Architecture BA (Hons)
Subject and course type
- Architecture and Interior Design
- Undergraduate
Ji8¸£ÀûÍø’s Architecture BA (Hons) will give you the skills, knowledge and experience you need to start a highly influential, creative career as an architect.
You are reading:
Shape the skylines and societies of the future
Create the spaces of the future
Studying Architecture at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø is your first step towards becoming an architect. The course will give you strong foundations for an impactful and rewarding career in this exciting sector. Previous graduates now work for leading architectural practices in the UK and overseas.
During the course, you’ll follow themes set by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Topics include climate literacy, health and life safety, ethical practice, and research literacy. You’ll study modules that blend intellectual and practical learning, developing the transferable and digital skills you need to stand out in the job market.
You’ll develop a deep understanding of design and creative observation, focusing on how buildings are made and the fundamental role of tectonic components in architectural character. Teaching will come from a team of talented, practising architects, whose work is widely recognised.
In the studio, you’ll refine your skills in everything from casting, pencil and charcoal rendering to detailed large-scale model-making, computer-based graphics and CAD drawing. On the theoretical side, you’ll study key cultural, historical, social, sustainable, material and technical issues in the built environment.
My experience at Kingston was really rewarding, and helped develop my skill set, providing a strong foundation for my entry into professional practice.
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Investigative sketches
Benxing Liang
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School of Architecture Accra
Charlie Fox
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Museum in Dover
Claire Kotte
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A day in the life of a multigenerational family
Ellie Redman
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Lido at Seething Wells
Joseph Edwards
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Housing in Madrid
Luc Ferry
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Theatre
Max Greenhalgh
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Gallery Interior
Paul Gurung
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Cultural Centre in Havana
Radija Raposo
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Room for an archivist in Dorich House
Sara Ellisy
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Nok Compound Housing Study
Sena Ozkan
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Community Hall at Tate Britain
Sivert Woll
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A day in the life
Zina Talha
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from top quality teaching at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø. Not only are we ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, we’re also in the top five in London for Architecture (The Guardian University Guide League Tables 2024).
As part of Kingston School of Art, you’ll benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice. Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
You’ll study in the compact Knights Park campus, close to a range of other Kingston School of Art creative disciplines. This creative hub forms a brilliant environment for conversation, debate and collaborative learning.
Domus magazine has consistently featured our school among Europe's top 50 architecture schools. Our students often feature in the Architect's Journal Student Prize and the RIBA President's Medals, which are considered the world's most prestigious and established architectural education awards.
Check out our to see some of the great work we are doing.
Accreditation
The Architecture BA (Hons) course is validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Please note: In January 2028, following national-level reforms, ARB prescription of Part 1 (BA (Hons) Architecture) will end as requirement for registration as an Architect in the UK.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
This degree centres on design, on the creative processes of observation and making, and an ethos of ‘thinking through making'. Architecture is emphasised as a material practice, with particular attention given to how buildings are made and how tectonic components are fundamental to architectural character.
Studio projects form at least 50% of the course, giving you the skills and knowledge to tackle design issues in the built environment. Workshops teach drawing and making skills, such as casting, pencil and charcoal rendering, detailed large-scale model-making, computer-based graphics and CAD drawing. You will also study theoretical, cultural, historical, social, sustainable, material and technical issues.
Within each module are a design component and support/contextual component with the intention that knowledge and skills are always introduced and developed in relation to studio projects.
Year 1
Year 1 is focused on the acquisition and consolidation of architectural representation and drawing skills. The Design Studio work features site-based projects, addressing the principles and context of architectural design. It also includes and real scale-built project. The coursework supporting studies comprise assignments on drawing, model-making, materials, sustainability, professional practice and the history of architecture.
Core modules
30 credits
Architecture is a living culture, and is not distinct from life, but intrinsically part of it. Our species remakes its environment to suit its ends. It is this act, in its broadest sense, and with all its duties and gifts, that constitutes the territory of the subject. You arrive here already as architects. It is not a body of knowledge separate to you, but already something you have an intuitive relationship with. You have your histories in space – rooms, buildings, and public spaces you have enjoyed and loved. In this module you will learn how to draw architectural knowledge from this experience. We will also introduce you to buildings and places that you will learn from. This process – whereby the architect is constantly able to draw on their surroundings to inform what they do is something which goes on for the rest of your life – you will seek out remarkable places, study them, all so that you might gain insights you can use in your work for others. Key to this is finding ways, drawing, modelling, and writing, to describe these aspects.
30 credits
Architecture evolves in response to needs that arise in the world. We differ from other creative disciplines in this key facet – we cannot (generally) sit and just produce architecture on our own but have to work collaboratively others. The buildings we design will impact on others, anyone who interacts with the building or who is affected by its making. Architects are constantly negotiating with the realities of a site, the limits of a material and resources, the needs of a client, the capacity of a builder and so much more. Far from being a limiting factor it is this abrasion that is where architecture's value and meaning is sited. This also means that there are many roles an architect can develop – from being a skilled organiser, to sourcing the technical knowledge required, and thinking carefully about practical matters, and ones of delight and joy.
In this module you will explore the technical and ethical aspects of this territory. You will learn how projects can be designed and made, and the drawings that are needed to translate these into being. You will see how projects can be planned, and the various stages required to make even a simple structure. You will reflect individually on how your specific skills and insights enabled this work. You will examine the work of practitioners in how they make their projects and relate this to your own developing understanding of this area. You will begin to develop your professional identity, plan your own personal development, and learn how to work with others.
60 credits
Architecture is slow. It takes time to develop the range of skills we need, and these keep evolving over our life. It also takes time in practice. Even small projects take many months to complete, while larger works can run to decades. There is a particular discipline to this - a combination of patience and rigour. As a design develops, we must be constantly attuned to its deficiencies as well as its delights. We must respect the brief, and develop it, taking input and critique as we go, talking to one another about our doubts and challenges. Engaging consistently and working it forward to an unknown destination is a tricky thing but is the essential task of the architect.
In this module you will work on a series of design challenges. These will start with precisely shaped briefs that will enable spatial experimentation and skills in model making and more. Later tasks will be longer, more complex and will include you thinking about how your design is to be made, about climate, comfort, light, the use of resources and carbon, and so much more.
Year 2
In Years 2 and 3, you will work in independent studio groups, carrying out design projects that may last from a few weeks to a year. In Year 2, you will be encouraged to experiment creatively, typically working on a main design project each semester. You will continue the skills-based learning introduced in Year 1, expanding your knowledge of supporting subjects and applying it to your design projects.
Core modules
15 credits
The built landscapes of our world are a way of reading a society over time – its relationship to climate and material, along with ideas of social structure, ritual and use. Architects frequently draw their ideas from this living archive, and architectural historians thread their stories of how ideas may move through time and space. Each architect also does this, in an open manner, exploring works that fascinate them, finding ideas there that they enjoy and use. This ability for us to draw on thinking laid down by others is wonderful, a shorthand to developing ideas that otherwise might take considerable time.
As we do this we come to this field with our own histories in space and culture, and so how we absorb and respond to the work we see will vary from one another and will change over time as we see and study more and more works. In this process a conversation really helps, a teasing out of our different viewpoints and what we see and see how others respond to our observations. This conversation can take place in person, or in books, blogs or other places over time. In this module you will look at works and using drawings and writing tell each other and us what you observe, what you enjoy. You will see what others have said will critique and debate these as part of the process.
Staff across the school will share their own observations of buildings they have been shaped by, and you are to use these not as instruction, but as being illustrative of a way of seeing and reading architecture you can bring to bear to works of your choosing.
15 credits
Architects make the human habitat. This places us in a position of great responsibility. Our buildings should be safe in use, and fulfil the needs of their occupants. Given how important this act is; a huge number of laws and regulations govern the work of architects - ranging from planning to health and safety and rules concerning energy use, for example. More than this, each architect will also have their own ethical position on their responsibilities to their clients and the broader community they are part of, which includes future generations.
In this module you will learn about the overview of this territory by working in groups to examine the work of practising architects, through in-depth engagement and process of research. You will debate and develop your ethical position on what you learn, and seek to articulate your duties to yourself and to others. You will also learn about the basic aspects of life safety and the use of resources from their legal framing - key aspects to understand as you design your buildings.
A key part of this module will involve you developing and articulating your views on the limits of an architect's agency, and strategies to develop your own voice in this context, as part of your continuing professional and personal development.
60 credits
Architecture makes the human habitat. As such it is a mediation between the internal climatic requirements for inhabitation and the nature of the broader environment. What we make and how we make it is shaped by this fundamental concern. This embraces all aspects of a design - the materials we use, how we can engage with the available beauty of the world, and how our buildings respond in use. In this module you will prepare a series of designs for places to dwell in a set site, with the specific goal of thinking carefully about these interconnected aspects. Construction and the bringing together of materials will be a driver in your research and proposals.
Working in a design studio you will develop these with colleagues, critique them and iterate them. Drawing on the other modules work you will explore new knowledge and research as a fundamental part of this process. You will communicate your ideas with a view to seduce as well as to explain.
30 credits
There is something about the act of designing that is hard to describe. Ideas do not arise on their own, but through acts of creativity. Here, the combination of the mind and the body differs from purely intellectual activity. We have a word for this of course – play. But we recognise that this word covers a wide territory – the play of the child being very different from the play of a skilled musician for example. In common however is a sense of immersion – an engagement with a task where matters of risk or worries about skills are set aside to explore something – to open new territories in this act. It is a critical part of your capacity to imagine.
In this module we will engage with the skilled play of the practitioner, exploring with freedom and openness. We will refine through iteration and debate, finding ways to make discoveries in process by doing, and then reflecting.
Year 3
Year 3 involves the production of a thesis design project. In its presentation, you will show the integration of your professional skills and knowledge.
Your design studio work, the research undertaken for your thesis project, and your written dissertation, all give you the opportunity to develop and express your individual interests. Modules incorporate aspects of sustainability, tectonics and structure, history of architecture and professional practice.
Core modules
30 credits
Architecture strategically engages individuals, communities and society with the issues of place in practical, personal, cultural and political ways. Through a process of primary and secondary research across a broad range of subjects, architects appraise the fundamental conditions of site and context, in order to inform a strategic design approach for a particular place. The detailed study of buildings and places from other times and contexts, develops an architect's ability to critique these complex interacting conditions.
There is no orthodoxy in architecture, no set dogma you need to follow. There is the communal culture of the society we serve and the aspects of our discipline that we bring with us. While this responsibility means that architecture is not a vehicle for self-expression it also means that there is no more or less legitimate position from which to engage. There is only our skill and our ability to move with comfort as architects in both exploring and expressing our views on the subject. Finding common ground with others in developing your position on the subject is one of the most important parts of the subject as it allows you to draw on thinking by others and articulate your own informed by these views.
Establishing a foundation for lifelong learning and practice, this module supports the reading and interpreting of architecture through two projects: a tectonic precedent study, and a final thesis dissertation. You will explore in-depth ideas embodied in the built works of others. You will articulate your informed positions on these aspects and critique by comparison and reflection, building a coherent argument as to where for you the value and meaning might be found in the work.
30 credits
Architecture involves the need to be competent - both in how we manage ourselves, our time and our development; and in how we design and construct. There is also a personal ethic that sits alongside this and which evolves in a situated manner.
You are looking ahead to future employment and with an increased understanding of your own professionalism, the range of issues that affect how buildings are procured, built and occupied, and the role of architects within the construction industry and wider society. You will explore and articulate your own professional ambitions in the context of your thesis design project.
Moreover, a good understanding of tectonics is vital to design. It enables you to create well informed proposals that address many demands, complexities and opportunities inherent in an architectural brief. Your final degree year is dominated by the thesis design project, which is a culmination of the design abilities and application of understanding of social, cultural, professional, regulatory, structural, environmental, and material principles, developed in previous years.
In this module you will develop and articulate your understanding of these facets of the discipline. You will also have space to explore in depth the limits of an architect's agency, and how differing forms of practice might enable a renewed level of engagement.
60 credits
Architecture touches on so many areas of life and culture that each project represents a chance for you to understand the world anew. You can draw your ideas from anywhere, and as your skills develop your speed in responding to complex sites or briefs improves. This act of laying down the slow thinking that you can later draw on quickly takes years. In this module you will engage with a unit to engage in depth with a complex design challenge which will afford you space to really get to grips with a problem, and to articulate your own position in response, through Architecture.
In the research, testing and integration of diverse matters, you will give yourself the opportunity to develop your passions for the subject and to demonstrate your command of the skills required to be an architect. You will develop a thesis design project: a design portfolio with a theoretical foundation that demonstrates a critical and individual line of inquiry that results in a unique architectural proposition. This module will also facilitate a holistic and ongoing integration of tectonics, technology and sustainable issues throughout the development of the capstone Thesis Design Project. This capstone project is the culmination of learning throughout the course.
Future Skills and career opportunities
Boost your employability
Every course at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø teaches a range of Future Skills. From problem-solving and adaptability to digital competency, these are the attributes you’ll need to get the edge in the job market and a head start on your career.
RIBA Accredited
This Architecture BA course is validated by the , which marks professionalism and excellence in the field.
ARB Accredited
This Architecture BA course is validated by the Architects Registration Board.
After you graduate
Completing the course is the first step towards becoming an architect after which you will undertake further studies and gain professional experience joining many of our former students who now work for leading architectural practices in the UK and overseas.
At Ji8¸£ÀûÍø, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it
For more information on how Kingston prepares you for the future job market, visit our Future Skills page.
Teaching and assessment
Scheduled learning and teaching on this course includes timetabled activities including lectures, seminars and small group tutorials. It may also include critiques, project work, studio practice and performance, digital labs, workshops, and placements
Outside the scheduled learning and teaching hours, you will learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, preparing for and completing your work for assessments. Some independent study work may need to be completed on-campus, as you may need to access campus-based facilities such as studios and labs.
Our academic support team here at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø provides help in a range of areas.
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 120 credits across a year (typical for an undergraduate course) would equate to 1,200 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below for each year of study. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- Year 1: 33% scheduled learning and teaching
- Year 2: 33% scheduled learning and teaching
- Year 3: 28% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Types of assessment
- Year 1: Coursework 50%; practical (design portfolio) 50%
- Year 2: Coursework 45%; practical (design portfolio) 55%
- Year 3: Coursework 40%; practical (design portfolio) 60%
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. If your course includes optional modules, this breakdown may change to reflect the modules chosen.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9am and 6pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts around 120 students a year. Lectures usually include all students in each year group.
In the design studio you will be taught in groups of 18–20 students. However this can vary by academic year.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | £9,535* |
| International | |
| Year 1 (2026/27): | £21,400 |
| Year 2 (2027/28): | £22,300 |
| Year 3 (2028/29): | £23,200 |
The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student. In 2026/27 the fees for this course are above.
For courses with Professional Placement, the fee for the placement year can be viewed on the undergraduate fees table. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.
* For full time programmes of a duration of more than one academic year, the published fee is an annual fee, payable each year, for the duration of the programme. Your annual tuition fees cover your first attempt at all of the modules necessary to complete that academic year. A re-study of any modules will incur additional charges calculated by the number of credits. Home tuition fees may be subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body. Full time taught International fees are subject to an annual increase and are published in advance for the full duration of the programme.
Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | £9,535* |
| International | |
| Year 1 (2025/26): | £19,500 |
| Year 2 (2026/27): | £20,300 |
| Year 3 (2027/28): | £21,100 |
The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student. In 2025/26 the fees for this course are above.
For courses with Professional Placement, the fee for the placement year can be viewed on the undergraduate fees table. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.
* For full time programmes of a duration of more than one academic year, the published fee is an annual fee, payable each year, for the duration of the programme. Your annual tuition fees cover your first attempt at all of the modules necessary to complete that academic year. A re-study of any modules will incur additional charges calculated by the number of credits. Home tuition fees may be subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body. Full time taught International fees are subject to an annual increase and are published in advance for the full duration of the programme.
Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying this course at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Ji8¸£ÀûÍø will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £25 for local visits and £600-£1000 for international trips.
You’ll have access to a range of resources at Ji8¸£ÀûÍø. If you want to purchase your own art materials and equipment, this could cost up to £250 per year.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our graduates say
Throughout my three years, I received incredible support from tutors, who offered me encouragement and guidance. The modules and assignments enhanced my personal and professional skills, and led me to cultivate a technical, creative, and critical awareness within architectural design.
The Department of Architecture and Landscape at KSA is exceptionally well run, delivering a course in clearly-constructed modules that I found hugely interesting and inspiring. This quality of teaching was vital for me as a mature student.
Thanks to the Kingston team, I was so well prepared for the work environment, securing an immediate job at the end of my third year in a top-ranking international architectural practice or my first professional year out.
Reflecting on my three BA years at Kingston, the architecture faculty encouraged me to achieve my full potential (BA Hons degree, First Class) and it stood out as an outstanding and fun place to learn.
Key information
The scrolling banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).
