Interior Architecture - 2013 entry
BA (Hons)
- single
Typical A-level offer: grades ABB or equivalent
Overview
Interior Architecture workshop
Interior Architecture workshop
Architecture End of Year show
This course is run by the School of Architecture
This course gives you the opportunity to study contemporary practice in interior architecture and to learn about our architectural heritage, how buildings work, and how to create high quality spatial experiences.
The School of Architecture at Oxford Brookes is one of the largest in the UK, and is renowned as a centre for architecture education and high-level research. It is listed in the top five for the quality of its graduates by the top 100 architectural practices in the UK. The school provides a vibrant design culture, ensuring its graduates are not only valued by practice, but are also able to make a critical contribution to the future of the profession.
Oxford is a great city in which to live and study. It is rich in the history of architecture, containing examples of the work of world-renowned architects and of the highest-quality contemporary and leading-edge practice.
Why Brookes?
Founded in 1927, our School of Architecture is one of the largest in the UK and is highly regarded as a centre for architecture education and high-level research. The school is at the forefront of thinking about how the architecture profession will develop in the future and provides a vibrant design culture, ensuring its graduates are not only valued by practice, but are also able to make a critical contribution to the future of the profession.
The value we place on learning from each other is at the heart of how we organise our teaching. The school has invested in the development of an open studio culture, in which students at all levels see how ideas are generated and develop. This structure allows high-level research to inform all our teaching and enrich the student experience.
Teaching, learning and assessment
The three-year full-time course engages students in learning about the architectural design process, the investigation of ideas and concepts, the representation of design, and the relationship between the design studio and its interface with the world of professional practice.
The course is centred on the design studio as the core of its activity, supported by a range of related subject teaching in technology, practice, the histories and theories of architecture, interior architecture, design and digital culture. This open studio culture enables students at all levels to see how ideas are generated, allowing high-level research to inform all our teaching and to enrich the student experience.
Design studio culture comprises group and individual tutorials, and presentations and discussions of ideas and forms of representation. The individual design portfolio produced at the end of each studio module is assessed.
Other subjects develop through lectures and seminars, group and individual presentations and a written dissertation in the final year. Assessment varies, from a written piece of work to a combination of exams and reports. The programme is very wide-ranging in content, and at all times students are encouraged to bring their own judgement, experience and newly acquired skills to bear upon the consideration of design.
The School of Architecture has a particularly strong link between research and teaching. In addition to departmental research projects, Brookes has its own research institute, the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development.
This means that, through our research activity, we are actively advancing the subjects taught to students at every level of study, and can equip students with the latest insights and knowledge. Hence the curriculum is constantly challenged and reworked in the light of the latest research findings.
In detail
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Course content
In Year 1, in which you study jointly with students of Architecture, design is taught through the study of interior design and built form, using projects which will develop your visual perception and improve your communication techniques and three-dimensional modelling and CAD skills. This part of the course aims to bring all students to a shared level of knowledge, understanding and skill in design.
Year 2 focuses on the development of a personal design approach and its application to interior architecture, and the development of a critical approach to the history and theories of spatial design. Projects will focus on the design of new public space and private interior space, and the re-use of existing building fabric. The technology of interior architecture and the application of design through practice are key elements of the course for developing an appreciation of design excellence and sustainability.
Year 3 includes a comprehensive design project and a dissertation.
The course aims to produce professional designers armed with the knowledge, understanding and skills to respond to a wide range of contemporary human and cultural needs, through innovative, responsible and sustainable design practice.
As courses are reviewed regularly the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.
Year 1
The compulsory basic modules are:
- Introduction to Architectural Design (double)
- Architectural Design in Context (double)
- Architectural Representation
- Introductory Technology
- Architecture and Society
- Introduction to Architectural History
Years 2 and 3
The advanced and honours compulsory modules are:
- Interior Architecture I (double)
- Interior Architecture II (double)
- Interior Architecture III (double)
- Technology for Interiors I
- Technology for Interiors II
- Design Practice (double)
- Digital Culture
- Preparation for Practice
- Dissertation (double)
- Cities, Culture and Society
- Issues in Architectural History and Theory.
Acceptable modules:
- Independent Study in Architecture
- Photography Outside of the Studio
Field trips
To encourage the understanding of different cultures and practice of architecture and interior design, each year we offer a one-week field trip to an international city.
Study abroad
Information about exchanges, European work placements and other study abroad programmes is available here.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
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Department
Course length
Full-time: 3 years
Part-time: normally 4-5 years
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane
Start date
September 2013
UCAS code
W250 BA/IH
Fees / funding
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Tuition fees
The fees shown are for the academic year 2012/13. The fees for 2013/14 have yet to be set, and are likely to increase.
UK/EU students
Full-time: £9,000
Part-time: £750 per module. You can take up to five modules per academic year.
International students
Full-time: £11,000
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
For general sources of financial support, see:
Apply / Entry reqs
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Typical offers
A-level: grades ABB or equivalent
IB Diploma: 32-34 points
Advanced Diploma: grade B, including A-level at grade A
Other typical offers include:
- the equivalent to 3 A-levels grades at ABB, from 2 A-levels plus 2 AS-levels (we strongly recommend that one of the subjects is Art, Design or Design and Technology)
- equivalent grades in vocational A-levels.
Specific entry requirements
GCSE: Mathematics, English and a physical science at grade C or above
Candidates are also required to provide a portfolio (eg sketches, freehand/technical drawings, life drawings, 3D models, paintings, photographs), and normally attend an interview. Please read our guidance notes about preparing your portfolio.
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
Selection process
Selected candidates will be invited for an interview, which includes a short visual awareness test. The interviewer will look for evidence of motivation, general creativity and breadth of interest, and will expect to be shown work which demonstrates creative ability of some kind. Any such work may be presented, including artwork where no formal course has been followed. Please read our guidance notes on preparing your portfolio.
Candidates who live overseas and cannot attend for interview will be evaluated by portfolio. It is preferable for you to send us a CD-ROM with photographs or scanned images of your creative artistic work. The portfolio should contain a variety of different types of work and should be large enough to give the assessor an idea of your creative ability.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Full-time students should apply for this course through UCAS.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Student experience
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Why Oxford is a great place to study Interior Architecture
Oxford is a great city in which to live and study. It is rich in the history of architecture, containing the work of world-renowned architects, and examples of the highest-quality contemporary and leading-edge practice.
There can be few more exciting cities in which to study the built environment than Oxford. It is amazingly compact and full of contrasts, containing within a few square miles some of Britain's most expensive property, vibrant multi-cultural and 'student' areas, 1960s housing estates, state-of-the-art architecture and new business parks. It is also one of the world's most visited cities, with a year-round tourist industry.
Oxford's closeness to London also provides access to big-city architecture and some of the greatest museums and galleries in the world.
Specialist facilities
Oxford Brookes has first-class facilities, helping you get the very best from your studies. From libraries to IT suites, you'll find everything you need and we're constantly investing in our services.
From the state-of-the-art, three-dimensional printer and rendering computers with specialist programmes like ArchiCAD in our Digital Studios, to the multipurpose space of the Reinvention Centre for undergraduate research, we incorporate the newest, freshest ideas in teaching.
Available to students on a 24-hour basis, the digital studios form the hub of design teaching and learning in the school. Students can use the latest high-end software programmes including 3D Studio Max and MicroStation for modelling, together with leading CAD, web, image, and movie editing software, all running on a bank of 60 powerful workstations.
Equipment and software are updated on a regular basis and are fully networked to digital projectors, a wide range of high-quality printers and plotters, and a laser cutter. In addition, pooled rooms for use of programmes such as AutoCAD, ArchiCAD and Photoshop are available throughout the university for student use. There is also an architecture workshop, equipped with more specialised equipment for more complex model making or construction.
General support services
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Accommodation
At Brookes we understand that when you live away from home it's important to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and safe.
After graduation
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Career prospects
As a vocational course, the Interior Architecture degree provides a direct route into professional practice. Many graduates from this course work within high-level architectural practices, contributing to the better production and understanding of well-designed spaces for human occupation.
The study of interior architecture at degree level can also be seen as a good grounding for other careers, for example in lighting, theatre, museum and exhibition design. Through this programme, you acquire a wide range of transferable skills in design, communication, and high-level digital representation; teamworking and problem-solving skills; the ability to apply technology to design; an awareness of the construction industry and different forms of practice; and critical reading and writing skills.
