Architecture (Undergraduate)
Welcome for undergraduate students will begin on Monday, 23 September 2024.
Welcome messages
Welcome information and timetables
Welcome for undergraduate students will begin on Monday, 22 September 2025.
Make sure you familiarise yourself with your course Welcome timetable below.
Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) is a joint School of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and The University of Manchester (UoM). You are in the unique position of being registered at two universities, with all their facilities at your disposal - but first, you have to register at each university.
For details of any steps you need to take with MMU, please visit their Welcome website. You will receive or will have already received, emails from The University of Manchester explaining how to obtain an IT account at UoM.
This is the first step to follow - once you have IT access, you can register as a student.
Your tuition fees will be paid to MMU so the financial stage of registration at UoM should state that no fees are due, but you must still complete all the stages of registration, including the financial stage, to register. If fees are listed in error at this stage, call the UoM registration helpline on +44 (0)161 306 5544.
Once you are enrolled at The University of Manchester, you must also enrol at Manchester Metropolitan University.
At MSA we use the term dates of MMU, which means your induction weeks will begin on Monday, 22 September 2025.
Please note, if you are unable to join us on campus on 22 September, all induction lectures will be online and recorded.
Welcome booklet
Your BA1 Welcome handbook is essential reading, introduces the course and is available here:
BA1 Architecture Welcome Handbook
Welcome timetable
Make sure you familiarise yourself with your course Welcome timetable.
To access your timetable please enrol at MMU. Your timetable is best accessed through the My MMU app which you can download on your phone or access through the MMU website.
Introduction to Year 1
We would like to formally welcome you to Manchester School of Architecture (MSA)! Congratulations on securing your place here at both the University of Manchester (UoM) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). We are sure you are excited to commence your studies and enjoy a fantastic student experience here at both Universities. You should be proud of all your achievements and hard work in reaching this point. We wish you well on your journey to get here and look forward to meeting you soon! MSA studios are based at Manchester Technology Centre.
Before you begin, it is good to think about where you are going! Explore our most recent end of year show, celebrating all students, showcasing events and listing awards: 2025 Exhibition
Following the induction week which begins on Monday, 22 September, teaching week 1 begins the following week on Monday, 29 September 2025. On days where you have no timetabled activities we expect you to be studying. This is a full time course.
You can learn more about Manchester School of Architecture on our website.
First Year Motto: Remember that Architecture is a doing word!
Course modules
Studio takes place throughout the year and is split in to Design 1 and Design 2. It is where you will learn how to test and experiment with form, debate ideas and present your own unique proposals.
We will challenge your existing knowledge of space and how space is created. Projects begin from a variety of starting points and increase in scale over the year. Through studio projects, you will become independent designers capable of developing complex briefs and beautiful ideas.
We will encourage you to draw and model your ideas. Designing is a place where we consider and experiment, it is a journey, a process where your first idea develops, changes and iterates until the result is something you didn’t necessarily imagine. Get comfortable with being messy, with failing, with testing, with questioning, sharing and listening to each other as well as your tutors.
Over the summer perhaps think about your own home and watch how you use the space and live there. Think about the activities and how much (or how little) space they require. Maybe have a go at measuring yourself and objects around you and try to draw people doing different daily activities. Have you ever tried to draw your home as a plan?
In first year, Context is split into two courses: Histories of Architecture and Sustainable Global Futures.
Histories of Architecture will illustrate how to situate architectural thought and production in a historical and socio-political context, exploring the emergence of different architectural trends and movements in relation to key economic, political, technological, and theoretical shifts occurring throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and beyond. Drawing on post-colonial approaches, the course aims to provide students with the tools to analyse architectural production and interventions in space beyond aesthetic formalisms. Understanding architecture beyond pure aesthetics stands at the core of a socially informed approach to practice, building the foundations for the architecture student to become a reflexive practitioner.
Sustainable Global Futures will introduce you to the complexity of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and the plurality of architectural approaches to these issues. Through situating human interference with the environment within a broader context of climate and environmental justice, you will engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for your personal and professional development. Through understanding broader global changes that shape architectural practice, you will be provided with the critical tools to ensure that you can develop ethically informed positions on climate and environmental change that respond to social and spatial justice concerns.
Before you arrive, observe the built environment and see if you can work out the age and style of the buildings you see. Have you ever wondered why buildings look like they do? Also perhaps think about how you feel about the climate crisis and how it affects the way people live. How might we reduce energy use in buildings? Any ideas?
In first year, Production is split into two courses: Principles of Technology and Collaborative Practice
Principles of Technology focuses on the analysis of contemporary case studies of small scale and complexity to introduce key technological principles. The course is delivered through a study of Materials, Structures and Environment & Construction. You will be introduced to climate and associated technological rationales in architectural design and develops skills in analysis and visual representation.
Collaborative Practice is a group project where you will work on ‘live’ projects with external clients and in collaboration with students from different years. Using real-world situations, projects in this module are led by your groups and centred around peer-to-peer learning enabling you learn from each other and to determine productive and mutually beneficial group-working approaches. A professional working relationship will be developed with an external Collaborator who will present a starting point from which you will develop a brief to establish a project for social impact and/ or community benefit. This ends in a final 2 week design project known as MSA Live where you may develop exhibitions, installations, built projects, workshops, charrettes, processions, and protests.
Get inspired over the summer by reading the incredible MSA Live 2025 blog and maybe get involved in some architectural events where you live from visiting an exhibition to volunteering for a community building project.
Reading list
A specific reading list will be provided for each module, however, there are four key texts which will serve as an essential reference in Year 1, and will prove useful throughout your architectural education.
- Architecture Since 1400 (James-Chakraborty, K)
- Architect’s Pocket Book (Hetreed, J., Ross, A., Baden-Powell, C.)
- Designing for the Climate Emergency: A Guide for Architecture Students (Pelsmakers, S., Donovan, E., Hoggard, A., Kozminska, U.)
- Studio Craft & Technique for Architects (Delany, M. & Gorman, A.)
These can be bought as a bundle exclusively from the Blackwells in Manchester for a discounted price.
They also offer free UK delivery, or you can collect when you arrive!
Suggested wider reading
Reading is a vital aspect of your course and personal development. Each module you study will come with a suggested reading list. There are also many architectural journals and magazines worth reading to immerse yourself in latest research and news. Books, journals and magazines can be borrowed from the library, or accessed online as the library pays for many subscriptions.
- Ways of Seeing (Berger, J.)
- Invisible Cities (Calvino, I.)
- Architecture Design Notebook (Fawcett, P.)
- Analysing Architecture (Unwin, S.)
- Architecture Depends (Till, J.)
- Architecture, Form, Space & Order (Ching, F. D. K.)
- Concise Townscape (Cullen, G.)
- Model Making (Werner, M.)
Suggested journals to read on a regular basis:
- Architect’s Journal
- Architecture Review
- Architecture Today
- Detail Magazine
- Domus
Equipment list
Architectural education combines drawing, model making, test modelling, photography, filmmaking, sketching, experimentation, computer presentations, analysis and written work which all requires equipment.
We do not suggest you buy overly expensive materials, but instead experiment with found objects and recycled basics. It’s more about how neat you are with your work rather than what you are making your models from. However, there are some basics that are worth investing in as follows.
- Sketchbook (you will receive one on your first day)
- Mechanical Pencil
- Pencil Leads
- 3 x Drawing Pens: e.g. 0.25mm/ 0.35mm/ 0.7mm thickness
- A thick black pen
- Tape Measure
- Masking Tape
- Metric Scale Rule: 30cm (scales: 1:1/ 1:5/ 1:20/ 1:50/ 1:100/ 1:200)
- A3 Paper
- A3 tracing paper thin
- A padlock if you want to use a locker
Laptop specification details
There is no rush to buy a laptop, we have a comprehensive guide to read when you arrive. We provide very generous facilities on campus. However most students prefer the flexibility of having their own computer. Check Unidays, Totem and StudentBeans for student discounts before purchasing. Suggested equipment:
- Laptop
- USB stick
- Wireless mouse
Please do not purchase any software before you arrive! We do our best to provide you with software and negotiate special student discounts. You will be given 50GB of OneDrive cloud storage as part of your Microsoft Office 365 Education subscription.
Minimum recommended specifications:
- Processor: Intel i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 (2020 or newer)
- RAM / Memory: 16GB
- Storage: 256GB HDD
- Graphics card: onboard graphics (note, this will not support real-time visualization applications, and may limit some advanced 3D functionality. Try to get a laptop with at least a 4GB graphics card)
Recommended specifications:
- Processor: Intel i7 / AMD Ryzen 7 (2020 or newer)
- RAM / Memory: 32GB
- Storage: 512GB or 1TB SSD
- Graphics card: Nvidia RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX570 and above (or equivalent 6GB graphics card)
- Sketching Pencils
- Cartridge Paper
- Drawing tube or portfolio for carrying drawings
- Scrap card for model making
- Model making glue
- Cutting mat (A3)
- Steel ruler for cutting (300mm)
- Scalpel & Blades
- Suitable waterproof clothing
- Calculator (phone is fine)
- Digital camera (phone is fine)
- External hard drive – we recommend 1TB
International students
As you join the University you are required to complete pre-enrolment.
This is where we scan originals of your passport, immigration permission (visa), and the qualifications that helped you get an offer for your course (these would normally be the certificates/transcripts listed on your CAS).
The scanned documents are kept securely on your student record as part of our license requirements with UKVI.
If you are an overseas, study abroad, or exchange student, you must attend pre-enrolment before you can complete online enrolment with the University and begin your studies.
Find out more:
Support and advice
The SEED Student Support Hub is your one-stop service for all general School enquiries and any information and guidance you may need during your time at the University of Manchester. The team can also signpost and refer you to other specialist services within the University.
You can get support from the Student Support Hub (School of Environment, Education and Development) on the ground floor of the Humanities Bridgeford Street building (number 35 on the interactive map). We are available to assist you both in-person and online from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm (except bank holidays and University closure days).
Contact our team for support or any enquiries via phone to 0161 275 2817 or email us at: seed.hub@manchester.ac.uk.
You can also visit our Student Support page for a guide on support services for MSA students.