Course overview
Studying Architecture offers you the opportunity to pursue a career in an exciting, creative and fast-paced industry which hugely influences the world around us.
On this course you’ll discover how to bring your visions and designs to life, with successful graduates progressing into rewarding careers which have the potential to improve and enhance the lives of countless people. With the knowledge gained as part of this degree, can witness your work turn into tangible creations that serve the communities around you.
You will learn about the history of architecture and design, alongside completing technical, practical and professional exercises relating to ethical architecture in the commercial world. You’ll have opportunities to undertake design projects in a range of spatial, social and topographical settings, from the smallest of residences and objects through to complex megacities and events. Graduates pursue successful careers in non-professional pathways using their skills in creative design, strategic thinking, leadership and organisation.
Key features
Be part of a community that’s working together to change the construction industry from within, so that we can be the changemakers the world needs to address the global climate emergency.
The programme has been designed with reference to the RIBA and ARB criteria. The curriculum provides students with the analytical and practical skills and knowledge required to attain the RIBA Part 1 level (the first step towards formal chartership as an architect). However, DMU’s BA Architecture in Dubai does not yet offer Part 1 Exemption because it is working towards Validation by the RIBA. This application to RIBA will take place in the fourth year after the first cohort has completed their degree - in order for the RIBA to then consider awarding retrospective approval to the course and its students’ degrees (which is the usual process for new programmes).
Please note: This Dubai Campus BSc Architecture course has the same curriculum and studio culture as DMU’s UK Architecture course - which is accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB). ARB do not accredit courses outside the UK. Applicants should therefore have confidence that the degree will prepare them for the RIBA Part 1 level – and their future career.
DMU UK’s Leicester School of Architecture (LSA) has a 125-year history of nurturing the next generation of architects with a future-facing curriculum that focuses on the ‘craft of making’.Create work with real impact in the community by working on live design projects in the city and the region.
Architecture at DMU UK is in the top 15 for ‘Graduate Prospects’ in the UK, according to The Complete University Guide 2022. Graduates have gone on to work for some of the best architectural practices in the UK and worldwide, including Heatherwick Studio, Make Architects and Shigeru Ban Architects.
| GCE A-Level | CCD |
CBSE/ ICSE/ All Indian Boards
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| American High School Diploma + SAT | High School Diploma with a minimum GPA of 3.0 PLUS Advanced Placement, two subjects from group A with grade 3 or above ORSAT2 - 2 subject tests with a minimum score of 500 in each = 1000 |
| UAE Tawjihiyya | Entry to IYZ only |
| International Baccalaureate Diploma | 24 points |
| BTEC Level 3 Ext Diploma | DMM |
| African WAEC/ NECO/ WASSCE | 5 "B" grades (Only for Business Programme)
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| FBISE grade 12 (Pakistan) | 85% |
| Curriculum Russian/Kazakhstan | Entry to IYZ only. |
| English Language Test | Entry Requirement |
| IELTS Academic | 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band) |
| TOEFL Internet-based | 72 (17 in listening & writing, 20 in speaking and 18 in reading) |
| Pearson PTE Academic | 51 |
Additionally, students with the following qualifications may be considered as having met the English language requirements:
| English Language | Entry Requirement |
| GCSE/ IGCSE/O-Level English (as a first or second language) | Grade C or Higher |
| CBSE/ ISC boards/ NIOS/ All state boards | A minimum grade of 55% in English |
| International Baccalaureate | Minimum grade 5 in English A1 (Standard or Higher Level) in IB OR a minimum of grade 5 in English B (Higher Level) |
| West African/Nigerian Curriculum WAEC/ WASSCE/ SSSCE | Minimum grade "C6" |
Course modules
- Studio 1
- Studio 2
- Architectural Communication 1
- Building Performance and Technology 1
- Architectural History and Philosophy
- Studio 3
- Studio 4
- Architectural Communication 2
- Building Performance and Technology 2
- Building Performance and Technology 3
- Architectural Theories
- Urban Studies
- Studio 5
- Dissertation: Cultural and Contextual Studies
- Technology and Environmental Studies
- Practice, Profession and Ethics
Teaching and assessments
BSc Architecture at DMU Dubai emphasises learning through modelling and making, both manually and digitally, making it an important feature of the course. We encourage and support you to become a productive student by focusing on the design studio as your key learning environment.
In the design studio you will:
- Work and collaborate with peers and tutors in drawing, digital drawing and fabrication, model making, discussion and debate
- Meet regularly with design tutors for small group learning, individual advice and guidance, assessment and feedback
- Engage in instructional/guidance lectures and workshops to develop key manual and digital techniques
- Have design work reviewed by guest architects and critics.
- A programme of lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops support your learning in the four key strands of the curriculum:
- Architectural design – project-based learning and assessment
- Architectural communication – project-based learning and assessment around key skill sets including CAD, BIM, digital modelling and fabrication
- Technology and environment – project-based learning and assessment combined with testing your knowledge of key principles
- History and theories of architecture – assessment based on online tests and short written assignments, culminating in a written dissertation, or equivalent, in the final year
- In the final year there is an additional focus on:
- Professional practice and ethics – project-based learning and assessment
Teaching contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) Your precise timetable will depend on the optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 20 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 21 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.
Meet your programme leader
