Course details
At Homerton
We have been welcoming Architecture students since 2020 and are the home of the University's graduate Architecture apprentices. The Department of Architecture is located at the southern end of the town centre, only a short distance away from the College. As an Architecture student at Homerton, you will be able to apply for support from the College for material, equipment and research expenses. The College has also recently completed a spectacular new dining hall, designed by Fielden Fowles, following a major competition.
You will be taught by a wide range of academic experts in architectural history, theory, construction, structures and environmental, as well as Design Fellows who are practicing architects. The Director of Studies at Homerton, Dr Philip Graham, is a practicing architect in London and postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge, specialising in socially, environmentally and economically sustainable housing design.
The Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge is one of the best-known university schools in the world in its field. You'll find it a stimulating environment where you can mix with world-class researchers from across all the aspects of architecture, and you will be taught by Architecture Design Fellows. The department is located in a small, welcoming building with a garden and has access to growing workshop spaces and a wonderful specialist library.
From 2026 entry onwards
Following a review by the Architect's Registration Board (ARB), the route to becoming an accredited architect is changing.
Until now, the journey to becoming an architect has been a 3-stage process, taking a minimum of 7 years:
- 3-year BA (Hons) in Architecture
- 2-year Master of Architecture (MArch), applied for separately
- At least one year of professional practice before taking final professional examinations
The ARB have decided to simplify this process and are introducing a 2-stage system. Our 4-year integrated master's (MArch) is designed to meet the ARB's updated requirements for becoming a registered architect. The new system shortens this journey to 6 years:
- 4-year integrated master's degree (MArch) to meet the ARB's academic outcomes
- 2 or more years in professional practice to meet the ARB's practice outcomes
After 3 years on the MArch course, you will have the option to leave with a BA (Hons) or progress to the 4th year and complete your integrated master's. You won't need to apply for a separate postgraduate course. Undergraduate student finance will cover the full 4 years of the course.
You can find out more about these changes on the ARB website.
Homerton offers diverse internal events and field trips around the interdisciplinary theme of the 'design sciences' or, the study of what could be - whether architectural, design, economics or policy. For more recent examples of internal events and field trips, you can consult Designing through dialogue, Listen first. Design later., “Architecture is a social act”.
By crossing fields and widening the debate, Homerton is particularly interested in applicants wishing to engage with 21st century challenges linked to the built environment. We are therefore keen to hear from students with 'range' in the subjects they are studying and their portfolio. This might include, for example, subjects such as economics, history, biology or geography as well as the more typically seen art, maths or physics, alongside an art and/or design portfolio that may come from the student's own initiative rather than material from an assessed course. Evidence of regular sketching, thinking through drawing, observed hand drawing and ability in various media, materials and scale, is common to most if not all our offer holders. At interview, applicants should expect to be challenged on issues from wellbeing and climate change to affordability, supply chains, biodiversity, behaviour and policy.
In order to explore Architecture in more detail we would recommend the introductory reading for prospective applicants and offer holders listed here.
You can also explore your chosen subject through the Homerton Resources page.
We take the view that various combinations of subjects make a good Architecture student; most students take a mix of Arts and Sciences, but there are no set subjects that we look for from Architecture applications.
Admissions assessment: There is a College admissions assessment for Architecture. More details are available on this page.
Written Work: All Colleges will ask Architecture applicants to submit a PDF (6 A4 pages, and less than 15MB in size) of their own artwork prior to interview. The selection of images should, in part, reflect material an applicant might show at interview as part of their portfolio, if interviewed.
Further information about the written work and portfolio requirements is available here (under the entry requirements tab). You can also see examples of portfolios on the ArcSoc website here. This work isn’t expected to consist of architectural drawings (e.g. plans, sections etc). We want to see something that illustrates an applicant’s interests, experience and ability in the visual and material arts. This may include drawings, paintings, sculpture and/or photography. It's usually sufficient for three-dimensional work to be exhibited in photographs. A sketchbook with ongoing drawings is extremely helpful and applicants are encouraged to have this to hand so that they can hold this up to the camera in the interview. The sketchbook can be in any media (pencil, charcoal, crayon etc) and should include a variety of subject matter. The work can be material prepared for school-leaving examinations but creative work executed outside formal courses is also welcome.
The University of Cambridge BA in Architecture is the first step towards the MArch degree and thereafter a career in professional practice. However, the course can also lead to a wide range of other careers in the built environment and beyond, where values-led design thinking is similarly valued.
At Homerton, we help to open some of these different pathways by introducing our students to leaders from all parts of the industry. To do this, our many talks, visits, workshop and events are combined with students from the Design course and many include students from Land Economy. This overlapping of courses and students helps to establish the idea that design value is simultaneously economic, social and environmental.
