An innovative Master’s programme on architecture and design for enthusiastic students with an undergraduate degree in a creative discipline who wish to explore future opportunities in architecture, interior architecture, design, film and creative industries.
COURSE CONTENT
This is a personalised Master’s programme for engaged students who would like to make the most of their time at Queen’s. The work produced throughout the year will be a collaborative effort between you, your year group, our award-winning academics and practicing architects, designers and artists. Because this yearlong course does not require you to meet prescription for qualification, it encourages you to work both within and beyond the realm of conventional design practices. We would like you to push the boundaries of your imagination and the limits of architectural/design media, while working with other architects, designers, artists and filmmakers.
You will work on modules including design, humanities and technology, questioning norms in art, design and architecture throughout. You will complete a major thesis project, the topic and methodology of which will be self-directed. You will be able to use the thesis to experiment with new ideas, technologies and media, and as a gateway to your future career goals.
The course encourages lateral thinking, problem solving, creativity and engagement with design in a self-critical process. It will address issues as diverse as our survival on the planet and alternative ways of thinking about what architecture and design can be and do.
WHAT WILL EXCITE YOU?
Through design methods such as cinematic analysis, modelmaking, filmmaking, sketching, and photography, you will design projects from bottom up and focus on both tangible and intangible qualities of urban and architectural spaces. You will spend the year designing, collaborating and producing with people from around the world on our university campus that has celebrated its 175th year. Queen’s clubs, societies, and facilities including the new Student Union, Queen’s Sport and Queen’s Film Theatre will also provide excellent opportunities to make friends outside of your discipline.
THE ENVIRONMENT
You will be based in Belfast, a growing city known for its industrial design heritage on one hand and its vibrant arts culture and creative industries on the other. As stated in the Complete University Guide 2022: Belfast is one of Europe's most hip, vibrant and affordable cities, lauded for its energy, and rich in culture and history. Queen's stunning campus is within Belfast's Queen's Quarter, with cafés, bars, restaurants, superb shopping and entertainment venues. You will enjoy a healthy staff to student ratio, good studios where you will have your own space, a world-class library and excellent workshops for physical and digital manufacturing.
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION:
Now, more than ever, our societies demand innovative designers and creative problem solvers to propose solutions to the challenges we face in a complex contemporary world - health and well-being, climate change, forced migration, public safety and increasing urbanisation, among others. Our school is renowned for award-winning, innovative research and teaching that is academically rigorous, critically informed, design-led and interdisciplinary. In all of this endeavour we seek to develop designers voice in addressing these challenges.
The MSc Applied Architecture and Design programme provides a scaffold for our students to develop their own personal position within the broad culture of design, and in doing so, contribute to the ongoing debate that shapes the discipline and our world. Our concerns range from the role of art, design and architecture in communities, environmental, social and economic sustainability, humanitarian architecture for all, tangible and intangible qualities of space to the mapping and analysis of urban, territorial and global conditions. In all of this new media play a crucial role as does developing a self-critical understanding of how each individual works as a designer.
The MSc AAD is a studio-based programme, underscoring design and design processes as the core concerns, challenging our students to be experimental both in their design methodologies/analyses and their design proposals, be it a building, space, film or urban intervention. The one-year programme comprises of three semesters. The staff cohort is composed of a diverse spectrum of esteemed practitioners and innovative academics supported by external consultants beyond Queen’s, providing a further dimension to a rich learning environment. In this context, the students are encouraged to push the limits of their disciplines as well as their personal capabilities.
Architecture at Queen’s is ranked 8th in the UK in Guardian League Table 2023, 2nd for graduate prospects, 8th for teaching quality, 9th for student experience.
Applied Architecture and Design highlights
World Class Facilities
Prestigious Master’s degree awarded in one year in a UK Russell Group University
Industry Links
Close collaborations with the industry and practicing architects in studio tutoring, project reviews and research, including RIBA, RSUA, QFT and BFI/Film Hub NI.
www.rsua.org.uk
www.queensfilmtheatre.com
www.filmhubni.org www.architecture.com
Career Development
Depending on their nationality, some international students have the right to work in the UK for two years following their studies at Queen’s. If you are interested in this opportunity, you can contact the Student Guidance Centre.
Opportunity to apply to PhD in Architecture at Queen’s. If you are interested in this route, please consult the programme director for details.
World Class Facilities
Studying in an international environment among native English speakers in continuously maintained facilities that are adapted to technical and health and safety requirements
Student Experience
In this programme you will be working with several local and international students and academics who are established researchers and practicing architects. Queen’s and Belfast are at the intersection of the UK and Ireland as well as America and Europe, both physically and culturally; therefore the university and the city offer a unique and memorable student experience. Belfast is in the top 15 friendliest cities in Europe (Condé Nast Traveller, Readers' Choice Awards 2021), and Northern Ireland is the happiest place to live in the UK (Lloyds Bank Happiness Index, 2020). Belfast has the lowest cost of living in the country (Mercer Cost of Living City Ranking 2021) as well as the lowest student rent (NatWest Student Living Index 2020). https://www.qub.ac.uk/about/Living-in-Northern-Ireland/Life-in-Belfast/student-experience/
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Students with architectural background will get the chance to work with artists, designers and filmmakers, and vice versa, in the design studio, which you will share with PgCert Cinematic Architecture students. Most years, there are also opportunities to work with students/tutors from Software/Computer Engineering, Media and Broadcast Production, and Film Studies at Queen’s. https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-taught/2023/cinematic-architecture-pgcert/
End of Year Show
The free to access digital walk-through of the 2024 end of year show exhibition is accessible through this link: tinyurl.com/QUBarch2024
Semester 1 - AAD Design Studio 1, Technical Dissertation, and Humanities Dissertation
Semester 2 - AAD Design Studio 2, Technical Dissertation, and Humanities Dissertation
Semester 3 - Thesis Project
Modules
The modules listed below are compulsory. Field trips will enrich the programme; last year, we have spent a week in Naples, Italy. Students are also encouraged to incorporate other Queen’s modules (INTO academic skills, advanced English, languages, history, introduction to film studies, etc.) as long as timetables allow.
Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Subject Lead of Architecture and Planning,
Architecture in SNBE Email: g.kacmaz@qub.ac.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msc.arch/
Teaching Times
Teaching varies but is typically on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, some Thursdays and some Fridays.
Learning and Teaching
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Academic Writing
If you have not written scholarly texts before, do not worry, you will be supervised by experts and will become an expert yourself.
Design Studio
You may be familiar with studio culture in architecture/design. In AAD we will particularly emphasise cinematic architecture through creative solutions for the future, critical thinking and experimentation. The learning environment will be personalised as to your strengths and aspirations. The shared studio environment with other programmes (BSc Architecture and MArch) at Queen’s will aid your learning.
Technology and Media
Depending on your interests, in this programme, you will be encouraged to use and experiment with a variety of media including sketching, modelmaking, casting, filmmaking, animation, and contemporary CAD/scripting/editing software. Technology, use of equipment and materials, and detailing will be an integral part of design projects.
Assessment
Assessments associated with the course, which will include individual and group work, are outlined below:
Project-based design work (individual and collaborative)
Critical design reviews
Representation and multimedia
Academic research
Dissertation/scholarly essay
(Optional) Competition entry, public exhibition, conference presentation and/or journal article
Facilities
15 Chlorine Gardens - architectural design studios and IT/printing facilities
David Keir Building - architectural design studios, lecture theatres, IT/printing facilities, computer labs, workshops for digital fabrication, architectural model making, timber, concrete, metal, etc. and student hub
McClay Library with immense individual and group study spaces with IT facilities
150-years-old Graduate School building shared with all Master and PhD students
Queen’s Sport (PEC) with a swimming pool, gym, tennis/squash courts, climbing walls, etc. - busy day and night
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Major themed design project with supplementary associated project components related to cinema involving elements of group and individual work, research and design, coursework, lectures, workshops, tutorials, design proposals, interim and final design reviews, and involving a variety of new media, representation, and communication techniques including filmmaking
Learning Outcomes
K1 Knowledge and understanding of the interplay of urban form, settlement, and landscape.
K3 Knowledge and understanding of the canon of design precedents.
K4 Knowledge and understanding of materials, space, light and their interaction with basic assembly and construction.
K7 Knowledge and understanding of basic structural and environmental systems.
K8 Knowledge and understanding of the core values underlying sustainable design.
K9 Knowledge and appreciation of design intentions and its resolution through basic technology and construction.
K12 Knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework within which buildings/sets are designed.
K15 Knowledge, experience, and understanding of group dynamics, authorship, negotiation, and the production of design.
A3 Ability to develop coherent and well-researched and evidenced design proposals.
A5 Ability to assimilate basic technology as both process and context within ambitious and sophisticated design proposals.
A6 Ability to produce design as artefact with an appreciation of the competing frameworks within which it is delivered.
A7 Ability to communicate advanced design intention, process, and output in a range of media and occasions.
T1 Ability to apply and appreciate creativity.
T5 Ability to speculate, propose, sustain, and validate a developed intellectual position.
T8 Ability to work creatively and successfully within a team
Skills
Skills pertinent to the design process: basic drawing, modelling, filming and other forms of representing, visualising, and testing design ideas in form, space and materiality
The module consists of a project which serve as an introduction and consolidation to the thematic group (cinematic architecture)
Learning Outcomes
K1 Knowledge and understanding of the interplay of urban form, settlement, and landscape
K5 Knowledge and appreciation of advanced representational techniques including filmmaking
K6 Knowledge and understanding of brief investigation and formulation as responses to human needs stated and implied
K10 Knowledge and appreciation of the societal and ethical context within which architecture/design exists and is produced
K14 Knowledge and understanding of physical, cultural, and artistic contexts
K15 Knowledge, experience, and understanding of group dynamics, authorship, negotiation, and the production of design
A1 Ability to undertake design briefs of increased and focused ambition dealing with wider issues of settlement set within particular urban and social context
A2 Ability to be critically aware, and evolve personal design agenda and methodologies
A4 Ability to assimilate and if necessary challenge external inputs, information, contradictions, contexts within the design process
A6 Ability to produce design as artefact with an appreciation of the competing frameworks within which it is delivered
A7 Ability to communicate advanced design intention, process, and output in a range of media and occasions
A8 Ability to take intellectual and emotional ownership of a design process
T1 Ability to apply and appreciate creativity
T5 Ability to speculate, propose, sustain, and validate a developed intellectual position
T6 Ability to manage one’s time and production
T8 Ability to work creatively and successfully within a team
T9 Ability to be both intellectually agile and strategic
Skills
Skills pertinent to the design process: basic drawing, modelling, filming and other forms of representing, visualising, and testing design ideas in form, space and materiality
As the final and key piece of the MSc Advanced Architectural Design programme, Thesis Project is a research-based and student-led module that aims to prepare students to their next target following this yearlong master's course. Depending on their interests, student will choose to do one of the following high-quality outputs. The opportunity to complete the thesis project in collaboration is possible by agreement.
- Architectural project (design proposal and its representation via drawings and models, backed up with evidenced research/analysis and 1,000-word report): This could take a number of different forms and involves developing a design proposal in an agreed format and medium to address and resolve a challenge or question that is appropriate in the complexity and scale to master’s level study. This could, for instance, be a design project with a hypothetical brief on an actual site, or a real (live) project as part of a placement in an architectural practice (arranged by the student and agreed by the school), or a competition project (agreed by the school).
- Journal article (academic writing, backed up with research/analysis and personal illustrations/drawings/maps): The article will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal (agreed by the school). Acceptance is preferred but is not a requirement. The length depends on the journal; however, the main text should not be less than 5,000 and more than 10,000 words. The article could follow a conference presentation or vice versa.
The Thesis Project is a showcase for interests and capabilities and an important contributor to employability. It is a forum for developing and demonstrating analytical and problem-solving abilities and competence as an independent researcher.
Learning Outcomes
On the successful completion of this module, students should have the:
A7 Ability to communicate advanced architectural intention, process, and output in a range of media and occasions.
K10 Knowledge and appreciation of the societal and ethical context within which architecture exists and is produced.
K13 Knowledge and understanding of research methodologies.
T2 Ability to apply informed judgment to knowledge acquisition.
T3 Ability to distil complex issues, discern patterns, and identify salient points.
T4 Ability to process and communicate advanced thought in text/prose.
T5 Ability to speculate, propose, sustain, and validate a developed intellectual position.
Skills
Students will also develop the following professional and transferable skills
Critical thinking (ability to describe, analyse and synthesise),
Ability to conduct academic research including library research and literature review,
Academic writing,
Oral, verbal and visual communication,
Independent learning,
Project and time management,
Demonstration of high degree of professionalism, and
Reflection on and management of personal professional development.
A structured sequence of exercises, workshops, and reviews, dealing with the integration and assimilation of technology within architectural design.
Learning Outcomes
K4 Knowledge and understanding of materials, space, light and their interaction with assembly and construction
K8 Knowledge and understanding of the core values underlying sustainable design
K9 Knowledge and appreciation of design intentions and its resolution through technology and construction
K12 Knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework within which buildings are designed
K13 Knowledge and understanding of research methodologies
A4 Ability to assimilate and if necessary challenge external inputs, information, contradictions, contexts within the design process
A5 Ability to assimilate technology as both process and context within ambitious and sophisticated architectural design proposals
T2 Ability to apply informed judgment to knowledge acquisition
T3 Ability to distil complex issues, discern patterns, and identify salient points
T4 Ability to process and communicate advanced thought in text/prose
T7 Ability to construct an extended essay, to assemble data, to manipulate language, and to demonstrate clarity and effectiveness in sequential argument, layout and display of text and illustrations
T8 Ability to work creatively and successfully within a team
An original study of a primarily architectural topic chosen by the student in consultation with the module coordinator; development of knowledge of a particular aspect of architecture and communication of that knowledge through the medium of a written and illustrated dissertation.
Learning Outcomes
K2 Knowledge and understanding of architectural theory
K3 Knowledge and understanding of the canon of architectural precedents
K10 Knowledge and appreciation of the societal and ethical context within which architecture exists and is produced
K13 Knowledge and understanding of research methodologies
K14 Knowledge and understanding of physical, cultural, and artistic contexts
A4 Ability to assimilate and if necessary challenge external inputs, information, contradictions, contexts within the design process
T2 Ability to apply informed judgment to knowledge acquisition
T3 Ability to distil complex issues, discern patterns, and identify salient points
T4 Ability to process and communicate advanced thought in text/prose
T7 Ability to construct an extended essay, to assemble data, to manipulate language, and to demonstrate clarity and effectiveness in sequential argument, layout and display of text and illustrations
Skills
Writing, research and other skills pertinent to the development of a dissertation.
Applicants whose primary degree was/will be awarded in the UK:
1. Normally a 2.2 Honours degree in a creative background such as Architecture, Interior Architecture, Art, Design, Film, Animation (or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University).
2. Applicants must submit a digital art/design/architecture/film portfolio (which will include any type of design/film projects in the form of images and/or film links/stills). A video explaining the applicant’s interest in the course (maximum three minutes) may also be submitted to support the application. (The submission of the video is optional.) Applicants will be invited for an optional online interview.
3. A demonstration of a critical awareness of the applicant's position related to their discipline. Such demonstration is typically in the form of experience in practice or personal statement.
Applicants whose primary degree was/will be awarded outside the UK:
1. A recognised qualification acceptable to the University which is equivalent to a 2.2 Honours degree in a creative background such as Architecture, Interior Architecture, Art, Design, Film, Animation.
2. International applicants must submit a digital art/design/architecture/film portfolio (which will include any type of design/film projects in the form of images and/or film links/stills). A video explaining the applicant’s interest in the course (maximum three minutes) may also be submitted to support the application. (The submission of the video is optional.) Applicants will be invited for an optional online interview.
3. A demonstration of a critical awareness of the applicant’s position related to their discipline. Such demonstration is typically in the form of experience in practice or personal statement.
Portfolio and Video Requirement for Application:
As part of the application process you must upload a single digital portfolio of your best art/design/architecture/film projects to date. The pdf should be no more than 5MB and 15 pages.
In addition, you may prepare a (maximum three-minute) optional video in relation to one of the following questions: What is architecture for you? As a designer/artist, what are you curious or ambitious about? What would be your dream project? Please upload your video on Vimeo or YouTube, adjust your privacy settings, and provide the link on the cover page of your portfolio. The purpose of the portfolio/video submission is to:
i. Identify indicators of commitment, excellence and achievement within the applicant’s academic or professional portfolio of experience.
ii. Evaluate the applicant’s critical awareness of art and design.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 30th June 2025 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page.
Please note: A deposit will be required to secure a place on this course.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in Speaking and Listening and a minimum of 5.5 in Reading and Writing, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last two years).
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
By completing the programme, you will graduate with an MSc Applied Architecture and Design degree within a year from a Russell Group university in the UK. The MSc is ideal for postgraduate students who have not chosen their career paths yet. If you would like to push the boundaries of your education and think outside-the-box, MSc is for you.
WHERE MIGHT YOU BE IN FIVE YEARS?
Anywhere in the world in one of many different disciplines. Queen's Architecture graduates have ended up designing skyscrapers in Asia and the Middle East, emergency housing for refugees in Africa, film sets or CGI for Hollywood productions, computer game environments as well as working as urban planners, photographers, editors, illustrators, visual artists worldwide and lecturing/researching in universities. http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Prizes and Awards
These vary from your to year. In our first year, for instance, the Department for the Economy funded 50 Masters students at Queen’s, two of whom were AAD students.
You will be eligible to apply for prizes awarded by the university and external funders.
You will be notified of upcoming opportunities.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Students are responsible for additional costs for books, materials and software for drawing/model making and printing (including final portfolio). The amount for materials, equipment and printing will vary depending on how students decide to represent their work, but a budget of £500 for the course is appropriate. Having said that, we now encourage students to print less where possible. Students should also budget approximately £500 for a possible international field trip.
Terms and Conditions for Postgraduate applications
1.1 Due to high demand, there is a deadline for applications.
1.2 You will be required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the course.
1.3 This condition of offer is in addition to any academic or English language requirements.
Students are responsible for additional costs for books, materials and software for drawing/model making and printing. The amount for materials, equipment and printing will vary depending on how students decide to represent their work, but a budget of £500 for the course is appropriate. Having said that, we have started to print less and less with the pandemic as well as environmental concerns. Proposed budget usually goes to software and hardware needs. Students should also budget approximately £500 for an (international) field trip.
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.