University College London (UCL)

Architecture and Historic Urban Environments MA

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops, fieldwork visits, and individual and group tutorials.

Assessment is through project reviews, project portfolios, coursework essays, individual and group presentations, and a Final Project.

In Term 1, full-time students can typically expect between 15 and 19 contact hours per teaching week through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials. In Term 2, students can typically study between 9 and 12 contact hours per teaching week, as with Term 1, they will be a mixture of lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials. In Term 3, students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping in regular contact with their dissertation supervisor.

Outside of lectures, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

Modules

Full-time
The programme consists of four compulsory modules (90 credits), one optional module (30 credits) and the Final Project (60 credits).

Part-time
Part-time students must complete 180 credits over two years. Students should select half taught modules in year one and half in year two plus the major research module.

Flexible

Modular/flexible students can choose any modules per year as long as they complete 180 credits within 5 years. Students will select all taught modules first and take the Final Project module in their last year of study.

If studying as a modular flexible student, it is recommended that modular/flexible students:

1. Start with BARC0065 Surveying and Recording Cities
2. Complete both design modules in the same year (BARC0064 and BARC0033)
3. End with Final Project (BARC0068). BARC0063 and the option module(s) are more flexible and can be taken when suits the student’s circumstances.

Compulsory modules

• Design Practice for Historic Environments
• Design Research Methods for Historic Environments
• Final Project
• Issues in Historic Urban Environments
• Surveying and Recording of Cities

Optional modules

• Architecture in Britain since the 17th Century
• E-Merging Analysis and Design Project
• Histories of Global London, 1900 to the Present (I)
• Histories of Global London, 1900 to the Present (II)
• History and Theory of Digital Design
• Materialist Ecological Architectures
• Multiple Modernities Architecture
• Practices of Criticism
• Sustainable Strategies
• The Representation of Cities
• Theorising Practices: Architecture, Art and Urbanism

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Architecture and Historic Urban Environments.

Fieldwork

Students have the opportunity to join an annual field trip, subsidised by the school to an urban area of historic architectural interest. The field trip is designed to give students an intellectually and professionally rich experience and is planned around the deep professional connections that members of staff have with the host country/city. Previous field trips have been to the modernist UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Asmara, Eritrea and Tel Aviv, Israel, and Kaunas, Lithuania, which was European Capital of Culture in 2022.

What this course will give you

The Bartlett School of Architecture helps students to prepare for successful careers in a range of fields. We aim to be an exciting and innovative place to study architecture, located in the heart of London with global perspectives. Our students have the opportunity to develop their creativity, curiosity and dynamism, and learn the skills they need to build a better future for people and the planet. Our school is consistently ranked highly in UK and global league tables, and our staff are at the forefront of international research and teaching with award-winning buildings all over the globe.

The Bartlett is one of the UK's largest multidisciplinary faculties of the Built Environment. Our work is all about human spaces. That means physical structures like homes, buildings and cities, but also the invisible structures that govern these things: political and legal systems; financial frameworks and social norms; even our understanding of the past, present and future. Combining design, history, theory, digital representations and models across all of these areas, we understand the structures shaping society today – and we work to make them fairer and more prosperous.

For the second year in a row, The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment was ranked #1 in the world for ‘Architecture and Built Environment’ in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2024, and #1 in the UK for Architecture in The Guardian University Guide 2025. The Bartlett School of Architecture is part of UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, where 91% of research has been deemed ‘World Leading’ and ‘Internationally Excellent’ in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). The Bartlett is also ranked #1 for Research Power in the built environment.

The Architecture and Historic Urban Environments MA pioneers a new and critical approach to achieving a more sustainable future by focusing on the historical conditions and inherent inequities in the built environment that have contributed to our current planetary crises. These are interrogated through three key themes of racial, spatial and environmental justice. The programme includes modules that investigate numerous thematic approaches, research methods and international case studies, giving students the opportunity to carry out design research in cities within and outside the UK. Additionally, Architecture and Historic Urban Environments students benefit from:

• An opportunity to exhibit work to local and global audiences.
• A field trip each year to a non-UK city provides students with the knowledge of, and links to, those who are working at the forefront of change aimed at sustainable planetary futures.
• An international alumni network with expertise across disciplines and global contexts.
• The possibility of working in the UK for 2 years post-graduation under the Graduate Visa scheme.

The foundation of your career

The MA equips graduates with the advanced knowledge and skills required to operate across the areas of urban research, design, management, implementation, policy and advocacy, combining subject expertise with design creativity, and linking theory, history and practice. Graduates typically pursue careers in professional practices associated with the built environment, as well as policymaking or heritage management, and academia.

93.3% of Bartlett School of Architecture graduates were in work or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2017-21).

Top industry sectors for Bartlett School of Architecture graduates in work are construction, built environment and property (68% of graduates); performance and creative arts (7%); academic research and higher education (6%) and technology (6%).

Bartlett School of Architecture graduates are working in 52 countries around the world.

Employability
Graduates of this programme often go on to assume leading roles in varied disciplines engaged with historic and contemporary urban environments at all scales. The programme is ideally suited for graduates seeking to widen their professional practice, enhance career prospects, or embark on new career trajectories in the built environment through design, public policy or advocacy. With experience of different cities and urban conditions in a global context, graduates are highly skilled in working flexibly, collaboratively and resourcefully in different cultural, geographic and professional environments, either in the public or private sector.

Networking
The Bartlett School of Architecture hosts numerous events throughout the year that feature industry guests and networking opportunities. These include lecture series, seminars, conferences, symposiums, book launches, and show launch events. The school also hosts a Future Practice event each year that links students with employers.

Additionally, there are a broad range of university-wide career events to help current students and recent graduates develop their employability skills, explore different sectors, increase commercial awareness, build professional networks and more.