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Course summary
Our degree courses with Foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster.
Whether you're looking to expand your knowledge and skills towards degree-level study, or want to change your subject specialism, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our Foundation year to progress onto full honours degree with us.
Our Foundation year in Architecture and Design offers an introduction to the creative professions that shape the design of interiors, buildings and urban spaces. Through design projects you'll learn about the spatial, technical and cultural issues, and develop the grounding skills and creative practices necessary for further study. The first semester begins with an exploration of the design and inhabitation of urban space, followed by a materials and making project based in the Fabrication Laboratory, our outstanding Marylebone campus workshop facility. Running alongside these will be studio and field-based exercises to develop your drawing and creative skills. In the second semester, a project on the design of existing spaces will be followed by the development of a creative work driven by your own interests. Students from the Foundation will have the opportunity to exhibit in the School of Architecture and Cities summer exhibition. Your practical development will be accompanied by modules in both semesters on academic skills in writing and critical thinking.
On successful completion of the Foundation year, you'll be able to move on to study for the Architecture BA Honours degree over a further three years of study.
Architecture is a fascinating subject involving wide-ranging academic, practical and vocational activities. It requires creativity and imagination, as well as the inventive employment of environmental and technical knowledge.
Architecture is normally studied with a view to becoming a professional architect, but as it embraces the fields of art, history and science, it also opens doors to a range of postgraduate study options and other forms of career development.
At the heart of our course is a rich choice of design studios, in which students are taught in small groups by current practitioners, reflecting London’s dynamic architecture scene. There are also lecture courses in environmental and technical studies, history and theory of architecture, as well as numerous opportunities to engage with the architecture profession through construction site visits, mentoring and a work placement.
Field trips are offered in the second year and there are opportunities to study abroad, with the most recent destinations including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China.
Top reasons to study with us
- Small studio teaching groups offer a wide range of approaches to architecture, allowing you to explore your own interests and shape the direction of your work. There are 21 dynamic and innovative studio groups across the three years, all engaged with the current issues and challenges facing the future of London and its region.
- Strong connections with professional practice – We attract a diverse teaching team of practitioners from London’s architectural network, and you'll have the chance to spend time on construction sites and in architectural practice as part of your studies.
- Supportive and nurturing environment – Our projects are grounded in and engaged with the social and cultural context of our city, while our diverse, international student population and lively open-plan studios create an inspiring and collaborative study environment.
- Local field trips and international study opportunities – Gain experience with local field trips and explore global architecture with international study opportunities that in recent years have included Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China.
- Westminster is ranked 4th for 'Student Satisfaction' in Architecture in the Complete University Guide 2025.
Course climate action statement
This course educates students in sustainable, regenerative approaches to architectural design, building construction and material technology. Students are encouraged to engage with climate justice, to be aware of the need to minimise embodied carbon, waste and pollution, and to reduce a building's demands on energy and water.