Skip navigation

If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.

* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here

CLOSE

REF 2021 11th in the UK for Research PowerNorthumbria’s Architect Degree Apprenticeship represents a remarkable opportunity to undertake postgraduate qualifications to become an Architect without having to leave full-time paid employment to continue your studies. There are also no tuition fees for the apprentice.

This programme is a part-time four-year course and includes the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Part II and Part III qualifications, which is unique to this pathway at Northumbria. Candidates considering this route must have an ARB Part I qualification, preferably with a 2:1 classification; those who do not will be required to have an interview with the teaching team.

What sets this programme apart from the full-time pathway at Northumbria is that the design projects are based on real-life projects out in the community, or self-directed by the apprentice with the opportunity to explore challenges in the office. This approach facilitates and develops the apprentices’ professional experience, competence and expertise, leading to valuable impact on their career. Employers also benefit from the opportunity to retain and develop exceptional staff, who can develop new skills and knowledge at University for application in the workplace.

The teaching staff are award-winning educators and architects responsible for the design of significant building projects, as well as publishing world class research. They perform leading and influential roles in architectural education both nationally and internationally.

The Architect Degree Apprenticeship has been designed at Northumbria to equip apprentices with the attributes needed to thrive in their career, including:

  • Critical thinking
  • Independent learning
  • Producing imaginative solutions
  • Justifying and communicating design decisions

Apprenticeship programmes at Northumbria University are designed to support apprentices in acquiring the appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviour and retain the integrity of the apprenticeship standard as defined by IFATE . For further details please consult the IFATE Apprenticeship standards / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education webpage here.

Accreditation

This programme was the first of its kind to be accredited by the ARB in the UK and is also validated by the RIBA. The Part III component of the apprenticeship is taught and managed by the RIBA; this Professional Studies programme is regarded as one of the best in the country.

ARB logo RIBA logo

Course Information

Level of Study
Postgraduate

Mode of Study
4 years Part Time

Department
Architecture and Built Environment

Location
City Campus, Northumbria University

City
Newcastle

Start
September 2025

Fees
Fee Information

Modules
Module Information

Register your interest

Discover NU World / A virtual journey through everything Northumbria has to offer.

Explore our immersive 360 tours, informative subject videos, inspirational student profiles, ground-breaking research, and a range of life at university blogs videos and articles.

Entry Requirements 2025/26

Standard Entry

Admission onto a higher or degree apprenticeship can only take place if applicants are currently employed and their employer has a training agreement in place with Northumbria University.

Applicants must be employed in a relevant role, with the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts directly to their personal and professional work experience.

Potential apprentices will need:

A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree from a Part 1 accredited Architectural course, or equivalent and a minimum of three months relevant postgraduate work experience.

English Language Requirements:

International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).

*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications

If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.

* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here

Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

DA6070 -

Authentic Design Inquiry (60 Credits)

You will engage with authentic real life architectural projects for a variety of stakeholders, including: charities, public bodies, quangos and commercial clients (although the latter depends on the ethical validity of the project). You will not only explore the discipline as a practical and theoretical subject, but be exposed to the social function of architecture, and in some case the financial constraints that architects have to operate within. Creativity in this module is expressed as a social phenomenon as well as an artistic one. You will also develop your skills in being able to: critically appraise and develop design briefs; make assessments of and respond to, the project’s contingencies and complexities; to communicate your work to an audience other than your peers and your tutor; and develop design strategies that result in sophisticated and appropriate design solutions that embrace the full criteria of a real live architectural project.

This module will be supported by relevant and timely workshops and tutorials, and regular reviews, also including members of the client group that we are working with.
Verbal feedback is provided via tutorials, through verbal, written and drawn formats throughout the semester. This ongoing guidance will provide you with opportunities for reflection and independent learning.

More information

DA6071 -

Architectural Research Methods (30 Credits)

Lectures will discuss research principles and concepts; academic theory and skills will be contextualised to an architectural idiom through case study examples of recent and current research projects.
Working in research seminar groups, will help frame the subject of your own, self-selected research proposal. You will identify the key researchers and seminal research, current ‘state of the art’, and any ‘gap in the knowledge’ in your chosen field or subject; and produce your research project’s methodology which you will then undertake in year 2.

More information

DA7014 -

Design Project 3: Analysis and Proposal (40 Credits)

You will improve your skills and creativity in design; the ability critically to appraise, understand the nature of, and develop design briefs; to analyse and make an assessment of the complexities of the project’s context; and propose and justify a design strategy. You will learn to engage with critical reflection on the cultural and social context of your area of study. Through independent and supported inquiry you will develop the design proposal up to sketch scheme (equivalent of RIBA Workstage 2) in response to your exploration. This learning will be evidenced in a portfolio that demonstrates your theoretical position, programme context, brief development and the early stages of your design proposal.
This module will be supported by workshops and tutorials, and regular reviews, where you are expected to be critical engaged in the process.
Verbal, written and drawn feedback is provided formatively at tutorials and strategic reviews throughout the semester, to provide ongoing guidance and to establish opportunities for reflection and independent learning. Summative assessment will be provided at the end of the semester providing guidance to be taken into DP4.

More information

DA7015 -

Student Selected Investigation (30 Credits)

You will learn skills that enable independent learning through research and advanced scholarship, applied to the discipline of architecture. More specifically you will acquire the knowledge and skills to identify an area of research interest and to be able to use appropriate methodologies to collect data addressing the research imperative. You will learn how to employ analytical skills to systematically evaluate data and to draw conclusions from this data and ultimately be able to communicate the findings through appropriate means.

More information

DA6072 -

Work Based Practice Management and Law (30 Credits)

You will learn about the procurement and administration of construction projects; contractual, legal and statutory frameworks; the Architect’s professional duties and responsibilities; contractual, managerial and financial aspects of construction project procurement; the wider arena of personnel involved in the construction industry; and the principles of running both professional practices and architectural projects. Additionally, the ethics of architectural practice will be explored, with particular emphasis on health and safety, well-being of building users, and the impact of construction methods and processes upon the natural environment and global resources. Learning will be predicated upon your critical consideration of the relevant professional body criteria and graduate attributes, through a reflective mapping of your professional and academic experience to date.

More information

DA7016 -

Design Project 4 - Realisation (50 Credits)

This module is the realisation of the design thesis project, which will engage you as an independent learner in the development of a complex and integrated design proposal, based on the inquiry undertaken in dp3. During this phase of the year-long thesis project you will engage in a rigorous design process, developing your concept (established in dp3) into a coherent and complex design solution. With support from your design tutors you will utilise the skills and knowledge learnt during your education to date, and you will be expected to engage with an increased level of complexity and criticality that involves, amongst other exploration: an engagement with context (physical, poetic, theoretical); research into precedents and building typologies (spatial, and organisational); development of building programme, building form, spatial sophistication, materiality and appropriate detail, working together in an integrated and holistic way; consideration of regulatory and legal constraints; technological choices and comparisons and coherently communicated through verbal, written and graphical (both 2 and 3D formats)- all commensurate with level 7 scholarship.

More information

DA7017 -

Graduate Apprenticeship Architecture: End Point Assessment (Core,30 Credits)

You will consolidate all learning at Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 into this final assessment, through the vehicle of a practice-based activity that has been agreed with your employer and tutor. This real-life activity should demonstrate your capacity to act as an autonomous architectural practitioner, identifying a problem to be resolved, gathering data and guidance from codes, regulations and consultants, critically evaluating issues of cost, time and quality, and demonstrating how you have resolved this design problem systematically. You will also critically evaluate your career to date, reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses as a student about to enter the profession as a chartered architect.

More information

Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

DA6070 -

Authentic Design Inquiry (60 Credits)

You will engage with authentic real life architectural projects for a variety of stakeholders, including: charities, public bodies, quangos and commercial clients (although the latter depends on the ethical validity of the project). You will not only explore the discipline as a practical and theoretical subject, but be exposed to the social function of architecture, and in some case the financial constraints that architects have to operate within. Creativity in this module is expressed as a social phenomenon as well as an artistic one. You will also develop your skills in being able to: critically appraise and develop design briefs; make assessments of and respond to, the project’s contingencies and complexities; to communicate your work to an audience other than your peers and your tutor; and develop design strategies that result in sophisticated and appropriate design solutions that embrace the full criteria of a real live architectural project.

This module will be supported by relevant and timely workshops and tutorials, and regular reviews, also including members of the client group that we are working with.
Verbal feedback is provided via tutorials, through verbal, written and drawn formats throughout the semester. This ongoing guidance will provide you with opportunities for reflection and independent learning.

More information

DA6071 -

Architectural Research Methods (30 Credits)

Lectures will discuss research principles and concepts; academic theory and skills will be contextualised to an architectural idiom through case study examples of recent and current research projects.
Working in research seminar groups, will help frame the subject of your own, self-selected research proposal. You will identify the key researchers and seminal research, current ‘state of the art’, and any ‘gap in the knowledge’ in your chosen field or subject; and produce your research project’s methodology which you will then undertake in year 2.

More information

DA7014 -

Design Project 3: Analysis and Proposal (40 Credits)

You will improve your skills and creativity in design; the ability critically to appraise, understand the nature of, and develop design briefs; to analyse and make an assessment of the complexities of the project’s context; and propose and justify a design strategy. You will learn to engage with critical reflection on the cultural and social context of your area of study. Through independent and supported inquiry you will develop the design proposal up to sketch scheme (equivalent of RIBA Workstage 2) in response to your exploration. This learning will be evidenced in a portfolio that demonstrates your theoretical position, programme context, brief development and the early stages of your design proposal.
This module will be supported by workshops and tutorials, and regular reviews, where you are expected to be critical engaged in the process.
Verbal, written and drawn feedback is provided formatively at tutorials and strategic reviews throughout the semester, to provide ongoing guidance and to establish opportunities for reflection and independent learning. Summative assessment will be provided at the end of the semester providing guidance to be taken into DP4.

More information

DA7015 -

Student Selected Investigation (30 Credits)

You will learn skills that enable independent learning through research and advanced scholarship, applied to the discipline of architecture. More specifically you will acquire the knowledge and skills to identify an area of research interest and to be able to use appropriate methodologies to collect data addressing the research imperative. You will learn how to employ analytical skills to systematically evaluate data and to draw conclusions from this data and ultimately be able to communicate the findings through appropriate means.

More information

DA6072 -

Work Based Practice Management and Law (30 Credits)

You will learn about the procurement and administration of construction projects; contractual, legal and statutory frameworks; the Architect’s professional duties and responsibilities; contractual, managerial and financial aspects of construction project procurement; the wider arena of personnel involved in the construction industry; and the principles of running both professional practices and architectural projects. Additionally, the ethics of architectural practice will be explored, with particular emphasis on health and safety, well-being of building users, and the impact of construction methods and processes upon the natural environment and global resources. Learning will be predicated upon your critical consideration of the relevant professional body criteria and graduate attributes, through a reflective mapping of your professional and academic experience to date.

More information

DA7016 -

Design Project 4 - Realisation (50 Credits)

This module is the realisation of the design thesis project, which will engage you as an independent learner in the development of a complex and integrated design proposal, based on the inquiry undertaken in dp3. During this phase of the year-long thesis project you will engage in a rigorous design process, developing your concept (established in dp3) into a coherent and complex design solution. With support from your design tutors you will utilise the skills and knowledge learnt during your education to date, and you will be expected to engage with an increased level of complexity and criticality that involves, amongst other exploration: an engagement with context (physical, poetic, theoretical); research into precedents and building typologies (spatial, and organisational); development of building programme, building form, spatial sophistication, materiality and appropriate detail, working together in an integrated and holistic way; consideration of regulatory and legal constraints; technological choices and comparisons and coherently communicated through verbal, written and graphical (both 2 and 3D formats)- all commensurate with level 7 scholarship.

More information

DA7017 -

Graduate Apprenticeship Architecture: End Point Assessment (Core,30 Credits)

You will consolidate all learning at Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 into this final assessment, through the vehicle of a practice-based activity that has been agreed with your employer and tutor. This real-life activity should demonstrate your capacity to act as an autonomous architectural practitioner, identifying a problem to be resolved, gathering data and guidance from codes, regulations and consultants, critically evaluating issues of cost, time and quality, and demonstrating how you have resolved this design problem systematically. You will also critically evaluate your career to date, reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses as a student about to enter the profession as a chartered architect.

More information

Any Questions?

Our Applicant Services team will be happy to help.  They can be contacted on 0191 406 0901 or by using our Contact Form.

 

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

Accessibility and Student Inclusion

Northumbria University is committed to developing an inclusive, diverse and accessible campus and wider University community and are determined to ensure that opportunities we provide are open to all.

We are proud to work in partnership with AccessAble to provide Detailed Access Guides to our buildings and facilities across our City, Coach Lane and London Campuses. A Detailed Access Guide lets you know what access will be like when you visit somewhere. It looks at the route you will use getting in and what is available inside. All guides have Accessibility Symbols that give you a quick overview of what is available, and photographs to show you what to expect. The guides are produced by trained surveyors who visit our campuses annually to ensure you have trusted and accurate information.

You can use Northumbria’s AccessAble Guides anytime to check the accessibility of a building or facility and to plan your routes and journeys. Search by location, building or accessibility feature to find the information you need. 

We are dedicated to helping students who may require additional support during their student journey and offer 1-1 advice and guidance appropriate to individual requirements. If you feel you may need additional support you can find out more about what we offer here where you can also contact us with any questions you may have:

Accessibility support

Student Inclusion support

If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.

* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here

Higher and Degree Apprenticeships
+

Higher and Degree Apprenticeships

At Northumbria University, our higher and degree apprenticeships are more than a learning programme; they are a partnership. We work with organisations to create courses that meet the demands of businesses.

 

CPD
+

CPD and Short Courses

Our Continual Professional Development (CPD) courses are designed to open up exciting new possibilities for individuals and organisations. By increasing skills and knowledge and introducing new ways of thinking and working we create impact in performance at all levels.

Is your business ready to take on tomorrow?
+

#TakeonTomorrow

The world is changing faster than ever before. The future is there to be won by organisations who find ways to turn today’s possibilities into tomorrow’s competitive edge.

Back to top