MPhil Architecture: The University of Manchester

Course description

The Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) was established in 1996 as the result of an innovative collaboration between the University of Manchester and the Manchester Metropolitan University - creating one of the largest architectural schools in the UK, offering considerable resources and expertise in teaching and research.

This research is carried out mainly within the recently-established Manchester Architectural Research Centre (MARC). The centre draws upon a wide range of interdisciplinary research and teaching interests within the School of Environment and Development, the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Manchester and the Faculty of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Both their postgraduate research and postgraduate taught programmes draw inspiration from their research activity and students are encouraged to actively take part in the research culture of the school. Research students have their own facilities located at the heart of the School and are centrally involved in all scholarly activities. Staff expertise is informed by the different colleges in operation, which include issues such as Bioclimatic Architecture; Continuity in Architecture; Landscape and Urbanism and Materiality and their research tends to fall within these areas.

Research entails a degree of maturity and self-determination and direction over and above that needed for postgraduate taught courses.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview:

• Applicants are expected to have a First or Upper Second Class degree (or its international equivalent).
• Applicants for direct entry to the PhD are expected to have relevant postgraduate experience (generally a masters degree).

English language: Students whose first language (or language of instruction for at least 1 year) is not English require an IELTS score of 7.0 or a TOEFL score of 600 (paper-based) or 250 (computer-based).

Unit grade information: The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit grade information which, like all other available information, will inform the consideration of applications. Unit grades will not normally form part of offer conditions, except for Mathematics programmes.

Key Skills qualification: The University warmly welcomes applications from students studying the Key Skills qualification. However, as the opportunities to take these modules are not open to all applicants, currently this is not an essential requirement of the University.