Architectural and Urban Design PGDip

Degree and/or experience
A good degree in a design-related subject. In exceptional circumstances, applicants may have several years of experience working in the design industry. You will need:

• Two references (one of which must be academic for recent graduates)
• Personal statement
• Portfolio (hard copy or suitable digital alternative)

English language requirements:

• IELTS is our preferred language qualification. The minimum requirement is a score of 6.5 overall with a 6.0 in writing. We also accept:
• GCSE – Grade C or higher in English Language
• IB – 5 in Standard-Level English or 4 in Higher-Level English

Design 1: Urban Strategies
This module introduces you to design strategies, methods and issues pertinent to your design studio, helping you to explore the potential of different approaches to design. There is a strong emphasis on the development of conceptual ideas and their correlation with the development of design strategy, helping you to articulate your individual position as a design practitioner.

Design 2
Design 2 aims to consolidate and extend the priorities, ideas and strategies established in Design 1. You will explore architectural and urban ideas in more depth and complexity. The emphasis here is on curiosity and speculation, supporting the development of methods to help with enquiry, reflection and debate.

Independent Project
The independent project runs concurrently and is concerned with your identification of places of ‘conflict’ and negotiations of space. The module encourages experimentation in a specific field of study. Students have developed projects in fields of architectural and artistic practice, creative design, techniques of communication or new technologies.

Critical Readings
The Critical Readings module will develop your skills in critical practice through an analysis of cultural, historical, theoretical and practical issues in architecture. It provides the opportunity to carry out initial investigations into the ideas that will drive your Masterwork project.

Research Skills and Training
Research Skills and Training introduces you to the challenges involved in designing, implementing and disseminating a research project. You will develop a written proposal that can inform the development of your Masterwork project, encouraging you to consider how your investigations contribute to the academic knowledge in your field.

Masterwork
The Masterwork is the final stage of study, requiring you to perform as a self-reflective critical researcher and lay down the foundations for innovation in your future practice. You will develop your project from an agreed research proposal, which may be either a text-based dissertation or a design-led research project with critical reflection. You will be asked to focus the areas of interest that have developed in your previous practice and studies, identify research questions and develop research methods, bringing critical investigation and creative responses together.