Course Content
Whilst the course places an increased emphasis in the RIBA/ARB criteria, it has been designed with the student experience very much in mind. There is a strong desire to make the course feel like it is personally yours. We hope to achieve this by providing you with various opportunities to steer your learning towards issues you are interested in or which you feel are particularly relevant, and in effect use the course as a stepping stone to their career ahead.
The diploma course is focused on the key areas of theory, design, technology, and the real practice of architecture, and provides a dynamic, stimulating, and contemporary approach to postgraduate architectural education. It is arranged in a series of ‘Clusters’, taught principally in design studio, which promote the notion of integrated learning and working, particularly in the areas of theory, urban design, and design and technology, so hopefully you won’t feel as if you are doing something for the sake of it! This focused programme has only seven projects, namely; Theory and Experimentation, Design and technology, Professional Studies, Dissertation, Options project, Urban Design, and Thesis Design project.
This streamlining of the curriculum affords students the freedom to speculate, more time to concentrate on chosen specific areas or to explore other opportunities such as teaching in the degree school or developing specialist areas created by the suite of Masters courses.
The course has a diverse range of participating students; graduates from the school itself, graduates from other Schools of Architecture, visiting Erasmus exchange students, and a significant number of part-time students who are working in practice. The reputation and suitability of the course draws students from as far a field as Liverpool and Kent for the one-day a week study programme. In fact, the school also places a strong emphasis on its part-time students. The Diploma course is written and operates on the premise that the part-time student experience very closely matches that of the full-time student. The work part-time students do on a day-to-day basis is recognised and appreciated, as is their effort and commitment to the course.
The School also strives to involve other notable practitioners such as eminent Architects as Visiting Professors, world-renowned consultants, and external examiners with impressive reputations whether in practice or academia. Currently our list of external examiners includes Ken Shuttleworth of MAKE (ex Foster & Partners), and Birmingham City Council’s Design Adviser, Philip Singleton.
The school also offers a very exciting suite of MA courses which are responses to the current profession of Architecture, but also to maximise on the skills of our staff team. These include ‘top up’ MA’s, some of which are unique, which are linked to the Diploma course in Design and Theory, Urban Design, Intervention Architecture, and Architectural Journalism. Each of these involve a particular route through the Diploma. Full-time students taking this MA route only need complete three extra months of self-led study, and part-time students one extra year of predominantly correspondence studying. Fees for both options are based on four modules which currently costs just £640 in total.
Aside from formally undertaking one of these pathways, students completing only the Diploma course can enter into one of these specialised areas of study during the Options Project, which can be linked to several of the design clusters. It may also be used to investigate other areas of personal interest or relevance to the student’s career path. Alternatively, students may choose to work as a teaching assistant in the School’s undergraduate programme, in whichever year is most suited to them. Other ‘one-off’ opportunities are possible via negotiation with the course team.
The Diploma operates with a strong and diverse staff team that encompasses both full-time staff and numerous visiting tutors, principally from local practice. This relationship with the local practice is undergoing a renaissance, particularly through the school’s pool of visiting critics, which encourages enthusiastic architects to become involved with the school on a volunteer basis at various times throughout the year.
The Diploma course traditionally runs a study trip to the United States each spring. This trip is normally generously sponsored by Ibstock Bricks, with each student receiving a bursary towards the cost of the trip. This trip is often extended to another US city such as Chicago. The School also encourages educational exchange programmes, primarily through the Erasmus programme, which also sees European students coming into the school for a year’s study.