Architecture

Architecture is a profession, and this course is an integral part of a sequence of steps - RIBA parts 1, 2 and 3 - that leads to entry into it. Criteria for entry on to the UK Register of Architects are prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB). The ARB and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have agreed to hold the criteria in common and successful completion of this Honours Degree course gives Part 1 exemption. In addition to this, the RIBA has introduced new Themes and Values for Architectural Education, which includes further focus on climate literacy, health and life safety, ethical practice, and research literacy. The modules in the course work within this framework to provide a coherent balance of intellectual and practical skills, as well as facilitating various avenues to develop students' transferable and digital skills for a wide range of employment.

The course sits in the Department of Landscape and Architecture, one of four Departments in the School of Arts, which is one of three Schools (with the Design School and the School of Creative and Cultural Industries) in the Faculty of Kingston School of Art (KSA). It is located in the compact Knights Park campus, where it is directly adjacent to the range of other creative disciplines within KSA. It has immediate access to excellent and wide-ranging resources for physical making, an opportunity which sits at the heart of the pedagogy in each of the programmes and forms a key component of the BA Architecture programme. The Department's accommodation currently occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the New Extension Building at Knights Park, with the KSA workshops on the ground and first floors of the same building. This is a place in which to converse, to debate, to work and to learn from each other.

Professional recognition

Kingston University is ranked among Europe's top 50 architecture schools, with a recent graduate awarded the top international portfolio prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Students often feature in the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) President's Medals - considered the world's most prestigious and established awards in architectural education. Our graduate Simon Dean won Bronze for the best degree-level design project in 2014. More recently, Yousuf Khalil was awarded the Architect's Journal Student Prize in 2018. 

In the past few years, Domus magazine has consistently featured our school among Europe's top 50 architecture schools. We were one of the eight UK Architecture Schools in the Domus Guide 2017. We were one of the two UK schools invited to present at the 12th Biennale in Venice.

Please follow our Architecture & Landscape Instagram to see some of the great work we are doing.

Reasons to choose Kingston

• This course is validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and prescribed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB). You'll graduate with RIBA Part 1 exemption - the first step towards becoming an architect.
• This course is taught by a team of talented, practising architects, whose work is widely recognised.
• Kingston students often feature in prestigious national and international awards, such as the AJ Student Prize and the RIBA President's Medals.

Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate)

• International Foundation Year will be required

After you graduate

Graduates find employment in architectural and multidisciplinary built environment practices. Others find work in environmental, planning consultancies, some in the public sector, and in not-for-profit agencies. Students find work locally in London and the south-east, across the UK and internationally. Some students go on to develop small businesses or another specialism, while others pursue further study.