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Graduate Showcase 2021
Explore work by Architecture graduates on the GSA Graduate Showcase website. Image: Rhona Morrin
Architecture (DipArch)
Key Facts
Staff
Programme Overview
How to Apply
Applications for the Diploma in Architecture should be made direct to the School - submitted to the GSA Registry (contact registry@gsa.ac.uk)
DipArch is also available in part-time mode, please refer to the study guide for more information.
Award
Diploma in Architecture/Masters of Architecture by Conversion Exemption from Part II of RIBA/ARB Examination in Architecture. All GSA degree programmes are validated by the University of Glasgow. Established in 1451, the University of Glasgow is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities and a founder member of Universitas 21, an international grouping of universities dedicated to setting worldwide standards for higher education.
Assessment
Assessment is key to our students learning and we work hard to help students to understand what we are assessing, why we assess and how we assess work. There are two types of assessment for all our courses, formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment enables students to receive feedback and continue to develop their work. Summative assessment is the final assessment and contributes to the student’s final grade. Staff work with students through a variety of methods including self-assessment, peer assessment and group workshops to allow students to critically reflect on work. Staff provide written and verbal feedback at both formative stage and at the summative point.
Facilities
Studio space; workshops for wood and metal work; specialist equipment for making architectural models; a photographic studio and darkrooms; a reprographics and audiovisual base; a lighting lab including heliodon and model-scope; an architectural science computer suite; Grace and Clark Fyfe Gallery; cafe bar.
Continuing Student Tuition Fees
Students who are continuing onto the Diploma directly after completing RIBA 1 (BArch + 1 year work placement) will be considered as continuing students for tuition fee purposes.
Indicative Additional Costs
Individual departments levy material fees as indicated on this page. You should budget for each year of your programme of study and should allow for costs over and above your fees and maintenance, particularly if expensive materials or projects are chosen.
Graduates include:
Stuart Cameron and Miranda Webster (Cameron Webster), Jen O’Donnell and Sam Brown (O’Donnell Brown), Iain Monteith (Loader Monteith), Nick Walker (Collective Architecture), Charlie Sutherland and Charlie Hussey (Sutherland Hussey Harris), Kirsty Lees (Tektonika Architects), Chris Platt (Studio KAP), Ian Alexander and Henry McKeown (JM Architects), Roz Peebles (Okra Studio), Clare and Sandy Wright (Wright and Wright), Grace Choi (Grace Choi Architecture), Karen Anderson (Anderson Bell + Christie), Alexandra McCartney (Hopkins), Sarah Lewis (bere:architects), the late Gareth Hoskins (Hoskins Architects), Andrew Whalley and Kirsten Lees (Grimshaw), Andy Bow (Foster Associates)
Programme Overview
The Diploma of Architecture course is Part 2 accredited and provides exemption from the Part 2 of the Examination in Architecture ARB/RIBA. We are uniquely positioned within a wider community of artists and designers at The Glasgow School of Art and this allows our students the opportunity to make connections both academically and socially.
Our approach to architecture is simple we care about how buildings and places are made and used to provide positive impact for the individual, society and the planet.
Testing the City
We do this through testing the 21st Century world around us to examine the social, cultural, political, economic and environmental issues driving the contemporary changes in the built environment today and in the future.
Climate
We are specifically interested in our students gaining awareness of the climate emergency and how we can address the global challenges facing society and the planet. Our Architectural Technology courses are designed to support our students understanding, application and expertise in the climate framework through their integration into the Studio projects.
Inclusive Studio Culture
Our course is studio based and project driven. The studio environment provides a forum for critical discussion, support and encouragement. We foster inclusivity through a mutually respectful, supportive, collaborative studio culture. We recognise diverse ways of teaching and learning and encourage our students to develop their own personal response to architecture.
Teaching Methodology
Through a systematic and disciplined teaching methodology, we develop the core skills of architectural production. The integration of Architectural Technology, Professional Studies and History and Urban Studies into the Studio supports a holistic response to architecture. Through rigorous research and investigation, we encourage our students to communicate through design, an architectural response to the ethical challenges facing the contemporary world.
Critical Architectural Thinkers
Throughout the course we support our students to become independent thinkers through the use of critical self-reflection and peer collaboration, both of which we see as central components to the learning experience. We aim to help our students to identify their role as an architectural thinker, designer and maker within wider society.
Course Structure
The first year of the Diploma (Stage 4) allows students to develop a rigorous design methodology. We ask our students to gather, organise, analyse, synthesise and deploy information through an iterative process to address the complexity of the City of Glasgow.
Within the second year of the Diploma (Stage 5), students are asked to test a European City to examine the architectural and ethical forces driving contemporary change in the built environment. Through a Thesis investigation students identify their role as professional architectural thinkers and makers. We aim to give our students the confidence and ambition to enable positive change for the safe future of the people and the ecology of our planet.
Students who complete the Diploma course may be eligible to proceed to the Masters of Architecture (by Conversion) course where there is the opportunity to develop and aspect of work produced in their fifth year, in greater depth. This programme lasts 1 semester (15 weeks) and runs from September to January.
For more detailed information on the programmes please refer to the Study Guide and the Course Specifications on this page.
How to Apply
View our online application forms for Architecture here.
View our DipArch Applicant Guide here.
