New programme brings architecture and planning together to build better prospects
The University of Dundee is aiming to improve the career prospects of graduate architects by integrating planning into their learning journey.
Students on the M.Arch with Urban Planning programme will study Town and Regional Planning alongside their core work, leading to joint accreditation by both the Architects’ Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
The course is structured as an alternative pathway at the final year of the five-year undergraduate Masters programme. In order to qualify as an architect in the UK, students must complete five years of full-time study, followed by a minimum of 24 months in practice.
The RTPI requires that post-qualification students can apply to become a Chartered Planner after a minimum of 12 months professional planning experience. This is the only course currently available in the UK to meet the requirements of both professional bodies within this timescale.
Helen O’Connor, Head of Architecture and Planning at the University, said, “The programme combines a prescribed ARB part 2 for Architecture students with specialist delivery and study in Town and Regional Planning.
“The programme is unique in the UK, broadening the potential routes to employment for graduates and developing a new kind of hybrid responsive to the changing nature of the construction industry and the built environment professions.”
Students at Year Four will work within a structured and supported studio to build an extensive design portfolio. Projects at this level consider the design of complex buildings and associated urban spaces from inception to resolution; and as social, economic and cultural entities. Alongside their projects students explore ideas of theory and practice through self-selecting ‘design research units’.
At Year Five students study dedicated spatial planning modules in statutory planning, sustainability in contemporary cities and property development, while working alongside Architecture Thesis units to develop design projects which draw together and explore areas of Architecture and Planning.
Students may apply for entry at Level 4 (as ARB/RIBA part 1 equivalent graduates), or transfer onto the programme having completed Level 4 of the Masters in Architecture programme.
Graduates from Dundee are highly sought after in architectural practices within the UK and throughout the world and the University is listed as one of the top schools of architecture in the UK for graduate prospects.