The Department of Architecture at the University of Pretoria encompasses landscape architecture and emphasises a research-led approach to design.
Following an ecosystemic approach, the Department’s three programmes and its research focus areas are mutually supportive and are often integrated into transdisciplinary research projects with partners in industry, government and local communities. The Department’s research foci are built around the objective of creating resource-efficient, resilient and regenerative built environments, which respect both the landscape and the cultural context, improving ecological integrity, while contributing to a sense of meaningful place and social-ecological wellbeing within rapidly changing local and global contexts.
We offer a unique interdisciplinary environment in which to study towards professional registration in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, as well as research degrees in all three spatial design disciplines: Architecture, Interior Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
The BSc Architecture degree provides students with the opportunity to explore different scales of spatial design, to prepare them for possible specialisation at the postgraduate level. Our curriculum, which introduces ecologically responsible and inclusive design principles, community co-design projects, circular construction and digital communication skills as themes running through all three years, ensures our students are ready for the world of work in the 21st century and its unique challenges.
Professional postgraduate honours and master’s degrees lead students towards registration as Senior Technologists/Designers or Professional Architects, or Landscape Architects. Our honours year offers students a number of interdisciplinary design studio electives working with partners in the private, public or non-profit sector, while the master's year is an individual investigation of a research project, culminating in a design project.
The Department also offer postgraduate research opportunities to candidates interested in pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in any of our seven research focus areas.
A word from Prof Carin Combrinck, Head of Department
Welcome to the School of Architecture, a community of students, staff, partners, and alumni committed to thoughtful, ethically grounded design practice. We teach and research through real contexts and pressing questions, preparing graduates to act with clarity and responsibility across diverse social and environmental conditions.
At the heart of our school lies an ethos built not only on technical excellence, but on purpose. We believe that architecture is fundamentally a human practice, one that shapes lives, cities, and futures. This belief demands intellectual rigour, certainly, but also empathy, curiosity, and responsibility. And it is within this philosophical framework that our students grow.
One of the defining characteristics of our Master’s cohort is the remarkable emotional intelligence they demonstrate. This is not accidental. The structure of the postgraduate years exposes them to the significance of issue-based research, whether they are working within contested urban spaces, addressing homelessness, reimagining mobility, or confronting environmental degradation. Through these encounters, our students learn to situate themselves in relation to others, to listen deeply, and to respond with empathy and understanding. These are not soft skills; these are the bedrock competencies of architects who will lead with integrity in a rapidly changing world.
Our pedagogy is research-led, grounded in real-life issues and driven by an enthusiasm for creative, bold, and innovative approaches to design. The problems our students tackle are not theoretical abstractions; they are the lived realities of our cities and communities. And this is reflected in our core focus areas: Urban Citizenship, Universal Access, Regenerative Design, and Circular Construction.
- Urban Citizenship challenges our students to reconsider how people claim and inhabit space; to design environments that foster belonging, participation, and justice.
- Universal Access expands notions of inclusivity, ensuring that the built environment serves users across physical, cognitive, economic, and cultural divides.
- Regenerative Design positions architecture as a restorative force, one that repairs ecological systems rather than depleting them.
- And Circular Construction reimagines building processes to reduce waste, extend material life cycles, and move us closer to sustainable futures.
These focus areas do not exist in isolation; they define a holistic worldview, one that situates architecture as both reflective and proactive, both critical and hopeful.
When we look outward, to other institutions both regionally and internationally, we do so not out of insecurity, but out of a commitment to excellence. Examining the work of others serves as a benchmark, an opportunity to calibrate our standards and ensure that the education we offer meets the highest level of intellectual and professional expectation. And the conclusion is reaffirmed: across the board, students of architecture are among the most well-educated thinkers of any discipline. They navigate complex intellectual terrain, from the deeply poetic and speculative to the technically detailed and concrete. They are challenged to stretch beyond the familiar, to question assumptions, and to imagine possibilities. These students are not simply preparing for the future; they are becoming the thought leaders who will define it.
At the same time, our profession is navigating new challenges. As highlighted by the emerging SAIA EduComm, the authority of architects in the broader built-environment landscape is increasingly contested. Professional practice has ceded ground to project managers, developers, real estate agents, and regulatory authorities that do not always recognise the critical role of architectural expertise. This is a call to action, a reminder of why our work matters, why our graduates must be articulate, confident, ethically grounded, and unafraid to advocate for the profession and the public good.
And here, I am proud to say, the value of our commitment to research is already bearing fruit. We are seeing stronger, more ambitious thesis projects. More of our students are presenting at conferences, publishing articles, and contributing to academic discourse as co-authors before they even graduate. Our research reputation is attracting tangible support, including NRF funding through the Co-Creating Wellness and Human Dignity project, the CONSUS collaboration with the Danish government, Memoranda of Understanding with institutions such as the CSIR, the UP Senate Prize, SEED funding from Danida, and several other notable recognitions.
These achievements are not isolated successes; they are indicators of a deeper momentum. They signal the emergence of a confident, capable, critically engaged cohort of young graduates who are prepared to stand their ground in an ever-shifting context of complexity, climate change, inequality, urban growth, economic precarity, and still design with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
This is the energy that is building our reputation. This is the ethos that defines our school. And this is the community, students, staff, partners, and alumni, who will continue to shape not only the future of the profession, but the future of the cities we inhabit.
Undergraduate Studies
The undergraduate BSc Architecture curriculum introduces ecologically responsible and inclusive design principles, community co-design projects, circular construction, and digital communication skills as themes that run through all three years, ensuring our students are ready for the world of work in the 21st century and its unique challenges.
Professional Postgraduate Studies
Professional postgraduate honours and master’s degrees lead students towards registration as Senior Technologists/Designers or Professional Architects, or Landscape Architects. Our honours year offers students a number of interdisciplinary design studio electives working with partners in the private, public or non-profit sector, while the master's year is an individual investigation of a research project, culminating in a design project.
Research Postgraduate Studies
The Department also offer postgraduate research opportunities to candidates interested in pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in any of our seven research focus areas.
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