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Interior Architecture with a Foundation Year

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

Applicants must have a GCSE Maths and English at grade C or above or an approved equivalent qualification.

UCAS Tariff

64

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Architecture

Construction and the built environment

Interior design and architecture

**Bring buildings to life for better human experiences. This distinct BSc (Hons) Interior Architecture with Foundation Year degree is a gateway to a career balancing art and science to design the spaces where we work, rest, learn and play.**

The densification of our cities is driving demand for flexible, mixed-use spaces. By combining design skills with technical architectural and engineering competences, intelligent interior architecture can bring vacant buildings back into use and support sustainable futures. With exciting careers emerging in this field, now is an ideal time to gain the skills and knowledge to lead these opportunities.

**Learn to design a better built environment**
Led by international experts, you will explore interior architecture at our Peel Park campus, minutes from buzzing central Manchester. You will study architectural theory and practice alongside other architecture students, delivered in our collaborative studio environment.

The Foundation Year pathway provides you with a solid grounding in key subjects in built environment practice, so you are ready to meet the prerequisites for studying a full degree course. Learning focuses on effective communication and study skills combined with built environment specific teaching. On successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will progress to our full BSc Interior Architecture degree.

Our three-year BSc (Hons) Interior Architecture degree course blends architectural and built environment disciplines to help you explore the making and modification of buildings. During your studies, you will look at the total design of a space, including ergonomics, structures, materials and connected systems. With a focus on sustainability, you will learn about BIM and virtual design methods that are changing the way the built environment is created.

The course curriculum includes opportunities and activities for you to develop a design portfolio, and build design skills in hand drawing, model-making and digital design, focusing on shaping your technical and professional skills.

**Get closer to industry**
Reflecting real-world practice, multidisciplinary projects and innovative problem-solving activities alongside other built environment students will be at the heart of your studies. Through our strong connections with local architectural practices and engineering firms, you will experience external critiques and guest lectures. With a focus on your future, you can also share your ideas at our annual architecture show and build your network at our exclusive built environment careers fair.

**Our new home for architecture**
In Autumn 2022, we opened our new £65 million hub for science, engineering and the environment - and our new home for architecture. Sustainability-designed and 100% electric powered, the building offers unrivalled teaching, learning and research facilities and provides exciting new spaces for industry collaboration.

**Features**
• Acquire the skills and knowledge so you're ready to study for the full BSc (Hons) Interior Architecture degree
• Build transferable and professional skills, including team working, critical analysis, problem solving and project management
• Develop a critical understanding of how space is occupied and understood, at both individual and group levels
• Explore how existing and heritage buildings can be brought back in to use through intelligent design
• Consider a building’s total design, exploring themes and issues such as ergonomics, materials, heating, lighting and ventilation
• Collaborate with other architecture students to shape better spaces to live, work, rest and play in the future

This course is not open to international students.

Modules

Foundation year modules may include:
Introduction to Design Practice, Introduction to Built Environment Professional Practice, Introduction to Building Science, Introduction to Digital Built Environment, IT and Study Skills, Professional Practice Project.

Year one modules may include:
Interior Architecture Design Studio 1A, Design Representation and Modelling, History and Theory of Architecture, Interior Architecture Design Studio 1B, Construction Technology in Architecture 1, Construction Technology in Architecture 2.

Year two modules may include:
History and Theory of Architecture 2, Interior Architecture Design Studio 2A, Principles of Sustainable Built Environments, Multi-Disciplinary Design Project, Construction Technology in Architecture 3, Interior Architecture Design Studio 2B:Performance Modelling and Integrated Design.

Year three modules may include:
Interior Architecture Design Studio 3A, Re-creating the City - Re-use and Regeneration, Practice Management and Law, Interior Architecture Design Studio 3B, Design Research Project, Ideas and Issues in Interior Architecture.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Salford

Department:

School of Science, Engineering and Environment

Read full university profile

What students say


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

83%
Architecture
75%
Construction and the built environment
77%
Interior design and 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

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
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

80%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
80%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
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?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
60%
Male students
40%
Female students
64%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
C
D

Building

Teaching and learning

64%
Staff make the subject interesting
77%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
63%
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

65%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
73%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
82%
Male students
18%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
D
C

Design studies

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
91%
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

76%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
22%
Male students
78%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
A

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.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
63%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Draughtspersons and related architectural technicians
27%
Architects, town planners and surveyors
9%
Engineering 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.

Building

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.

£22,500
low
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
74%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

45%
Architects, town planners and surveyors
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
7%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

Want to take a degree that is definitely in demand? Try building! We're short of graduates in this area, so most graduates get jobs quickly. Building graduates make excellent surveyors, and that's currently one of the jobs that employers find hardest to fill, so there are great opportunities available of you want to try your hand at a surveying career. Building graduates also go into jobs in site and project management and other high skilled parts of the construction industry. There are jobs to be had in most parts of the country, so if you're technically-inclined and want to work somewhere specific, it might be worth considering this as an option. Building graduates are more likely than most to start their career with an employer who gave them work experience, so it’s particularly worth trying to secure links with industry if you take this degree.

Design studies

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.

£16,848
low
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
59%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Design occupations
14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
9%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

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.

£28k

£28k

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

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.

Building

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

£28k

£28k

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

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.

Design studies

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

£15k

£15k

£20k

£20k

£21k

£21k

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.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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