Professional Masters programme structure

Three subject streams are taught independently, allowing for the unstructured integration of content, skills or inquiry: Design, Research and Professional Practice.

Design Project and Discourse (DPD 801/2/3)

The Design Project and Discourse module aims to promote independent, critical and reflective designers. Students produce designs that respond to context-specific and theory findings. They consider the physical environmental context and inhabitants of the design and surrounding communities to ensure local relevance. The student engages with theory and case studies to develop an approach to the making of space and form, incorporating systems and technology. A rigorous, iterative and creative process of design postulation and enquiry, testing, evaluation and refinement seeks to challenge the boundaries of architectural convention.

Students are in command of their own design process, learn from their own successes and failures, and engender context-appropriate, user-centred and theory-informed designs. The module is self-directed, flexible, prompting students to become independent thinkers. Students are required to synthesize prior knowledge with new discoveries to develop as flexible, responsive and resilient candidate architects. Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of their specific discipline while the self-motivated process is guided by means of supervisor support, group crits (supervisors and practitioners) and peer feedback according to project milestones.

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Design Investigation Treatise (DIT 801/2/3)

The research projects that students engage in are structured around a central inquiry embedded within a specific research field. The module considers the student as an individual participating in a collective research team. The module allows students to contribute to a clearly defined research problem and develop a critical investigation centred on a research question related to the field of architecture. Students are required to communicate their research to provide succinct and clear research findings, which contribute to the discourse in the context of the built environment.

The Department’s research fields cover a range of themes to provide the impetus for research and design investigations. Students produce a research report aligning with the supervisor's research theme. The research question(s) provides a point of departure for the individual research project. It includes a literature review, data collection and analysis and the representation of critical research findings with a rigorous discussion and conclusion related to the literature and focus of the project.

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Continuing Practice Development (CPD 810)

CPD 810 is a collection of short courses planned along a constructivist learning approach during which selected themes related to professional practice and technology will be introduced throughout the year. Building on the knowledge and experience from the honours and undergraduate programmes, the module content will enable students to develop as professionals participating in the built environment industry as colleagues, collaborators, innovators and leaders. Contents include brief development and feasibility, business management, technology and specification, design performance and practice management.

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