Got a uni question? Find your answer now on The Student Room.

Anglia Ruskin University

UCAS Code: K100 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

GCSE/National 4/National 5

4 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English and Maths.

UCAS Tariff

112

We accept A Levels, T Levels, BTECs, OCR, Access to HE and most other qualifications within the UCAS Tariff.

You may also need to…

Present a portfolio

image

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Architecture

Help shape the world we live in and learn how to succeed in architectural practice with our Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) accredited and Architects Registration Board (ARB) prescribed degree course.

- Our course is rated 3rd in the UK for Academic Support within Architecture courses by the NSS 2024.

- Study on a course (BA Hons Architecture) developed in line with industry standards, accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Part 1 prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

- Expand your knowledge by participating in an optional European field trip each year to cities such as Lisbon, Venice, Rome and Vienna, or applying for one of our Turing Programme summer scholarships to work in Barcelona or study in Venice for four weeks.

- Bring the world of work to life through Live Briefs; designed and developed with regional employers to give you exposure to ‘real world’ problem-solving.

- Connect and engage with practitioners through our regular extra-curricular workshops, guest lecture series, annual practitioners event, and End of Year Show.

- Utilise our dedicated studios and workshop facilities to learn how to draw, make models, and use all relevant software and digital techniques.

If you’re fascinated by the built environment, and have ambitions to create spaces that are innovative, meaningful and purposeful, this is the course for you.

By studying Architecture at ARU, you’ll gain the theoretical, technical and design skills to shape the built environment for a sustainable future – and to work as a professional architect.

As a collaborative individual, you'll be keen to make connections that will help kick start your career. We'll guide you towards the right work experience and support you throughout your course.

You'll take part in Live Brief projects throughout your degree, collaborating with city and borough councils, Timber Development UK, and local and London firms such as Studio Forty, Studio Mai, Stace LLP, Levitt Bernstein, Sheppard & Robson, Barr Gazetas, LSI Architects, Vonberg Architects, RH Partnership Architects, Suzanne Brewer Architects and Aukett Swanke.

We'll encourage you to go on site visits, where you'll gain hands-on experience. Our links with professional institutions such as the RIBA Mentoring Programme, as well as local firms, ensure you'll stay up to date with industry practice.

As well as benefiting from your lecturers' knowledge, you'll also benefit from a network of visiting designers, artists, historians and theorist plus, national and international architects and scholars, focusing on contemporary, relevant themes such as climate change, passive house techniques, fire and safety measures, environmental strategies, and social and political challenges.

Accredited by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), you can be sure that this course will give you skills that reflect emerging technologies and knowledge, and will be in demand with employers when you graduate.

At ARU, we believe it's important to recognise our students' hard work. That's why, at the end of each academic year, we showcase and celebrate your achievements with an End of Year Show.

Our architecture studios are exciting, creative places with industry-standard equipment. Here, our experts will deliver a learner-centred and research-led approach to architecture.

You’ll become skilled in developing design concepts, experimenting with different media, and representing your ideas through drawings, physical and digital models.

But you won’t be restricted to the studio. You’ll go on site visits so you can analyse the language and style of buildings, their construction, and see projects taking shape in real life. Together, we’ll explore building design, ‘buildability’ and sustainability.

Modules

Year 1:
Design Studio A1 (30 credits)
Essential Skills (15 credits)
Technology A1 (30 credits)
Cultural Context A: Histories and Theories of Architecture (15 credits)
Design Studio A2 (30 credits)

Year 2:
Design Studio B1 (30 credits)
Technology B1 (15 credits)
Design Studio B2 (30 credits)
Cultural Context B Histories and Theories of Architecture (15 credits)
Technology B2 (15 credits)
Ruskin Module (15 credits)

Year 3:
Major Integrated Design Project Phase 1 (30 credits)
Cultural Context C Dissertation (30 credits)
Major Integrated Design Project Phase 2 (45 credits)
Professionalism, Values and Ethics (15 credits)

Assessment methods

Throughout the course, we’ll use a range of assessment methods to help measure your progress. These include design projects, presentations, timed assignments, exams and coursework.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,535
per year
England
£9,535
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Chelmsford Campus

Department:

School of Engineering and the Built Environment

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

88%
Architecture

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Architecture

Teaching and learning

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

67%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
68%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

76%
UK students
24%
International students
64%
Male students
36%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
D
E

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Architecture

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£27,000
high
Average annual salary
90%
med
Employed or in further education
90%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

38%
Architects, town planners and surveyors
34%
Draughtspersons and related architectural technicians
6%
Business, research and administrative professionals

Architecture had a difficult time a few years back during the great recession, but those days are over and the degree is in demand as house building and infrastructure have increased in importance. Most working architects secure jobs in the architecture industry, more usually starting as assistants rather than full-blown architects or chartered technicians. Some, however, move into management, design or marketing roles, where they find their planning, design and project management skills are very welcome. Nearly half the architecture-related jobs last year were in London or the South-East, and this group are rather more likely than average to find their jobs through personal contacts, so polish your networking skills, or see if you can get work experience if you want to succeed as an architect.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Architecture

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£42k

£42k

£46k

£46k

£49k

£49k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
place
Ulster University | Coleraine
Architecture
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 112-117
Nearby University
place
University of Hertfordshire | Hatfield
Architecture
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 120-128

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here