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Architecture

MArch

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Start dates: September 2023 / September 2024

Full time: MArch: 12 months; PGDip: 9 months

Location: Headington

Department(s): School of Architecture

Overview
Course details
Careers
Entry requirements
How to apply
Tuition fees

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Overview

Experience a transformative journey in architecture with the Masters in Architecture at Oxford Brookes. Our program is designed to empower you, the creator, by fostering experimental and speculative approaches to architectural design and function. 

If you're seeking a professionally accredited course for ARB and RIBA pt II or LAM, explore our MArchD course.

You’ll have the support to develop the skills for your own independent design research projects. We prioritize your freedom of thought and research, allowing you to merge your understanding of architecture and personal experiences with boundless experimentation. 

You’ll learn in a studio environment which provides the perfect setting for you to experiment with a wide range of mediums, including collage, drawing, 3D printing, and AI. We also invite specialists to conduct workshops, challenging you to question your perspectives, surroundings, and attitudes across different areas. By engaging in these activities, you will develop essential skills that will shape your future.

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Space to create

    You’ll have a dedicated studio space to work, collaborate and produce your ideas and designs.

  • International community

    You’ll join an international cohort from a range of architectural backgrounds ready to share ideas and collaborate.

  • Interactive workshops

    We invite specialists such as photographers and artists to run sessions to challenge you to see from different perspectives.

  • Diverse portfolio

    You’ll graduate with a body of design work which is relevant to different disciplines, from filmmaking to set design, animation to art.

  • Transformational possibilities

    Study this course to extend your expertise, invigorate your practice or change direction. Many students join us as architects and move to careers in the creative industries.

Course details

Course structure

At Oxford Brookes, we’ll challenge you to explore and develop your practice with the support of your tutors. You’ll go beyond mere architectural development; we encourage the exploration of diverse concepts to challenge your mindset and enhance your ability to effectively convey ideas in an increasingly visual world.

Emphasis is placed on practical work rather than written assignments. You‘ll have the opportunity to create collages, construct composite pieces, build tangible models, and produce drawings. These activities contribute to the progress of your final project.

Our modules integrate guided practice, ensuring that you receive comprehensive support for impactful learning. By fostering a culture of critical thinking and creativity throughout the course, you’ll be prepared for your final design project. This project can take the form of an artefact, film, installation, or a series of in-depth investigations. The program often culminates with an exhibition. The exhibition offers an immersive experience for guests and the public, allowing you to share your vision and achievements.

Male student studying on a computer

Learning and teaching

You will work individually and in groups, exploring a new kind of architecture. Methods of exploration include techniques associated with the film industry, such as:

  • collage making
  • optical composites
  • physical models
  • drawings, both by hand and computer.

Your tutor will help you to find areas of interest and you will develop an individual approach to the:

  • brief
  • programme
  • and the realisation of a project. 

Teaching is mostly design-studio based, with project-based learning in a studio environment. You will also take part in a series of lectures, reviews, tutorials and site visits.
 

Assessment

The assessment on the taught modules is 100% coursework and include:

  • design presentations
  • seminar papers
  • essays.

Studio critiques by an invited jury provide formative feedback.

For your dissertation you can produce:

  • a project
  • artefact or portfolio in a variety of media
  • written work.
     

Field Trips

Whilst there is no official international field trip, you are encouraged to visit areas of interest that are relevant to your thesis, and to visit exhibitions and galleries. You should budget in the region of £100 for trips such as these.

Study modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

Semester 1

Advanced Architectural Design I (30 credits)

Studio based design project.

You will be introduced to a range of techniques and methodologies to produce an expansive variety of work. The work that you do, will be developed by you into a set of design principles to be applied to a designed artefact.

Urban Cultures (30 credits)

You'll take part in workshops, lectures and discussions, which will form the basis of this module to introduce you to a broad range of contemporary cultural themes. You'll also engage with techniques focusing on:

  • perception
  • drawing
  • materiality
  • lighting
  • and models.

Which will help you to question your previous understandings of architecture and its relation to urban culture.

Semester 2

Advanced Architectural Design II (30 credits)

Studio based project.

Your first semester work and investigations are brought together through developing a proposal and design of a personal project. The Studio places emphasis on the importance of developing an ability to demonstrate conceptual clarity, to locate your ideas in the spectrum of current and past architecture, maintaining a strong link between concept and production. You will explore a wide range of techniques of representation to find those appropriate to your project.

Architecture and the City (30 credits)

You'll take part in workshops and lectures to explore the meanings of time between architecture and the city. In the workshop film and writing will be utilized to explore strategies of time. The detail and range of time is explored through camera movement, lighting, sound, story writing and editing as it relates to cultural themes, to define the experience of architecture through the perception of artefact and space.

Semester 3

Dissertation and Research Methods (60 credits)

You will undertake a single authored piece of work, giving you the opportunity to draw inferences, information and ideas from the other course components, as well as other experiences towards a chosen theme. Research methods are woven throughout the year, focusing on design research methods and collated as a fieldwork diary.

The Dissertation differs from previous Design modules as it aims to encourage your independence of thought and your ability to develop an argument and draw constructive conclusions across a range of design explorations which will be valuable in the your future vocation. The Dissertation acts as a bridge between the Masters programme and academic career progression or professional life.

 

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Research

The Oxford Brookes School of Architecture is a major player in international research in the fields of architecture and the built environment. The school includes the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) as its primary research vehicle.

On gaining the MA, if you are interested in continuing to the PhD programme, we will encourage you to do so.

For more information please visit Research in Architecture.

Careers

Our graduates progress in different directions because of the way we’ve designed this course. Some return to their home country to start their own business while others start careers in new areas like set design. It’s a great stepping stone to completing a PhD too.

Whatever you decide to do next, you’ll have an impressive portfolio to show potential employers. You’ll be able to show you’re capable of thinking of fresh ideas and understanding different research methods.

Related courses

Related course
Interior Architecture
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Entry requirements

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process

We advise applying in advance to secure places, and allow sufficient time for applications to be reviewed.

There is no formal application deadline (recruitment closes when teaching capacity is reached). 

Applicants should also factor any time needed to meet offer conditions, arrange accommodation, and obtain a UK Student visa (if applicable).


Apply now

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£10,300
International full time
£16,500
Home (UK) full time
£10,800
International full time
£17,150

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2023 / 24
Home (UK) full time
£10,300
International full time
£16,500
2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£10,800
International full time
£17,150

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 483088

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Full-Time UK Faculty Scholarship Part-Time UK Faculty Scholarship Postgraduate Master's Loan - England

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.