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.