Architecture BA (Hons)

Experience your designs coming to life by harnessing your creative ideas, imaginative vision, and humanistic and ethical understanding to gain an architectural skillset that can change the world and build the future environments in which we live.

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Overview

Head of Leicester School of Architecture, Kate Cheyne, discusses why you should study at DMU.

Studying Architecture at DMU is about developing the skills and knowledge to have a real impact in our community and the world around us – you will create buildings of the future that offer innovative solutions to the global climate emergency.

Learn about the history of architecture and design, alongside completing technical, practical and professional exercises relating to ethical architecture in the commercial world. Teaching and learning focuses on the design studio, where you will undertake projects in a range of spatial, social and topographical settings, from the smallest of residences and objects through to complex megacities and events. You will work in partnership with students across our built environment courses like you will in professional practice.

Discover how to bring your designs to life by exploring and experimenting with model-making and software. You’ll be taught by both academic researchers and current practitioners so that current industry thinking feeds into your learning.

This course is professionally validated, preparing you for a postgraduate degree in Architecture, which most graduates will progress onto.

Key features

Be part of a community that’s working together to change the construction industry from within, so that we can be the changemakers the world needs to address the global climate emergency.
This course is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), with students also exempt from RIBA and ARB Part I examinations.

The Leicester School of Architecture (LSA) has a 125-year history of nurturing the next generation of architects with a future-facing curriculum that focuses on the ‘craft of making’.

Create work with real impact in the community by working on live design projects in the city of Leicester. Past projects have seen students reimagining Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, renovating a derelict site to build an immersive theatre and creating wild pools and saunas on the River Soar.
Graduates have gone on to work for some of the best architectural practices in the UK and worldwide, including Heatherwick Studio, Make Architects and Shigeru Ban Architects.

Benefit from the very latest facilities in our award-winning Vijay Patel Building, including dedicated multipurpose studios, CAD labs and workshops offering metal working, woodworking, digital printing, water-jet cutting and prototyping.

Free Creative Essentials At DMU, we believe financial constraints should never limit your ability to explore and express your artistic vision. That's why we offer a range of free materials giving you a unique opportunity to create without limits.

Student looking at and feeling brightly coloured fabrics hanging from the ceiling

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Student work gallery

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"The facilities in the Vijay Patel Building are outstanding and the teaching staff are really supportive." - Janusz Moore, Architecture BA (Hons) graduate. Awarded a Commendation in the Silver Medal category of the RIBA President’s Medals 2021.

UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: K100

Duration: Three years full-time

Fees and funding:

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Architecture news

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds.

A good portfolio and normally:

Art and Design Foundation or
128 UCAS points from at least 2 A levels or
BTEC Extended Diploma DDM or
International Baccalaureate: 32+ Points or
T Levels Distinction

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above.

Pass Access QAA Accredited AHE Diploma with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above

We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course.

We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English and Maths or Science at grade 4 or above.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Interview and portfolio

Interview required: No

Portfolio required: Yes

Please see our portfolio advice page for full details.

Structure and assessment

First year

Block 1: Studio 1: Exploring Architecture
Block 2: Studio 2: Experiencing Architecture
Block 3: Studio 3: Creating Architecture
Block 4: Studio 4: Writing Architecture

Second year

Blocks 1 and 2:
- Exploring Ethical and Climate Literacy

- Contextualizing Architectural Humanities
Block 3 and 4:
- Practicing Ethical Design
- Applying Climate Literate Design

Third year

Blocks 1 and 2:
- Design Enquiry and Strategy
- Critical and Cultural Thinking
Blocks 3 and 4:

- Design Proposition and Synthesis
- Design Resolution and Professionalism

See more detailed module descriptions

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Overview

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, studio and tutorials. Studio culture is a key part of the course and our studio spaces have been developed so that students across all three years of the course work alongside eachother. In the design studio you will:

Work and collaborate with peers and tutors in drawing, digital drawing and fabrication, model making, discussion and debate
Meet regularly with design tutors for small group learning, individual advice and guidance, assessment and feedback
Engage in instructional/guidance lectures and workshops to develop key manual and digital techniques
Have design work reviewed by guest architects and critics

There are a variety of assessments including individual and group project work, individual and group presentations, report writing, essay writing, reflective practice and portfolio development. You will receive continuous feedback on your work as you progress through the course, culminating in a major design project and dissertation.

Contact hours
In your first year you will normally attend around 20 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 21 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

RIBA and ARB

dmu-riba-arb

The Leicester School of Architecture is fully validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board

Commonwealth Association of Architects

dmu-caa

The course is on the Commonwealth Association of Architects’ approved courses list.

Facilities and features

Art and design facilities

The award-winning Vijay Patel Building brings all of our art and design courses together providing inspiring, flexible spaces, studios and facilities which invite creativity and innovation.

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our state-of-the-art workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building supports students to be both ready for industry and future leaders in their respective fields.

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

Many of our students follow the conventional route to qualification and registration as an Architect. This involves a monitored, paid placement in an architectural practice, commonly called the ‘Year-Out’ which is undertaken following graduation from the BA programme and before returning to complete the MArch programme, to gain exemption from the RIBA/ARB Part 2 examinations.

The final year of professional experience is gained following graduation from the MArch programme. Both periods of professional experience in a practice, contribute to the RIBA/ARB minimum requirements for practical training. At DMU, professional experience is monitored and recorded through the online PEDR which is an assessed component of the Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Practice, the last stage of architectural education leading to exemption from the RIBA/ARB Part 3 examinations and subsequent registration as an Architect in the UK.

The school offers a range of careers resources and opportunities, such as final year mock-interviews, engagement with the RIBA East Midlands Mentoring programme and the opportunity of involvement with the Leicester Atelier which provides links with industry as part of your studies.

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have undertaken DMU Global trips to European cities including Copenhagen, where they explored first-hand historical and contemporary Danish design, and Berlin, which provided the opportunity to examine the city’s art, artists and museums to gain a broader design perspective. DMU Global trips have also taken students further afield to India and New York.

Graduate careers

Many of our graduates follow the conventional route to qualification and registration as an Architect. Others use their degree to launch careers in related fields such as architectural conservation, urban design, research, planning and project management, or go into other fields such as journalism, heritage and history, film, web design, lifestyle design, game design, event design and digital animation, strategic management and political advocacy.

Recent employers include Heatherwick Studio, Make Architects and Shigeru Ban Architects.

Tom Cox secured a Part II Architectural Assistant position with Bristol-based practice Wotton Donoghue after spent five ‘great years’ studying Architecture BA (Hons) and Architecture MArch at DMU.

Take your next steps

Nine halls of residence and around 2,300 rooms, all of which are within easy walking distance of the campus.

Run by students for students, DSU offers more than 150 societies and almost 40 different sports clubs for you to get involved in.

Architecture BA (Hons)

Block teaching designed around you