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Student work by Kelsey Fordham shows a deconstructed shipwreck in a dramatic 'exploded' style
Student work by Theo Galvin shows architectural model on a set dinner table surrounded by gold framed artwork
Student work by Kelsey Fordham shows a model of the ribs of a deconstructed boat

Architecture BA (Hons)

Push the boundaries of how we think about people, culture and the environment to create innovative and responsible design.

Key information

How to Apply
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BA (Hons) Architecture is your first step towards a successful career as a registered architect or in a related profession. The programme is organised in four streams: design studio, technology and environment, cultural context and professional studies, to equip you with the real-world skills and critical understanding to develop new forms of architectural practice.

Accreditations

  • ARB logo

    The Architects’ Registration Board (ARB) is an independent professional regulator, accountable to government. It ensures only those who are suitably competent are allowed to practice as architects.

Why Study with us

  • You’ll share studio and workshop spaces with our Interior Design course ensuring students benefit from a lively and vibrant studio culture that mirrors the workplace.
  • Become part of the next generation of architects and creatives; help shape the physical environment by creating meaningful and inspiring structures, which enhance the experience and improve the quality of life of their users.
  • Obtain a keen sense of space, explore architecture as a catalyst of spatial transformation and develop the sensibility to understand how people interact with their surroundings.
  • Discover how tangible and intangible aspects of architecture are visually and verbally studied, modelled, communicated, appreciated and critically appraised.
  • Develop the ability to think critically and find creative solutions in various fields including and beyond architecture. Learn through the interdisciplinary collaborations and the cultural and creative challenges provided by a specialist creative arts university.
  • Create concepts of exciting spaces and buildings of different scales; contribute to the creation of structures that integrate structural, environmental and material considerations and promote well-being, social interaction and sustainability.
  • Address global challenges and environmental emergency, exploring how they affect regional issues such as coastal architecture, modern vernacular design, new sustainable materials, and conservation and rehabilitation projects.

Course details

Year 1

Core Units

This unit aims to develop your ability to perceive, conceive, and make architecture as you begin architectural design studies. A series of carefully designed and sequenced projects/studies will introduce you to a range of architectural skills, ideas and creative challenges. You will discover how the tangible and intangible aspects of architecture are visually and verbally studied, recognised, communicated, appreciated and critically appraised. As a result of this process, you will develop an architectural ‘outlook’, a way of understanding the value of design, which is unique to the discipline of architecture. You will be able to respond more critically, creatively, and confidently to the design issues posed by each assignment.

40 credits

This unit will introduce you to the creative design process where building, dwelling and thinking are intertwined. You will design objects, settings and space, enabled by technical and environmental design and supported by consideration of factors and forces that have significance and impact. You will engage with notions of space and place, question the architectural object and explore architecture as ordered space through design projects. The unit will culminate with a design project to test your ability to apprise, analyse, create, represent, and critically defend an architectural proposal. This unit aims to develop your ability to integrate tangible and intangible design qualities and holistically integrate a range of skills into your creative thinking.

80 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Year 2

Core Units

In this unit, you will encounter architectural design in collective space beyond a simple situated habitat, considering the wider impact of technology, environment and purposeful spatial design. You will consider the strategic considerations that impact the architectural outcome; most will be intangible considerations involving sociology, anthropology, cultural histories, the economy, and the contemporary conditions of collective living. You will develop and refine your propositions through increasingly complex design briefs that will address the question of architectural connectivity in collective inhabitation. You will be introduced to wider technical concerns like varied climates and topographies. Professionally, you will be introduced to the constituency of the profession, related agencies, and work methodologies.

40 credits

This unit will continue the sequence of your learning pathway. You look at architectural design and thinking within the legacy of contrasting systems: rural/urban, political/private, and personal/cultural. You will explore networks in design, the humanities, and technical and environmental studies, considering the frameworks and paradigms that shape architectural output. You will study historical and theoretical studies and contemporary issues and debates. There will be opportunities for collaborative study, but projects will increasingly be completed as individual studies, fostering the development of the individual thinker, operator and designer. You will expand your knowledge to achieve a heightened ability to design articulate spatial order and demonstrate the ability to creatively mix material, environmental control and structure.

80 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Year 3

Core Units

This first unit of your third year is concerned with the public realm. One major city will be chosen for spatial exploration and research; the design project will involve either an intervention within an existing neighbourhood or the design and master planning of a new neighbourhood. . You will learn about urban design in historical and contemporary contexts and produce a collaborative project culminating in a creative proposition for an urban sector or city with an accompanying set of parameters and design goals defined by your teaching staff. You will also develop a 5,000-word Research Report that engages critically with current architectural and cultural theory and enriches your understanding of architecture’s potential as a valuable and meaningful cultural activity.

40 credits

Your final unit synthesises all the constituent, elemental and contributory streams and builds on everything you’ve learnt so far. You’ll demonstrate your understanding of materiality and spatial design through a holistic design project that will address overlapping agendas and issues present in the contemporary metropolis with the expectation of working on the project with a high degree of resolution. Your projects are expected to be considerate of culture, public life, technology, climate and environment and be situated in contextual understanding. At the end of your year, you’ll be invited to display your work as part of Norwich’s end-of-year degree show, GradFest, which allows you to showcase your work to our network of industry professionals and prospective employers.

80 credits

Core Projects

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

Architects’ Journal Student Prize 2024

Congratulations to Joshua Rogers and Jacob Cherry who have been selected for the AJ Student Prize by the Department of Architecture and Interior Design. The AJ Student Prize celebrates the work of undergraduate and postgraduate architecture students in the UK.

Learning and teaching

This course is taught through a mixture of learning and teaching methods including:

  • Group briefings

  • Academic tutorials

  • Group tutorials

  • Workshops

  • Critiques (crits)

  • Seminars

  • Lectures

Assessment

Assessment for this course is entirely coursework-based, meaning there are no exams. Your progress will be evaluated through the projects and assignments you complete for each unit. Throughout the year, you’ll receive ongoing feedback to help you refine your work and develop your skills. To support your learning and ensure you achieve the course outcomes, we use a variety of assessment methods, including:

  • Finished pieces of work
  • Presentations
  • Written work
  • Your research
  • A reflective journal

Find out more about Assessment at Norwich

Some of the people you’ll be working with

Our facilities

Look around our city-centre campus, and you will find studios, media labs, and creative spaces in 13 buildings that sit among the cafés, bars, independent galleries and shops of Norwich’s cultural quarter.

Here to help you succeed

The UK’s creative sector is thriving, contributing £111.7 billion annually to the economy and offering over 2 million jobs.

Employability and career development are integral to every unit of our courses, ensuring students are well-prepared for the industry. Our students go on to secure exciting roles, launch successful businesses, and make a lasting impact in many sectors worldwide.

From day one, you’ll also get specialist career advice from our Business and Employability Team to help support you as you plan your career.

Norwich University of the Arts-Boardman-House-Architecture-Studio

Typical career paths

By the end of your degree, you’ll have gained a set of transposable skills to meet or exceed the assessed benchmark requirements for ARB Part 2 qualification (Masters).

Our close links to the profession will give you the chance to meet and learn from our regional partners, including Feilden+Mawson, Purcell, LSI Architects, Hamson Barron Smith and Hudson Architects. Architecture graduates have been selected for RIBA East Awards, the TRADA University Challenge and the Design and Craftsmanship Awards.

  • Architect
  • Architectural assistant
  • Designer
  • Project manager
  • Site manager
  • Surveyor
  • Architectural technician
  • Consultant
  • CAD renderer
  • Product designer
  • Town planner
  • Architectural historian
  • Conservationist
  • Environmental consultant
  • Architectural curator
  • Model maker
  • Landscape designer
  • Architecture journalist

92% of our graduates are in employment or further education within six months of graduating”

Graduate Outcomes 2021

Entry requirements

Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications.

Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

A/AS Levels (GCE)

GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points) or above. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, Norwich University of the Arts will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels

A T Level in any subject with overall grade A* to C (Pass)

UAL Extended Diploma

Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)

Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma

A minimum of 26 points

Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications.

Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

A/AS Levels (GCE)

GCE A/AS Levels 2 A-level qualifications at grades CC (64 UCAS Tariff points) or above.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)

Distinction*, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels

Pass (D or E on the core)

UAL Extended Diploma

Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma

A minimum of 26 points

We accept qualifications from all over the world.

To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

English language qualifications

Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@norwichuni.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

Additional requirements for BA (Hons) Architecture

GCSE passes at Grade 4 or above in English, Maths, and a Science subject.

Norwich University of the Arts welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds.

Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio (if required), responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.
If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

Portfolio Advice and Guidance

Portfolios should show examples of your work — both finished and work in progress — that demonstrate your interests and skills. Your portfolio should be made up of work that reflects your creativity, personal interests and influences, as well as demonstrating your technical skills and ability. It doesn’t have to be perfect as we can assess your potential from your work in progress.

Your portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of storytelling.

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your portfolio in the application process.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year

  • BA course (three year): £9,535 per year
  • Integrated Foundation Year (optional): £9,535 per year
  • Level 5 Diploma Year (optional): £9,535 year

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

Tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with inflation, subject to government regulations. The inflation rate used is expected to be the Retail Price Index excluding mortgage payments (RPIX). We would confirm this in advance to you of each academic year. 

Find our more about fees and funding

Funding your study

Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert employability team, access to workshops and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.

The tuition fees that will be payable by you to the University for the 2025/26 academic year will be:

  • BA course (three year): £18,500
  • Integrated Foundation Year (optional): £18,500
  • level 5 Diploma year (optional): £18,500

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

For Overseas students starting in 2025 inflation will be applied to your fees in later years. We will confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we will limit the increase to no more than the Office for Students’ recommended inflationary measure.

Find our more about fees and funding

Funding your study

Please take a look at our International students page for information about fees, scholarships for international students, visas and much more.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert employability team, access to workshops and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.

How to apply

All applications for undergraduate courses will need to be made via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

You’ll need our university UCAS code (N39) as well as your course code which you’ll find on your course page.

When you register with UCAS you will need include your previous and current qualifications information, personal statement, and reference.

Once we receive your application form through UCAS, we will email confirmation that we have received it and will give you access and instructions for logging into the applicant portal. Our decision will be communicated via UCAS.

Applying for an undergraduate degree

Full-time Undergraduate International applicants can either apply via UCAS or directly by completing the online application form below or emailing the downloadable form to ioadmissions@norwichuni.ac.uk

Online Application Form

Undergraduate Application Form

Apply via UCAS

For further support for international applicants applying for an undergraduate degree view our international pages.

Student work

Undergraduate open days

Get a taste of life at Norwich, learn more about our courses, our campus and meet the creators and makers you’ll be learning from.

Two smiling women in yellow t-shirts stand behind a promotional booth for norwich university of the arts at an educational fair, surrounded by banners and informational brochures.

  • “The tutors are always there to push you further and take your project to the next level. I have noticed that tutors take the time to understand each student’s projects, allowing them to personalise their guidance and support the student’s development.”

    Tracey Lin BA (Hons) Architecture

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