Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
The Master of Architecture (MArch) is a professionally accredited and industry-focused course designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and creative vision to excel in today’s dynamic architectural landscape. Whether you are passionate about sustainable design, health and wellbeing, urban regeneration, or digital technologies, this course provides the platform you need to shape the built environment of tomorrow.
"Northumbria’s MArch course stands out for its commitment to sustainability and urban regeneration. The live projects and industry connections truly set their graduates apart."
- External Examiner, RIBA
The MArch is ideal for:
Northumbria University's Master of Architecture (MArch) course has consistently received commendations from external examiners and professional bodies. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has validated the course at Part 2 level, acknowledging its adherence to high educational standards.
External examiners have praised the course for its practice-based teaching, recognising it as outstanding on both national and international levels. This recognition reflects the course’s commitment to integrating practical experience with academic learning, enhancing both student satisfaction and employability.
The integration of research-based knowledge encourages you to develop critical curiosity and informed judgment, enabling you to evaluate and justify your design proposals effectively.
These accolades highlight the course’s dedication to providing a comprehensive and rigorous architectural education that aligns with professional standards and industry expectations.
"The course provided me with the perfect balance of creative freedom and professional preparation. Working on live projects gave me invaluable experience that I carried straight into my career."
- Past Student, Class of 2022
"I was drawn to the course because of the focus on real-world applications. The studio environment fostered collaboration and helped me develop my technical skills alongside creative design thinking."
- Past Student, Class of 2021
“The creative practice and art practice methods developed through my degree enabled me to have my work exhibited in international exhibitions and photography galleries. The tutors really support you in developing your own voice as you advance your studies in Architecture.”
- Past Student, Class of 2024
RIBA part 2 accredited: The course is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB), ensuring that our graduates meet the highest
professional standards.
The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is developing a new approach to architecture education. The structural change will mean that undergraduate programmes will no longer be ARB accredited from 31 December 2027. They will continue to be validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and our BA (Hons) Architecture programme will therefore continue to be a route towards becoming a RIBA Chartered Architect. To find out more about the ARB’s planned changes, please see Tomorrow’s Architects: Consultation results and next steps.
Looking for Undergraduate courses? We offer Interior Architecture BA and Architecture BA or be sure to check out our other Architecture & Built Environment courses to find similar courses.
Level of Study
Undergraduate
Mode of Study
2 years Full Time
School
Architecture and Built Environment
Location
City Campus, Northumbria University
City
Newcastle
Start
September 2026
Fees
Fee Information
Modules
Module Information
We are interested in what inspires you, who inspires you and how you communicate that enthusiasm through your work.
Find out what our students and staff are up to.
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Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Here are some examples of the work our Architecture MArch students produce.
Hear what it is really like to study at Northumbria from our current students.
What is studying at Northumbria like? Hear it first-hand from our digital content creator Er Jia as he shares his experience. He takes you along for a typical day in the life of a Architecture BA student.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Come and explore our outstanding facilities in this interactive virtual tour.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Architecture and the Built Environment is an essential part of the modern world. Our research combines pioneering technology and unique industry partnerships while addressing issues with international impact.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Our graduates are really making an impact, transforming their lives and others. Here are a selection of some of our Alumni who have been taught Architecture MArch.
You can boost your CV and develop your experience whilst studying at Northumbria.
From first year through to final year and beyond graduation, we are here to help.
Real-World Learning
Discover the opportunities for learning beyond lectures
Careers and Employment Services
More about the support available during your studies and beyond
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Applicants should normally have:
A minimum of a 2.2 honours degree in architecture from an RIBA validated / ARB accredited school of architecture, or equivalent.
A minimum of three months post-Part 1 experience in an architecture practice is preferred, but applications are considered on an individual basis, particularly where transferrable skills and applicable knowledge can be demonstrated.
Applicants are required to submit a digital portfolio with their application.
International Qualifications:
If you have studied a non UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language Requirements:
International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
UK Fee in Year 1: TBC
The UK tuition fee for 26/27 is £9,790 and is set in line with the UG Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase this fee in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. The remaining fees relate to the International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements. Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap. *if your course is longer than one year
* Fees subject to annual increases over the course of the period of study. Students will be liable for payment of any/all tuition fees which are not sponsored by their employer or other third party.
International Fee in Year 1: TBC
This is the tuition fee for your first year of study. You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.
Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.
This is the programme fee for your first year of study. The programme fee includes the international tuition fee, International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements.
ADDITIONAL COSTS
There are no Additional Costs
* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
KA5041 -
Academic Language Skills for Architecture and Built Environment (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)
Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.
The topics you will cover on the module include:
• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.
KA6044 -
Design Project 1: Experimentation (30 Credits)
In this module you will develop and demonstrate the ability critically to appraise, understand the nature of, and develop design briefs. You will develop your creativity and criticality in assessment of the complexities of the project’s cultural and social context; and propose and justify a design strategy. This module is designed to create spaces for meaningful ‘play’, to help you to embrace the ‘mess’ and ‘risk’ of practising as a fundamental part of the creative process, and to recognise, analyse and learn from the heuristic and happenstance as much as the preconceived. You will be facilitated to and engage with self-reflection in developing your approach to architectural design.
More informationKA6045 -
Design Project 2: Speculation (30 Credits)
You will explore the discipline as a practical and theoretical subject, be exposed to the social function of architecture, and the constraints architects operate within. Creativity in this module is expressed as a social phenomenon as well as an artistic one. You will also develop your skills in being able to: critically appraise and develop design briefs; make assessments of and respond to the project’s contingencies and complexities; to communicate your work to an audience other than your peers and your tutor; and develop design strategies that result in sophisticated and appropriate design solutions.
More informationKA6046 -
Architectural Research Methods (30 Credits)
Lectures will discuss research principles and concepts; academic theory and skills will be contextualised to an architectural idiom through case study examples of recent and current research projects.
Working in research seminar groups, will help frame the subject of your own, self-selected research proposal. You will identify the key researchers and seminal research, current ‘state of the art’, and any ‘gap in the knowledge’ in your chosen field or subject; and produce your research project’s methodology which you will then undertake in year 2.
KA6047 -
Practice Management and Law (30 Credits)
Architecture as an agent of change means cultivating self-reflective, critical practitioners equipped with the skills and knowledge to make strategic and informed choices. You will consider both the value and the limits of your experience, valuing the contributions of different forms of knowledge, and when and how to engage with and motivate others.
This module frames the strategic professional and cultural contexts in which we operate and how these might align with your own emerging philosophy and practice of architecture. You will consider your own professional aspirations and responsibilities, and develop academic and professional skills including, effective communication in different settings and to different audiences; intrinsic motivation; self-reflection and critical thinking; ethics and social responsibility.
KA7011 -
Design Project 3: Analysis and Proposal (40 Credits)
You will improve your skills and creativity in design; the ability critically to appraise, understand the nature of, and develop design briefs; to analyse and make an assessment of the complexities of the project’s context; and propose and justify a design strategy. You will learn to engage with critical reflection on the cultural and social context of your area of study. Through independent and supported inquiry you will develop the design proposal up to sketch scheme (equivalent of RIBA Workstage 2) in response to your exploration. This learning will be evidenced in a portfolio that demonstrates your theoretical position, programme context, brief development and the early stages of your design proposal.
This module will be supported by workshops and tutorials, and regular reviews, where you are expected to be critical engaged in the process.
Verbal, written and drawn feedback is provided formatively at tutorials and strategic reviews throughout the semester, to provide ongoing guidance and to establish opportunities for reflection and independent learning. Summative assessment will be provided at the end of the semester providing guidance to be taken into DP4.
KA7012 -
Design Project 4 - Realisation (50 Credits)
This module is the realisation of the design thesis project, which will engage you as an independent learner in the development of a complex and integrated design proposal, based on the inquiry undertaken in dp3. During this phase of the year-long thesis project you will engage in a rigorous design process, developing your concept (established in dp3) into a coherent and complex design solution. With support from your design tutors you will utilise the skills and knowledge learnt during your education to date, and you will be expected to engage with an increased level of complexity and criticality that involves, amongst other exploration: an engagement with context (physical, poetic, theoretical); research into precedents and building typologies (spatial, and organisational); development of building programme, building form, spatial sophistication, materiality and appropriate detail, working together in an integrated and holistic way; consideration of regulatory and legal constraints; technological choices and comparisons and coherently communicated through verbal, written and graphical (both 2 and 3D formats)- all commensurate with level 7 scholarship.
More informationKA7013 -
Student Selected Investigation (30 Credits)
You will learn skills that enable independent learning through research and advanced scholarship, applied to the discipline of architecture. More specifically you will acquire the knowledge and skills to identify an area of research interest and to be able to use appropriate methodologies to collect data addressing the research imperative. You will learn how to employ analytical skills to systematically evaluate data and to draw conclusions from this data and ultimately be able to communicate the findings through appropriate means.
More informationSE7000 -
Skills for Academic Success in a UK University (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)
There is currently no summary for this module.
To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.
