nottingham aims to develop the attitudes and understanding that results in the production of architecture of the highest quality.  At Nottingham we aim to produce students with a balanced range of core skills and students are expected to engage with both practical and intellectual agendas.

The two-year Diploma programme aims to create graduate architects who are well prepared for a subsequent career in the architectural profession.  We recognise that this aim entails both the development of a core range of key skills and also engagement with some of the diverse specialist skills and knowledge that are often required for modern architectural practice.

The programme revolves around a core architecture curriculum supplemented by a range of choices of both subject matter and experience that enables students to expand their interests or to develop a specialism.  The provision of choice allows each student to adjust their educational development to reflect trends in the profession within a broad but balanced framework.  The formal teaching programme supports these aims but we also recognise that their achievement relies on personal motivation and student-centred learning.  The Department therefore encourages a vibrant studio culture and an attitude to learning which fosters creativity, independence and tenacity.

Course Aims

The two-year programme is intended to create graduate architects who are well prepared either for a career in an architectural or related profession or to prepare students for further academic study in pursuit of postgraduate qualifications.

The programme aims to:

• Provide the students with knowledge, skills and judgement to enable them to contribute responsibly to the quality of the built environment and to the general advancement of architecture through a career within the architectural profession.
• Provide a curriculum that meets the Architects Registration Board prescription of qualifications (2003) for Part 2 and the European Commission Architects Directive and which relates to the Higher Education Qualifications Framework: Level 4.
• Develop a systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical awareness of current problems relevant to the profession of architecture and to encourage a questioning and receptive attitude which enables students to construct an informed theoretical and ethical position in relation to architectural design and its appropriate relationship to a wider social, cultural and environmental context.
• Develop advanced skills in architectural design and to enable students to develop specialist knowledge and skills in related subject areas.
• Develop a wide range of key and transferable skills with an emphasis on creativity, adaptability, independent thinking, constructive and creative dialogue with others, ingenuity and originality in problem solving and the effective exposition of ideas.
• Encourage self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems and to promote an independent and research-led attitude to learning.

Course Outcomes

The core programme has been developed to meet the requirements of the Architects Registration Board Prescription of qualifications: ARB criteria for Part 2: 2003.  By the end of the course all graduating students will have had the opportunity to demonstrate these outcomes through a combination of a design portfolio and related studies that may include essays, reports, presentations and a dissertation.  Beyond the core programme, students will also have the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge and skills in related fields of study that include Urban Design, Environmental Design, Architectural Tectonics and Architectural History and Theory.  These specialist areas relate to the Department’s research strengths and within the Diploma there is an emphasis on research informed teaching and learning.

Teaching and Learning Approaches

The programme extends over two years and is structured on a modular basis.  The course also provides students with an opportunity to undertake periods of practice-based learning.  Each year or session of study consists of 120 credits, normally 60 credits in each semester.  Modules vary in size - lecture or seminar based modules are 15 credits, studio design projects are 30 credits and the final semester design thesis and written dissertation modules are 60 credits each.

Teaching and learning methods involve a mixture of lectures, seminars, study visits, case studies, debates and reviews, and design tutorials.  The core learning environment is the design studio around which related modules are organised to support the integrated development of knowledge, understanding, cognitive skills, professional and transferable skills. 

Students are expected at all times to augment the formal teaching sessions and readings with independent observation, analysis and reading.  The process of design review promotes open debate and discussion between students and a jury of teachers and visiting critics.

See the Course Description page for more detail

This qualification is prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), subject to periodic review by ARB, for the purposes of entry onto the United Kingdom Register of Architects. For further details on ARB and the prescription of architectural qualifications, see the Education section of the ARB website ( http://www.arb.org.uk/  ).’