Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Master of Architecture (MSc)
- Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Tilburg, Netherlands
MSc
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,601 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* statutory tuition fees Full-time| statutory tuition fees Part-time- € 2.395 | institutional tuition fee: € 8.570
Key Summary
About: Learn to combine design intelligence with reflective practice in Fontys Academy of the Arts’ competence-based Master of Architecture (MSc). The curriculum targets seven competencies: design, research, collaboration, communication, entrepreneurial skills, organization and professional practice. You’ll work with industry stakeholders, combine study and employment, and use the studio as a design laboratory. The intensive 40-week schedule includes one day/week in the design studio, ~10 hours self-study and ~20 hours practical work plus weekly theory classes; graduates can register in the Dutch Architecture Register.
Career Outcomes: Graduates work as architects, urban designers, project architects, BIM managers, researchers, design entrepreneurs, and consultants.
Learn how to effectively combine design intelligence with a reflective attitude and practical skills. The competence-based curriculum is geared towards mastering seven crucial competencies: design, research, collaboration, communication, entrepreneurial skills, organization, and professional practice. You’ll gain experience and education beyond the school curriculum by combining your study with employment in a professional environment. Additionally, the academy itself is a laboratory for spatial assignments from real stakeholders, and the studio is the perfect place to apply new skills and methods to create design proposals for complex spatial problems.
Why this study in the Netherlands?
- You’ll be part of Fontys Academy of the Arts, a creative learning community
- Our tutors are professionals from a variety of disciplines with a strong relation to practice
- You’ll engage in an intensive programme in a small community together with fellow Architecture and Urbanism students
- The programme has a vertical structure that synergises working and studying at the same time, encouraging you to become an independent and critical thinker in approaching real-world and future challenges
- Our international environment gives you a broad view of real-world problems and hands-on solutions to tackle these challenges
- After graduation, you’ll be eligible to register immediately in the Dutch Architecture Register and start working as an (independent) architect
What does your week look like
The course is carried out in a 40-week intensive program. You’ll work in the Design studio at Fontys in Tilburg one day per week. Alongside this, self-study comprises 10 hours and practical work 20 hours per week. You’ll follow theory classes once a week.
Year 1
We welcome graduated students from a range of different schools, disciplines, and cultural and professional backgrounds. The first year is fully dedicated to developing a designer attitude towards the world around us. The Core studio programme is supported by a range of skill-based training and a theoretical foundation on architecture and urban design, economy, sustainable design, and art history. Your learning outcomes will be assessed based on a portfolio.
Years 2 and 3
During the second and third years, you’ll follow a total of 8 studio projects, workshops, and a large number of advanced skill-based training. You’ll also engage in research and an in-depth theory programme. The studio assessments will confront students with a variety of different assignments, methodologies, and levels of complexity. Five parameters are used to differentiate between the studio projects: Programme, Product, Meaning, Context, and Geometry. Students will work on a range of different scales (1:1 to 1:10.000). Every second semester, students will organise an international study trip to visit projects abroad.
Year 4
The graduation studio project takes up one full year through two possible formats: individual and/or team driven. Every student, either in the architecture or urbanism course, will follow the same process-based planning. The process will be supported by both personal and external tutors and project presentations with reviews at the academy. Research and analysis take three months, during which the chosen issues of the self-defined assignment will be addressed. You will attend several lectures by professionals to find inspiration throughout the process. All research, strategies, experiments, and design work during the year will be interrelated and are aimed at tackling urgent societal issues for future generations.
What will you be learning
Project-based learning lies at the core of the study program. Your assignments will tackle a particular challenge or issue that you’ll work on individually or in teams. The studio work will be combined with various theoretical courses to provide a strong foundation.
The philosophy of the academy is based on study combined with working in an architect’s firm. This concurrent, practical structure offers you experience and education beyond the school curriculum, which is essential to your growth as a professional architect. In addition, it allows you to unleash the pioneer within by learning about the importance of design for current and upcoming issues.
Students with a nationality of any EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the UK can use the study financing options offered by the Dutch government. Read more about it on duo.nl.
Students with a non-EEA nationality applying to this programme may be eligible for a partial scholarship for their first study year via the NL Scholarship. Read more about it on NL scholarship | Fontys.
Graduates from this programme will be able to take an integrated, design-led approach in tackling complex issues of their environment in a national and/or international context. This gives them a variety of career prospects in architecture and other related fields.