PIMARRIB - MArch Architecture RIBA 2

The Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch provides an advanced architectural education for students typically (but not exclusively) qualified at degree level with exemption from Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Part 1. It forms the second part (Part 2) and first postgraduate element of a trainee architect’s five-year (full-time or part-time equivalent) programme of study towards professional registration. After completing two ‘years out’ comprising work experience in practice – one typically between Part 1 and Part 2, and one after Part 2 – the student may pursue the third and final course of study and qualification in architecture in the UK: RIBA Part 3. Not every student will want or need to complete all three of the RIBA parts of architectural education (Parts 1, 2 and 3). Graduates of this course will be equipped to follow a range of careers including advanced study pathways towards specialisation. Employability is fostered through direct experience, work-related learning, live project opportunities, and contact with external partners and sector professionals.

Designed in consultation with students and employers, in order to meet the needs and aspirations of both the learning community and the discipline of architecture, the course aligns with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Education for Social Justice Framework, and the Student Partnership Agreement. It promotes accessible and inclusive education, accommodating diversity in an environment that respects and values student identities. Consideration has been given to the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Architecture (2020) the QAA Higher Education Qualifications Framework, PSRB requirements from the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the RIBA, and the University’s Academic Regulations.

The educational strategy of the course is rooted in three principles: commitment to a deep understanding of architecture, a high degree of personal motivation and the experience of a shared culture of learning. Good quality design serves as the basis for a built environment able to perform in a manner appropriately attuned to the health and wellbeing of those who use buildings and spaces. A shared culture is vital to both our student body, which comprises diverse viewpoints and beliefs, as well as the teaching staff who are always learning. The curriculum promotes individualised learning opportunities and student choice while fostering cohort dynamics. Critical thinking, independence and awareness of our social responsibility – to consider the impact of an architect’s decision and actions – are fundamental to the values of the course.

The course is taught in the studios and seminar rooms of the London Metropolitan School of Art, Architecture and Design which benefits from being situated in a vibrant district of London with access to cultural resources and networks. Workshops and teaching spaces shared across subject areas at the School include print, photography, plaster casting, woodwork and metalwork, digital resources and computer labs.

Characteristic of design education is the process of learning through practice, particularly design project work. Students will acquire core skills from teaching staff whose collective experience incorporates both academic expertise and practitioner experience. Students will develop sophistication in their approach to design in a curriculum that emphasises independent learning and self-motivation, depth of knowledge, research and professional skills, and the synthesis of complex architectural issues. Students will be engaged in the ethical and sustainable design of architecture in the widest sense.

In addition to studio-based design work, students will undertake modules in architectural technology, professional practice and architectural research. Knowledge and understanding are acquired in a multi-dimensional and interconnected way across all modules with a high degree of personal involvement through learning, making and doing. The teaching engages with legal frameworks, historical and cultural context as well as the technical training related to the progress of architectural design in a sustainable direction. Students will leave the course with a clear sense of their responsibility and agency required in the profession to perform their duties with care and precision.

The Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch aims to enable students to progress on the pathway to continue their professional architectural training at Part 3, if they wish to do so, and progress towards professional registration with ARB. Guided by this intention, the Course Aims (CAs) are aligned with the educational ‘Themes and Values’ embedded in the RIBA’s Education and Professional Development Framework as set out in “The Way Ahead” (RIBA 2021). The terms E1-E6 below refer to the six ‘themes and values’.

10(a) Health and Life Safety (E1)
By integrating knowledge and understanding concerning principles of health and life safety into the curriculum, the course aims to equip students to:
1. understand fire and life safety design requirements;
2. apply principles of life safety in an appropriate and practical manner in the design of the built environment.

10(b) Ethical and Professional Practice (E2)
By developing higher order intellectual skills regarding the ethical and professional dimensions of architectural practice, alongside knowledge concerning the architect’s full range of responsibilities, the course aims to enable students to:
1. understand and contextualise the architect’s legal, statutory, economic, management, ethical, social and political obligations;
2. exercise decision-making within a project design or advocate for a position on issue(s) pertaining to ethical and professional practice; integrate knowledge regarding the architect’s obligations and duty of care into proposals.

10(c) Structure, Construction and Resources (E3)
By cultivating a practical and intellectual knowledge base concerning a design proposal's structure, construction and resources, the course aims to equip students to:
1. understand and demonstrate structural, constructional and material strategies, construction techniques and processes necessary to realise a building design, including the provision and integration of building services;
2. understand and employ principles of visual, acoustic and thermal environments, and the relationship of design to climate;
3. determine relationships between design proposals and the wider context in terms of energy consumption, sustainability and ethical development.

10(d) History, Theory and Methodologies (E4)
By framing the learning context in a sustained intellectual culture of debate, linking wider issues to design decisions, the course aims to enable students to:
1. understand the histories and theories of architecture and urbanism that inform, underpin and allow interpretation of design, and research methods in architecture;
2. contribute to and get involved with – through events, exhibitions, visiting speakers, action research and international links – a lively shared learning environment to inform a critical outlook in relation to architectural debate;
3. engage with the ethical dimensions of architecture, through personal initiative and the School’s strong links with the local area and community, to emphasise socially committed practices in design project work and related subject studies.

10(e) Design Processes and Communication (E5)
By providing an excellent design-based education, the course aims to give students capacity to:
1. understand the requirements of, and develop methods of engagement with, building users and procurers to develop an appropriate design brief that takes into account social, political, economic, environmental, ethical and cultural issues;
2. develop a sophisticated design process answering to the requirements of the brief, to generate a clear conceptual rationale against which design proposals can be tested;
3. develop a complex design scheme that is clear about how it can be realised technically, politically, economically and over time, and which integrates knowledge gained in the other key areas of the curriculum.

10(f) Business Skills (E6)
By means of grounding its academic content in the practical dimensions of running an architectural practice, as well as an understanding of transferable business skills, the course aims to enable students to:
1. understand the methods of procurement and delivery of architectural projects and their relation to the context for economic development;
2. develop and apply methods of negotiation and team working with all individuals encountered within the practice of architecture, from members of the user group, to client, to specialist consultant through to contractor.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch, students will demonstrate through their academic portfolio that they have met the terms of reference of the RIBA Education and Professional Development Framework, in compliance with the general criteria that form the basis for prescription by ARB at Part 2. Course Learning Outcomes (LOs) are linked to the Course Aims (CAs), noted below:

11(a) Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course, the student is expected to:
1. acquire and develop comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the social, political, economic, environmental and professional contexts that guide architectural practice, and be able to situate design decision-making within these contexts through engagement with relevant stakeholders [CA10(a) E1.1, CA10(a) E1.2, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.3, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(f) E6.2];
2. develop knowledge and understanding of appropriate, advanced and sophisticated theories, research methods and techniques for application within their own design process, and formulate relevant concepts, coherently communicated, that provide a rationale for design proposals [CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(e) E5.2];
3. acquire a systematic and culturally contextualised understanding of historical and theoretical frameworks relevant to the discipline of architecture, and demonstrate a critical understanding of how knowledge is advanced through research to produce written work relating to architectural culture, theory and design [CA10(d) E4.1, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(d) E4.3];
4. acquire knowledge and understanding of structural, constructional, safety and environmental solutions, strategies and techniques and how these can be manipulated and applied to coherent architectural design [CA10(a) E1.1, CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(c) E3.2, CA10(c) E3.3, CA10(e) E5.3].

11(b) Cognitive Skills/ Intellectual Skills
By the end of the course, the student is expected to develop higher order skills that are reflected in their capacity to:
1. develop design ability through an iterative process which tests, communicates and negotiates ideas and propositions through critical and self-reflective processes [CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(c) E5.1, CA10(c) E5.2];
2. construct effective design processes that can be used to test concepts and evaluate initial proposals; to direct and manage a complex and specialised design process and present this to a high standard using visual, verbal and written methods, which are accessible to a wide audience of both professional and lay audiences [CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E5.1, CA10(c) E5.2, CA10(c) E5.3, CA10(f) E6.2];
3. demonstrate, within design work, technical expertise and the ability to devise appropriate structural and constructional strategies and innovative solutions to address particular problems of design [CA10(a) E1.2, CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(c) E3.2, CA10(c) E3.3, CA10(e) E5.3];
4. develop the ability to manage and negotiate the implications of ethical dilemmas with respect to design proposals and formulate possible solutions; to undertake specific and appropriate analysis of complex and contradictory situations within all stages of design project work design [CA10(a) E1.1, CA10(b) E2.1, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.2].

11(c) Practical Skills
By the end of the course, the student is expected to:
1. understand the use and application of management structures and professional roles within the context of design, and develop tactics to situate individual or innovative design approaches; and acquire team-working capability regarding decision-making and problem-solving [CA10(b) E2.1, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(f) E6.1, CA10(f) E6.2,];
2. demonstrate an ability to evaluate and apply a comprehensive range of visual, oral and written media to test, analyse, critically appraise and explain design proposals [CA10(a) E1.2, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.2, CA10(c) E3.3, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(f) E6.2];
3. demonstrate the ability to evaluate materials, processes and techniques that apply to complex architectural designs and building construction, and to integrate these into design proposals [CA10(a) E1.2, CA10(b) E2.1, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(e) E5.3, CA10(f) E6.1, CA10(f) E6.2];
4. understand the role of architectural practice in the construction industry and regulatory context, including the architect’s role in the procurement and production of buildings; and demonstrate relevant problem-solving skills and professional judgment [CA10(a) E1.1, CA10(a) E1.2, CA10(b) E2.1, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.1, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(e) E5.3, CA10(f) E6.1, CA10(f) E6.2];
5. demonstrate an ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for qualification as an architect [CA10(b) E2.1, CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(e) E5.2].

11(d) Key/Transferable Skills
By the end of the course, the student is expected to:
1. communicate ideas and analytical processes effectively in writing; and communicate design concepts and propositions using representational, visual and digital techniques and in oral presentation [CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(c) E3.3, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(e) E5.2, CA10(e) E5.3];
2. apply research and design skills appropriately and be able to transfer techniques from one field of architecture to another [CA10(d) E4.1, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.2, CA10(e) E5.3];
3. work as a member of a team while managing time and resources responsibly [CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(d) E4.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.1, CA10(f) E6.2];
4. act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline; and learn independently, with open mindedness and in the spirit of critical enquiry in order to demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity; [CA10(b) E2.2, CA10(d) E4.3, CA10(e) E5.2].

Subject Benchmark Statement – Architecture, February 2020

The Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch is structured as a two-year full time (three-year part time) 240-credit Masters (M) level course of study geared towards professional qualification. Module assessments normally take place on completion of the module. The timetable of assessments is published at the beginning of each academic year, allowing students to plan their time and set their priorities. The subject studies modules and design studies modules have different forms of assessment.
The assessment strategy for the course has been designed holistically to ensure fairness, accessibility and inclusivity as well as manageable timing, workloads and clarity of expectations for students, and to avoid duplication of assessment of Learning Outcomes (LOs). Where appropriate, students are engaged as partners in the design of their assessments.

The assessment regimes for the modules and tasks are designed together with the briefs, prior to the start of the year, considering student, external examiner, professional collaborator and colleague feedback from previous instances. The requirements of briefs and their components, the assessment criteria, grading scheme and descriptors are published and explained to students at the start of the year and are designed to be used as consistently as possible, to avoid unnecessary complication.

The design modules (AR7P48 and AR7P49) are assessed through the submitted portfolio of design work, completed within the studio unit teaching group. The portfolio is a graphically-based academic document which contains a variety of different types of work arranged in projects. The portfolio is organised by the student to demonstrate their learning processes and their achievements. Submissions are made up of drawings, models, photographic work, reproductions, CAD work, video, written text, reports and other media or techniques as appropriate. Throughout the academic year the work is discussed and presented to other tutors on the course, tutors from outside the university, practicing professionals and fellow student colleagues. Informal, formative sessions help shape the completed portfolio and its communication. Design-based modules use a three stage summative assessment process whereby design unit tutors assess their teaching cohort followed by a review panel of a quorum of design tutors moderating the assessment together and completed by an external examination of the procedures and assessments.

All subject studies modules (AR7022 Applied Technology in Architecture, AR7018 Integrated Project Study, AR7078 Critical Thinking and AR7079 Advanced Study modules) and components of modules are assessed in the first instance by the module tutors. Subject studies modules and their components are second marked by one of the subject team and the assessments are made available to the external examiner, following University procedures. Students are informed of the procedures for first, second and parity marking, and external examiner scrutiny of the assessment process and marks to enable them to understand and have confidence in the probity of the assessment process. Additionally, the course engages in Subject and School parity exercises to ensure that assessment standards are consistent.

In every case, formative assessment and feedback is offered prior to summative assessment at set points. This is recorded in writing during design reviews, and is also delivered during tutorials verbally, so that it can be used by both students and staff 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 a focus on specific actions and strategies as to how to improve, not only on what requires improvement.

All taught modules are marked on a percentage scale. Masters level modules (Level 7) have a pass/ fail threshold of 50%. Based on the final aggregate of average percentage results, the Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch awards are classified as: Pass (50 – 59.9%), Pass with Merit (60 –69.9%), or Pass with Distinction (70% plus).

The course also offers interim awards of Postgraduate Certificate in Architecture, for students who achieve 60 M level credits and Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture for students who achieve 120 M level credits during one year of study.

Work-based learning is embedded within the course through engagement in live projects and exhibitions, where students are required to take on organisational and entrepreneurial activities to support the marketing and presentation of their own practice or a collaborative venture. In addition, we use industry visits, site trips, city walks and visiting professional speakers and participation in public events.

Most tutors and lecturers contributing to the course are practitioners, or have substantial practice experience, who share their practical and experiential knowledge with students throughout their course of study. The flexible practice-led model of delivery for the course means that evolving opportunities for work-related learning through collaboration with external companies, agencies, institutions, competitions and professionals are taken up as they arise. In this way, a situated understanding of professional standards and expectations builds as students progress from level to level. During their final year, students work towards completion of interview-ready professional portfolios of project work, exhibited at the annual summer show and associated events.

A minimum of two ‘years out’ comprising work experience in practice – one typically between Part 1 and Part 2, and one after Part 2 – are required by ARB in order for the student to progress to the third and final course of study and qualification in architecture in the UK: RIBA Part 3. Graduates who do not want or need to complete all three of the RIBA parts of architectural education (Parts 1, 2 and 3) may include international students who may plan to return to their home countries and pursue a course of study required for local licensing to practice or registration with their national institutions or regulatory authorities.

The Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch is designed to address the educational ‘Themes and Values’ embedded in the RIBA’s Education and Professional Development Framework as set out in ‘The Way Ahead’ (RIBA 2021).

Part-time Structure

The part time structure is 240 credits over three years, which equates to 80 credits per year. This part time structure is also employed by the Architect Apprenticeship course which is a pathway through Part 2 and Part 3.

Year 1:
AR7P48 Design, Context, Concept and Proposal (60 credits)
AR7080 Applied Technology in Architecture (20 credits)

Year 2:
AR7P49 Design Thesis Project Specialisation, Proposition and Resolution (60 credits)
AR7078 Critical Thinking (20 credits)

Year 3:
AR7079 Advanced Study/Dissertation (40 credits)
AR7023 Advocacy, Practice Beyond Aesthetics (20 credits)
AR7018 Integrated Project Study (20 credits)

All modules on the course are core and compulsory (there is no flexibility in choice or in the order in which modules may be taken), interim awards are therefore defined by the course structure. The part time route is prescribed (section 23).

Opportunities for professional and personal development are built into the Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch course through the curriculum, the choice of projects, studios and advanced study project tutor groups. The course’s principle of guiding learning through a practice-led curriculum promotes ongoing reflection and personal development. The assessments allow the student to tailor the course around their specific interests, skills and requirements and this is supported by regular formative feedback on work in progress that enables students to understand their progress and find opportunities for multiple and individualised routes to successful outcomes. There is a system of individual tutorials, available on all modules and most modules are year-long, with interim points of review, which ensures that students, together with their tutors, can devise study strategies appropriate to individual learning styles, while ensuring monitoring of engagement and progress.
The course’s links with external partners and employers ensures that personal development for career planning is effectively contextualised and suitable for contemporary architecture practice. In addition, the course is taught predominantly by exceptional practitioners in architecture and thereby focuses its energies on performing at a high level in the professional field.

Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch offers the second part of a three-stage process of nationally validated and prescribed architectural education. It is validated by the RIBA and prescribed by the ARB. The course fulfils the requirements of this professionally validated route through the provision of a high-quality teaching and learning environment that integrates design and taught modules and is focused around a unit structure at Masters level.

Our Unit Tutors are drawn from a pool of the UK’s leading design teachers and practitioners who are well-equipped to provide current industry and trade related guidance on professional and design practices, so that an understanding of the context of learning as career related, and of the role of CPD, is intrinsically embedded in the course. The course encourages students to be critically engaged in the subject, establishing a position within the context of the profession through the course of their studies.

Our students go on to work with architects and practices of international repute. They form unique and new practices of their own as well as take on academic endeavours such as related Masters courses and PhDs. Students benefit from the support and guidance offered by the Careers and Employability services, and by ‘Accelerator’: the University’s business incubator unit.

Our course is fully accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Architects Registration Board (ARB). Upon graduation you will receive your RIBA part 2 qualification, the second stage of three in the professional qualification of an Architect in the UK.

After securing a MArch Architecture (RIBA 2) degree, many students decide to study the Examination in Professional Practice (RIBA 3), following a period of practical experience. RIBA 2 also enables you to progress to a specialised master's course.

You will be required to have:

• a good degree in architecture
• preferably completed RIBA Part 1 or have exemption from it (We will also consider your application if you haven't completed Part 1 but you've undertaken a non-UK or non-validated architecture degree. However, before qualifying as an architect in the UK, you must have obtained RIBA Part 1, as well as Parts 2 and 3. If you haven't completed Part 1 you should contact the ARB directly regarding eligibility for your Prescribed Part 1 exam.)
• the ability to demonstrate your talent as a designer and motivation to complete the course successfully

Selected candidates are asked to attend an interview with their portfolio, which should include a wide range of work. To find out what to include in your portfolio, view our portfolio guidance.