Architecture

What do you come out with? BArch or a DipArch. Before that you will have clocked up a BA or BSc.

Why do it? Because it’s one of the most enduring art forms and makes our environment beautiful, daring or simply functional. Our city skylines are created as a result of architects’ visions, from concrete monstrosities to sleek glass lines. This is a creative as well as technical and academic subject to study. Although it is still largely vocational, architecture students focus heavily on the aesthetic. For example, pop singers Brett Anderson of Suede and Justine Frischmann of Elastica were educated at UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture.

What's it about? Designing and engineering buildings and other large structures. You need enthusiasm for both the arts and the sciences. It’s an intensely hard slog to become a fully fledged architect. A BA or BSc is followed by another two years of study for a Bachelor of Architecture or a Diploma of Architecture (both of which are exactly the same), and then another two or three years working in industry. Part three relies on the experiences gained during work experience and “it can be difficult to tick all the right boxes,” one student says. Manchester School of Architecture - a collaboration between Manchester University and Manchester Metropolitan – produced one of the UK’s most famous architects, Lord Norman Foster, who dreamt up London’s gherkin skyscraper (the Swiss Re London building). Manchester draws on the teaching and research expertise of two institutions so you “get two of all things” according to its head Colin Pugh. Liverpool boasts the oldest school of architecture established in 1897, which has “consciously stayed small”, says Professor Andre Brown. It has only 100 students in each year. It’s an international subject with universities such as Sheffield and Manchester attracting high intakes of students from abroad. You study everything from the history of buildings to how a beam works. It is also a good introduction to different ways of thinking. And you gain the technical competence to converse with builders, engineers and planners. The emphasis varies between courses however; for example UCL emphasises design.

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How long is a degree? Five of the seven years it takes to qualify as an architect are spent at university. At most places the BSc and BAs are three years long but the course is four years at Edinburgh including one year's placement for an MA in Architectural design, then two more years for a MArch.

What are the students like? Good at exams because the entry requirements are high. At UCL there are 1,200-1,500 applicants for 40 places. Students are bright, articulate, creative and resourceful, and good at working independently and in groups. They have to be committed with plenty of stamina to survive the training. They also tend to be slightly quirky and are able to think innovatively and laterally about solving problems in new ways. “You’re unlikely to be able to look down a street and pick out the architecture students. People might confuse us with art students but we tend to wear slightly smarter clothes,” one student says. There is a pretty healthy gender divide with girls and boys split about 50:50 at most places. Students benefit from trips abroad and Erasmus schemes with other architecture schools around the world, so they are a bunch of cosmopolitan types who think globally.

How is it packaged? Examinations have given way to assessment. At Cambridge, you have exams each year and dissertations in your third year. At Cambridge and Sheffield more than 50 per cent of work is assessed through a portfolio. Kingston is all coursework assessed with 60 per cent design and 40 per cent theory, culture, technology, management and sustainability. UCL has 60 per cent design portfolio and 40 per cent professional studies (including practice of architecture/management law, technology, history and theory, and computing). There’s a lot of flexibility at Manchester with students given carte blanche in the first three years and specialising only at MA level.

What A-levels do you need? Anything goes, though a science may come in handy, as does artistic ability. You no longer have to have maths at A-level, but it is highly recommended or required at GCSE in most institutions. Cambridge and Kingston prefer art A-level. Edinburgh requires an A grade in maths GCSE or grade Bs in maths and physics at GCSE.

What grades? AAA at Manchester, AAB at Cambridge, Bath and Cardiff, ABB at Sheffield, BBB at UCL and Edinburgh. In reality, most students have a string of A- grades. At UCL the interview and portfolio count for as much as A-level results, so not only straight A students are encouraged to apply; UCL specifically looks for students with a keen interest in the subject and an ability to talk about it.

Will you be interviewed? Not at Edinburgh, no portfolio checks either. Not at Cardiff or Kingston, sometimes at Newcastle, always at Cambridge, and at UCL they interview students they are interested in. Some places may also require a portfolio review.

Will it keep you off the dole? Ulster and Queen’s Belfast came top for best graduate prospects with an impressive 100 per cent. Not far behind are Bath, Cardiff, Strathclyde and Manchester with 98 per cent. But graduate prospects, though fantastic, are reliant on an ebullient economy and in times of recession, it can be tough to find work. Lottery-funded projects are keeping architects busy.

What do students say? “Architecture is great for people who are interested in art but are also quite technical. Because of the length of the qualifications you get a lot of different experiences and you don’t necessarily have to become an architect. I know someone who took the BA and is now doing set design,” says Luke Butcher, a third year student at Manchester School of Architecture.

“I’m the oldest student on the course and one of the only mature students. They say that in architecture nobody does anything before they’re 40 anyway so I’m not too worried. You spend the first years after qualifying drawing things and surveying things and then after a few years they let you build something,” says Neil Campbell, a third year student at Liverpool.

"On the surface, architecture school is a combination of all-nighters, short deadlines and a reclusive, stressful life with not a second to spare, but underlying these challenges it is an intellectually stimulating experience that is topped off with great satisfaction after a final evaluation, which makes it all worth it." says Noam Hazan, a Manchester 2008 graduate.

Where's best for teaching? Bath came top with 4.47 out of 5 in the National Student Survey; Birmingham City scored 4.10; UCL 4.09; Northumbria 4.03; and Cambridge 4.01.

Where's best for research? Cambridge got 3.10, UCL 3.05, Liverpool 3.00, Sheffield 2.98 and Reading, Bath and Edinburgh scored 2.90 in the research assessment exercise.

Where's the cutting edge? The most dynamic sphere is sustainability (energy conservation, waste management and the recycling of materials) integrated with design project work, and designing sustainable infrastructure projects spanning 20 to 30 years. Architects are consumed with new technologies, using smart materials that react to their environment and designing for new lifestyles as well as using the most modern computer modelling systems and design programmes.

Who are the stars? Professor Andrew Ballantyne at Newcastle for his work on politics and landscape; Peter Carl at Cambridge; Professor Dalibor Vesely who teaches at PennDesign and is director emeritus of graduate studies in the department of architecture at Cambridge; architectural scientist Professor Philip Jones at Cardiff; at the Bartlett (UCL), Professor Iain Borden who writes on material culture and Professor Christine Hawley who is an international designer; Sheffield's Professor Jeremy Till and his partner Sarah Wigglesworth who have built a house using straw, is also well-known in the field.

Related courses: At Sheffield you can do joint courses with landscape planning and structural engineering. Hard work but possibly the way of the future. You can also study naval architecture and marine engineering at UCL.

Added value: Caruso St. John, who were the architects of the Walsall library which has put the town on the architectural map are now professors at Bath. UCL's computer facility, the Cave, simulates 3-D spaces. You walk into a room where space is modelled electronically. Sheffield is launching the country's first PhD in architectural design.