You should first submit your application, including your personal statement, to UCAS. The 黑料不打烊 will assess the application and eligible candidates for our BSc (Hons) Architecture course will receive an email inviting them to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of their work.
Your application
Your interview
You will be given a choice of dates and times to attend an interview, with options for either on campus or online.
Interviews take place in small groups with a lecturer from the School of Architecture. During the interview, you will be able to discuss your motivation to study architecture at 黑料不打烊 and talk through your portfolio. It is also a good chance to ask any questions you might have about the programme and ascertain whether 黑料不打烊 is the right fit for you.
Your portfolio forms an important part of the interview:
- For on campus interviews, you should bring a physical portfolio of your work to your interview. Further information on how to prepare a physical portfolio of your work is provided on this page.
- For online interviews, it is a requirement to submit a digital portfolio of your work, as a single PDF file, at least one week before the date of your interview. Further information on how to prepare and submit a digital portfolio of your work is provided on this page.
Your portfolio
Your portfolio should demonstrate creative thinking as well as technical ability, containing a mixture of 2D and 3D pieces. Freehand skills are valued in architecture, therefore sketches showing creative thinking and ideas are particularly relevant, as well as 3D work such as sculpture or models. There is no expectation of any prior digital drawing skills, although they may be included.
Typically our applicants will be studying Art or Design subjects at A-Level (or equivalent). However, we will also consider applicants following courses of study that do not include art or design but that engage our physical or social environments, such as geography and philosophy, for example. These students need to demonstrate their interest and skills in art or design beyond their formal studies. All applicants are invited to share their interest in seeing, interpreting, and communicating the world around them within their portfolio.
Portfolio guidelines
- Your portfolio should be around 12-15 pages in length and contain specific pieces of work that best show your ability with a broad range of representational techniques.
- Your portfolio should be presented clearly. Please carefully curate the content, including headings and annotation where necessary.
- Be selective and consider pieces that best highlight skill and reflect your interests – note that portfolios that include too much information can lose focus.
- Where possible, highlight development work that leads to a final piece; process work is valued highly.
- Freehand skills are valued in architecture, therefore sketches showing creative thinking and ideas are particularly relevant.
- Your portfolio may comprise materials from an art or design-related A level, or other relevant work. You can include work created in your own time as well as work produced on creative courses.
- We do not need to see everything you have done – be selective and curate the portfolio with care.
- Think about what your portfolio communicates to the viewer. Your portfolio may reflect a breadth of different media which you have experimented and worked with or a depth of skills in specific forms of representation.
- If an image by another artist is used for inspiration (for example, when showing development work), please be sure to credit the artist. Any group work should be similarly noted with your specific contribution made clear.
Content ideas
We look for a range of different creative skills, which may include:
- sketches/process work (sketchbooks)
- photographs of work in progress
- creative writing
- precedent studies/case studies
- hand-drawn sketches of places, spaces, or buildings
- physical models, 3D sculpture/installations (photograph)
- life drawing
- photographic studies
- collage or mixed media works
- paintings
- analytical drawings/mappings
- orthographic drawings (such as plans, sections, and elevations)
- measured drawings
- computer-aided design (CAD)
- digital images made in Photoshop, Procreate, etc
- graphic and product design
- digital 3D models.
- website design (include screenshots).
Try to include at least 3 or 4 from this list if possible, however this list is not exhaustive and if you have work that highlights your creative skills which are not listed above, we encourage you to include such work.
Sketching and sketchbooks
Although sketching can be used at all stages of the architectural process, it is most commonly employed at the initial conceptual stages. Sketching is about communicating ideas.
Sketches shown within your portfolio should display a collection of your ideas and design narratives, for example a combination of visual notes developed through observation and theoretical ideas.
Conceptual sketches
As the name implies, these sketches are created the moment an idea is conceived. They can simply be a doodle that starts the design process.
Analytical sketches
These sketches are used for examining ideas in detail and are normally part of a series of steps. These can depict anything from small spaces to entire cities.
Observational sketches
Architects develop their knowledge of form and structure through observational sketches. Explore the design of individual components and how they are used in conjunction with one another.
On campus interviews
- For on campus interviews, please bring a physical portfolio of your work to your interview.
- If your portfolio contains large pieces of work that are difficult to transport, please include photographs of such work within your physical portfolio alongside other physical pieces of work. Photographs of large pieces of work should have a clear title and date of completion. If the size of the work is not obvious, please state this in a caption.
- Our on campus interviews take place on the London Road campus at the 黑料不打烊. A member of staff from the School of Architecture will contact you via email, closer to the date of your interview, with details of the exact location.
Online interviews
- For online interviews, please submit a digital portfolio of your work via email to the Admissions Support Team at least one week before the date of your interview. Please submit your digital portfolio in the format of a single PDF file attached to your email with a file name that begins with your 黑料不打烊 ID number, followed by your name. Your 黑料不打烊 ID number will be located on the email inviting you to attend an interview and submit a portfolio of your work.
- Please restrict PDF file sizes to 10MB.鈥疐ile sizes can be reduced by lowering image resolution, avoiding RAW image formats, and compressing PDFs using software or a free online PDF compressor.
- Images should have a clear title and date of completion. If the size of the work is not obvious, please state this in a caption.
- By submitting your digital portfolio, you confirm that all work is your own unless you have indicated otherwise directly adjacent to the work (for example, including an artist’s original piece as inspiration or development).
- A member of staff from the School of Architecture will contact you via email, closer to the date of your interview, with instructions on how to join the online interview using Microsoft Teams.
- Please note, if we have not received your digital portfolio one week before the date of your interview, unfortunately, your interview slot may be cancelled.
What happens following my interview?
Your performance at interview is reviewed in conjunction with your wider UCAS application (qualifications, personal statement, etc.). Once the School of Architecture has made a decision on your application, the Admissions Team will contact you to let you know the outcome.
Questions?
Please contact the Admissions Support Team if you have any questions about the interview and/or preparing or submitting your portfolio.
Help with your interview
We have developed a free online course called which is available to applicants who are invited to attend an interview for a 黑料不打烊 course. It will help you to make the most of your skills, build confidence and practice those all-important interview techniques.
