PCPPARCH - PG Certificate Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA 3)

The Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert provides the final professional qualification in architecture in the UK. It builds on subject material covered by prior qualifications prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) - or other courses recognised as equivalent and providing Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) exemption at Part 1 and Part 2 levels. The course is run holistically as a single module of 60 credits.

The course fulfils the ARB/RIBA criteria at Part 3 level, which set out the knowledge and skills that students will require to be accepted onto the Register of Architects (administered by the ARB) to be permitted to use the protected title of ‘Architect’, in accordance with the Architects Act 1997, and to practice as an architect in the UK. The course will enable students to develop and demonstrate awareness, understanding, knowledge and ability against the key criteria so that those successful candidates who may use the protected title have achieved a threshold level of competence (in terms of knowledge and skill) and professionalism (in terms of conduct and responsibility) against nationally approved standards, to safeguard clients, the users of buildings and wider society.

Suitable only if students are already in employment, the course is year-long, part-time, and provides a framework to support, encourage and guide students’ independent learning. It offers a choice of 6 or 12-month pathways towards the final submission and examination, enabling students to devise and manage study strategies appropriate to their own individual learning styles and intended examination milestones while allowing monitoring of their engagement and progress. The course allows students to work at their own pace and does not force submission if students need longer to reflect upon and write-up their coursework, or if students are aware of the critical value of their current experience in practice and do not wish to foreshorten it arbitrarily before committing to their final viva voce examination.

At the beginning of the course, students should have developed significant ability and competence in their earlier education and work in practice. The course is therefore conceived as both a retrospective check on their functional ability, knowledge and aims and as a prospective opportunity for the acquisition of additional skills and greater formal and experiential knowledge and understanding. Students will demonstrate this ability and competence, alongside related professional skills through the varied methods of assessment, utilised in relation to the curriculum and professional body requirements.

Students’ learning is enhanced and supported through their ongoing direct experience and contact with employers, construction team members, live project activities and continuing professional development opportunities, so students can learn from experienced practitioners within the architecture and construction context. Students also have access to university-based facilities and resources which support their learning, such as on-site and digital spaces, the library and other resources within the London Metropolitan School of Art, Architecture and Design, along with those provided through Weblearn, the Virtual Learning Environment.

The course aims to meet both students’ aspirations and the requirements of a dynamic construction environment, so has been designed in consultation with students, employers and professional validating bodies. It aligns with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Education for Social Justice Framework and Student Partnership Agreement in promoting accessible and inclusive education in an environment that respects and values the identities of all our students and accommodates diversity in all its forms. Consideration has been given

The Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert aims to promote the development of students’ professional ability as architects, as outlined by the ARB in the UK and in line with professional recognition. Professional ability is defined contractually as a ‘duty of care’ - specifically ‘skill’, ‘care’, ‘diligence’ and ‘competence’ in conformity with the normal standards of the architect's profession as set out by ARB/RIBA in their Professional Criteria requirements at Part 3 and in their respective professional codes of conduct. Architects also advertise a ‘duty to advise’ in the standard RIBA appointment documentation, so the course aims to ensure that students will be able to exercise this duty.

Professional knowledge employed by good architects is not necessarily reducible to 'added value'. As such, the course aims to develop and share this knowledge through dialogical action and interaction, and the course and assessment structure is underpinned by the notion that students’ knowledge as architects is best demonstrated and assessed discursively through written and graphic evidence. The UK-specific ARB/ RIBA criteria for all Part 3 courses (published 2011) are set out in the module specification for AR7P46 RIBA 3. In these five criteria, ‘care’ is conceived as an imaginative ability to perceive the likelihood of unwanted outcomes and to take action, and not merely to issue caveats, to prevent the occurrence of unwanted outcomes. Therefore the course aims to inculcate students with the capacity to exercise ‘care’ which, like design ‘skill’, requires the ability to view outcomes and processes holistically. Diligence is conceived of as the facility to meet external time constraints and to seek solutions to problems in preference to seeking excuses for failure.

Architects’ social and ethical responsibility is to consider the impact of their decisions and actions, and this is at the heart of the course, which aims to foster independent and critical thinking. It also aims to provide students with the skills necessary to develop a clear sense of the responsibility and agency required in the architectural profession to perform their duties with care and to articulate and advocate for their own position within the architecture and construction environment. Skill, care, diligence and circumspection are required of a student passing the course, alongside the demonstration of a propensity to avoid serious professional incompetence and misconduct - the primary grounds for reprimand or removal from the Register by the ARB.

On successful completion of the course students will be able to show that they have achieved a threshold of competence (in terms of knowledge and ability) and professionalism (in terms of conduct and responsibility) to:

• be able to practice as a registered architect in the UK according to the joint ARB/ RIBA professional criteria and mandatory competencies without bringing the profession into disrepute;
• be able to exercise a set of skills appropriate to the practice of architecture which are communicative, managerial, legal, political, ethical, philosophical, epistemological and numerical.

Through being tested against Learning Outcomes designed to meet the Professional Criteria for the Part 3 examination (2010) held in common by ARB and RIBA and summarised under subject headings below:

• PC1. Professionalism
• PC2. Clients, Users and Delivery of Services
• PC3. Legal Framework and Processes
• PC4. Practice and Management
• PC5. Building Procurement

The comprehensive and detailed Professional Criteria and mandatory competences are detailed in the AR7P46 RIBA3 Module Specification, as this is a single module course.

QAA Architecture Benchmark Statement (2020)

The assessment strategy for the Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert has been designed holistically, to ensure fairness, accessibility, and inclusivity as well as manageable timing, workloads, and clarity of expectations for students. Where appropriate, students are engaged as partners in the design of their assessments.

The assessment regimes for the course and tasks are designed together with the briefs, prior to the start of the year, considering student, external examiner, professional collaborator, and colleague feedback. The requirements of professional bodies, the components, the assessment criteria and grading scheme are presented/ explained to students and made available through VLE at the start of the course along with supporting templates for reference.

The assessment components for the course provide the opportunity for students to be able to demonstrate ability and competence, alongside related professional skills through the varied methods of delivery and examination, utilised in relation to the curriculum and professional body requirements which are:

• the development of documentary coursework including concurrent and retrospective evaluation of recorded work experience via the Professional Experience Development Records (quarterly PEDR sheets and/ or Certificates of Experience);
• the development of documentary coursework including the retrospective and prospective evaluation of work and educational experience via the Statement of Experience and Intent
• the development of documentary coursework including a comprehensive Case Study (critical appraisal report) of an actualised project;
• written responses to time-limited scenario-based examination exercises and tasks covering different project work stages/ testing understanding of professional criteria
• a viva voce examination by peers that is designed to test written and oral communication skills through questioning which also provides the examiners with an opportunity to explore the student's formal and experiential knowledge in depth.

The course programme sets out final deadlines and interim milestones for submission, review and feedback on drafts and final coursework documents prior to summative assessment at set points.
Feedback is provided by arrangement and in formats agreed with students to track further progress and engage support where it is required. Feedback follows good pedagogic practice in that it is constructed as ‘feed-forward’, with guidance on specific actions and strategies as to how to improve, not only on what requires improvement.

Most of the assessment coursework is written work. Students will be encouraged to design and make use of their written documents to develop and demonstrate creativity and communication skills. Drafts of coursework text are continuously received and commented on by teaching staff. Staff will help students to form self-selected study groups to support self-directed learning, ongoing discussion and review of key themes and topics within the diverse and ever-changing construction and practice context. Example exam questions and responses will be made available to students on the course for review and discussion along with examples of previous written submissions.

The written examination responses and all coursework documentary submissions are assessed internally by the course team. These submissions are also read and subsequently assessed through viva voce examination by independent examiners. Each student is seen by two examiners, at least one of whom will be an experienced professional Part 3 examiner as recognised by RIBA

The viva voce examination is understood as an assessment by one’s peers and is seen as the final gateway to registration. It delivers a mark in relation to each of the four documentary assessment components. The viva voce element of each assessment component must achieve a minimum mark of 50% from the viva voce examiners for that component to be passed, regardless of the internal mark. In addition, the aggregate internal and viva voce mark for a documentary submission must be 50% or more to achieve a pass overall. If a student fails overall but has passed some components, these components may be resubmitted unaltered to a subsequent reassessment.

Students are informed of the procedures for internal and viva voce marking, and external examiner scrutiny of the assessment process and marks, to ensure that they understand and have confidence in the probity of the process and security of the final marks. Additionally, the course engages in Subject and School parity exercises to ensure that assessment standards are consistent.

In order to undertake the Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert, students will be employed in professional practice and as such, work-based learning is embedded within the course. Most tutors and lecturers contributing to the course are practitioners who share their knowledge and experience with students throughout their course of study. Students’ understanding of professional standards and expectations builds as they progress through the course and it is a requirement of the professional bodies that a reflective record of their work experience is considered in the final assessment.

Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert registration time 6-24 months. If a student exceeds the 24-month period they are required to submit written request for deferral and pay the administrative or top-up fees required to ensure continued registration for submission, assessment and examination at the next available opportunity.

Part-time Structure

Students will be studying part time for the Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert. It is a part-time weekly evening course for all, and there is no full-time route, as students are required to be employed in an architecture practice in order to undertake the course.

An alternative (second) pathway to the Part 3 qualification is offered through the Level 7 Architecture Apprenticeships route a part-time course allowing students to achieve their Part 2 and Part 3 qualifications whilst in employment

There are no interim awards, although it is possible to achieve the PGCert without RIBA3 exemption. Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert is a single 60 credit module course. Completion, submission, assessment of all four components as set out in ‘Course Aims (Para 10) and summarised in ‘Assessment Strategy’ (Para 21) are core and compulsory and defined by the course structure. All four components must be passed in order to qualify and achieve the Part 3 award. The part time route is prescribed (section 23).

The course is available to students who have architectural or built environment qualifications from non-UK Schools of Architecture but who may have yet to obtain ARB Part1 and/ or Part 2 exemption through the ARB Prescribed Examination. Such students can achieve the PGCert award but will not be able to register with ARB and use the protected title of architect until such time as they have completed their Part 1 and/ Part 2 Prescribed Examinations.

The coursework and assessments on the Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert are seen as an integrated process designed to interrelate the many abilities and broad knowledge required for students to become a practicing architect. For example, the most basic contract of all, the agreement between the architect and their client, has critical significance against all of ARB’s five Professional Criteria i.e. Professionalism; Clients, Users and Delivery of Services; Legal Frameworks and Processes; Practice and Management and Building Procurement. As such, every aspect of the single integrated module will promote students’ reflective learning and personal development planning (PDP) and they will be facilitated to continuously re-evaluate their coursework and experience in practice in relation to the assessment criteria and assessment modes.

The course has a core principle of guiding and supporting students’ experience and understanding of professional obligations, projects and practice and lectures, seminars, emails and tutorials are all concurrent and continuous. Ongoing reflection, evaluation and personal development is supported by formative feedback on work in progress that will enable students to understand and articulate their progress and development; advocate for their professional position; develop their own individualised approach to managing the course tasks and programme and achieve successful outcomes. Students will be expected to continuously reevaluate their coursework and experience in practice and in relation to the assessment criteria and assessment modes. Lectures, seminars, email correspondence and tutorials arranged to suit students are all concurrent and continuous.

The course is designed for students working in architectural practice and uses work-based learning as the core learning method. The course’s engagement with external employers ensures that personal development for career planning is effectively contextualised and suitable for the contemporary architecture practice.

The arrangements for promoting reflective learning/personal development planning include:
• a scheduled programme of engaging and interactive evening lectures by experts in developing and making explicit the knowledge, judgement, skill, care and diligence necessary to pass RIBA 3 by viva voce examination;
• ad-hoc group revision seminars on subjects of the cohort’s choosing supported by additional programmed continuous professional development lectures;
• timely turnaround of email enquiries;
• self-selected study groups focused on diversity of experience in practice.

The course conforms with the regulatory structures of London Metropolitan University together with the Criteria for Validation issued jointly by the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architects Registration Board in 2011. It was prescribed by the ARB in 2016, ARB prescription is renewed every 5 years and was most recently re-validated by the RIBA in 2022.

Upon successful completion of the Professional Practice in Architecture (RIBA3) – PG Cert and following subsequent registration by the Architects Registration Board, students will be able to use the protected title ‘Architect’, in accordance with The Architects Act 1997, and to work in an architect’s practice. It also enables them to set up their own architectural practice and students can benefit from support and guidance in this from the Careers and Employability services and the University’s business incubator unit, ‘Accelerator’.

RIBA Part 3 and subsequent registration with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) allow you to practise with the title of architect in the United Kingdom and European community.

You will be required to have:

• RIBA Part 1 and Part 2 exemption by examination at a recognised UK or Eire school, or obtained RIBA or ARB Part 1 and Part 2 exemption by interview.
• documentary evidence of practical experience to conform with the RIBA Practical Training Scheme - 24 months of experience in total is required to sit the part 3 examination, of which 12 months minimum should be undertaken in the EEA, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man under the direct supervision of an architect. Further guidance is available on the RIBA website

Applicants who have completed their qualifications outside of the UK or Eire should contact the ARB to obtain confirmation of their eligibility to take the Part 3 Exam.

In cases where exemption from the full year of post-part 2 training is required, evidence of protracted experience at high levels of responsibility must be submitted, sufficient to allow the course tutor to endorse an application for exemption to the RIBA's Co-ordinator for Practical Training.

Applicants are requested to include a personal statement as part of the initial application form and to upload a copy of the award certificate/transcripts for both their Part 1 and Part 2 qualifications. Also, a current CV and employer reference.