Looking for a way of continuing your professional education in architecture? Our Master of Studies in Architecture offers a flexible, part-time route towards qualifying. The course is based on sustainable technologies but also allows students who are committed to traditional architecture and urban design to join a specialist stream on this 3-year, part-time postgraduate programme and provides a rigorous and immersive route into the profession while accommodating the needs of those already working in practice. Join us for:
- in-person learning in Cambridge: 3 residential fortnights a year
- world-class teaching from some of architecture's leading experts
- personal supervision in sustainable or traditional design
You'll gain advanced architectural knowledge in areas from research methods to advanced computer modelling, façade design to urban design. You'll focus on the practical as well as the theoretical. And you'll learn as part of a supportive cohort, collaborating in small groups as well as working individually.
This programme replaces the Part 2 qualification in architecture. When you graduate, you’ll have met the new Academic Outcomes set by the Architects Registration Board (ARB). If you’ve worked in practice throughout, you can then take the separate Practice Outcomes assessment and register as an architect in the UK.
This is the first year we’re running our Master’s in architecture as a standard degree instead of an apprenticeship. Now more architecture students can progress, without limited eligibility.
Ready to build your future as an architect? We look forward to your application.
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Key course information
The MSt in Architecture is a part-time, 3-year course that enables future architects to study while balancing work and life. You’ll join us in Cambridge for 3 residential fortnights a year, working individually or in small groups to meet the ARB’s new Academic Outcomes. Between teaching, you'll complete and enhance your crit presentations and individualise group projects.
The University of Cambridge and The King’s Foundation have joined forces to offer this unique Master’s course in Architecture that is part of the route to ARB professional accreditation.
Who is the course designed for?
This course is for anyone with a first degree in architecture or a related field. It supports the progression of students currently working in a practice. It's also suitable for other professionals with experience in architecture who want to progress towards qualification alongside work and life.
Aims of the programme
The aims of the programme are the achievement of the ARB’s new Academic Outcomes. Graduates who have been working in practice can then take the separate Practice Outcomes assessment.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for the course are the ARB’s Academic Outcomes, which cover all the theoretical, research and design aspects of professional practice from architectural history, environmental and structural design, and management, practice and law. These fall into 5 main categories:
- contextual and architectural knowledge
- design
- research and evaluation
- management, practice and leadership
- professionalism and ethics
Skills and other attributes
By the end of the course, students should also have acquired or consolidated the following Themes and Values defined by the Royal Institute of British Architects:
- demonstrating authoritative knowledge of statutory frameworks to safeguard the community and end user
- acquiring professional and communication skills to ensure projects are delivered with integrity and accountability within global, national, and professional climate targets
- demonstrating climate literacy, responsible specification, and ethical sourcing to enhance wellbeing, minimise embodied carbon, waste, and pollution, and reduce demands on energy and water
- critically analysing and researching narratives and cultural, environmental, and social values in architecture to understand and extend architectural pedagogy
- critically evaluating authentic aesthetic, compositional, and spatial principles to synthesise socially, ecologically, and environmentally sustainable integrated studio projects
- developing capability in business skills relevant to working in practice and practice management
We welcome applications from students with a variety of backgrounds and professional experiences. As part of our admissions process, you’ll need to meet certain requirements and make sure you’re able to attend teaching sessions in the UK.
Standard entry requirements
Typically, we expect a good undergraduate degree in architecture, such as a 2.1 from an ARB-prescribed Part 1 course in the UK or its international equivalent. It's also possible to apply with a degree in a related subject if you can demonstrate a proven aptitude for Architecture.
If your degree is not from the UK, check international qualifications on the University’s postgraduate site to find the equivalent in your country.
Non-standard applications
If you do not meet the standard entry requirements, we still encourage you to apply. You’ll need to show you have relevant, professional experience that makes you a strong candidate, and/or have completed higher-level study. Please include this information when you apply.
English language requirements
Our courses are taught in English and require a good level of fluency. If English is not your first language, you'll need to prove you have sufficient fluency before admission. If we offer you a place, it will be subject to you meeting this requirement. For more information, visit Postgraduate and Master's admissions and the University’s English language requirements.
Visa information
We welcome applications from international students. If you’re coming from overseas, you would attend the in-person teaching sessions for this course with visitor immigration permission.
It's important to be aware that entering the UK as a visitor for study purposes comes with certain expectations and restrictions. To make sure you understand the requirements, we advise you to read the in-depth information on the University’s International Students website.
Residential dates
This course has 3 residential teaching sessions that are held in Cambridge each year. Attendance at these sessions is a crucial part of engaging with the course.
Below are the expected teaching dates. If they change, we'll update offer-holders in line with the University's Terms of Admission.
Year 1
Residential 1: 7 to 18 September 2026
Research Methods
This is a fortnight-long series of talks by University staff and guest lecturers. You will hear how professional research is carried out by experts in architectural history, construction, professional practice, historic buildings, transport and infrastructure, planning and material science. Assessment is by essay.
Residential 2: 7 to 18 December 2026
Working in Teams
This module has 2 aims. One is to provide a formal introduction to working as a member of a group. The other is to analyse precedents and prepare a brief for a large urban site. Assessment is by a group presentation and crit.
Residential 3: 5 to 16 April 2027
Advanced Computer Modelling
This module is led by members of the departmental Centre for Natural Material Innovation and generally consists of the design of a small structure from natural materials for a site affected by climate change. This is the first of the 3 modules that addresses working with embodied carbon. Assessment is by a group presentation and crit.
Year 2
Residential 4: 6 to 17 September 2027
Façade Design
This module is based on the recladding to contemporary environmental and structural standards of a redundant or inefficient existing structure, usually a steel or concrete building from the 1960s to 1980s. It thus addresses a real contemporary challenge. It is the second of the 3 modules that addresses working with embodied carbon. Assessment is by a group presentation and crit.
Residential 5: 6 to 17 December 2027
Urban Design
This module teaches students to research in detail the site and planning history of an area designated for housing and ends with a group design. Assessment is by a group presentation and crit.
Residential 6: 20 to 31 March 2028
Sustainable Building
This is the third of the modules to address embodied carbon in buildings and is based on adapting and extending an existing building to a much enlarged brief. It covers in detail most building safety and environmental aspects of complex, large scale contemporary practice. Assessment is by a group presentation and crit.
Year 3
Residentials 7 and 8: 4 to 15 September 2028, and 4 to 15 December 2028
Individual Design Project
The Individual Design Project takes place over several sessions, with the final part taking place in session 9 (below). It provides students with an opportunity to design a complex building of their own choosing to a very general brief such as for a public building.
Residential 9: 19 to 29 March 2029
Individual Design Project
The final part of the Individual Design Project from sessions 8 and 9 (above) takes place in the first part of session 9. Assessment is by crit.
Management, Practice and Law
This module consists of a series of lectures and other teaching events which prepare students for the professional practice examinations required by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the regulator. Assessment is by examination.
Sustainable and traditional ‘streams’
For supervisions, you’re able to choose a ‘stream’ to specialise in: sustainable or traditional design.
Feedback
You’ll be given formal feedback on your assignments and informal feedback throughout the course, including during supervisions.
Fees
The total fees for this course are shown above in 'Course details'.
To understand which fee status applies to you, whether as a home or overseas student, visit the University’s fee status page.
To help you manage your finances more comfortably, you can pay the fee in instalments. See how to pay for more.
There are also some additional costs you’ll need to cover as part of this course. These are usually:
- an application fee of £85, unless you're eligible for a fee waiver, payable online
- any travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for the residential teaching sessions held in Cambridge
Funding
We're dedicated to reducing and removing financial barriers to learning. Visit financial support ahead of the application deadline to find out what options may be available to help you in your studies. You can explore external funding and stay up to date on our concessions and bursaries.
Considering applying? We look forward to receiving your application. We consider applications on a 'gathered field' basis, reviewing them all together after the application deadline.
Key timings for your application
- The application deadline is 28 May 2026.
- We’ll hold interviews for shortlisted candidates in June 2026.
- If you're shortlisted, we'll contact you in the weeks before interviews to arrange a time and format for yours.
How to apply and what you'll need
The ‘Apply now’ button will take you to the Applicant Portal. There, you can:
- create, save, and submit your application
- upload your supporting documents
- submit and manage your references
- pay your application fee
- track your application
Supporting documents
When you submit your application, you’ll need to provide supporting information.
Personal statement
Please include a personal statement telling us, in no more than 500 words, why you want to study the course, including:
- what interests you about the course content and approach
- how you see it as building on your previous studies
- where it fits into your career path in architecture
- how you are suited to it
Qualifications and transcripts
Upload details of degree-level courses you have completed or are studying. We will also ask you for details of your Professional Experience Development Record (PEDR) or other record of your work in practice.
References
Submit contact details for 2 referees, who we will contact on your behalf. A good combination would be one referee who knows you from your studies and a second one who knows your work in practice.
For more information on applying and admissions, see Postgraduate and Master's admissions.
As an MSt student, you'll become a member of a Cambridge College. For the MSt in Architecture, we partner with Homerton and Gonville & Caius.
To find out more about College membership, watch the ‘Meet the Colleges’ recording from our Master’s Open Week 2024.
If you have a pre-existing membership at a Cambridge College other than Homerton or Gonville & Caius, you can ask them to consider you as a member for this course. However, we cannot arrange this for you. If you do not have a pre-existing College membership, you can only become a member of Homerton or Gonville & Caius.
We're committed to supporting you in your learning journey, and we offer a variety of support opportunities to meet individual needs. Visit student support to find out more about how we can help.
