The Foundation Programme is a one-year full-time course that focuses on observation, conversation and the development of key skills. This course is aimed at students who are at the very start of their architectural studies, and facilitates individual and group project work.
The Intermediate Programme (BA(Hons)) is a three-year full-time programme. The First Year is characterised by its shared, open studio, where students work individually and together across a series of projects. Years two and three introduce students to the unit system, in which small design studios (12–14 students) operate a vertical structure of Second and Third Year students.
The Diploma Programme (MArch) is a two-year full-time programme that accepts students who have completed the Intermediate Programme at the AA, as well as eligible new students who have studied elsewhere. The programme leads to the AA Final Examination (ARB/RIBA Part 2) and is structured around a unit system, in which small design studios (12–14 students) operate a vertical structure of Fourth and Fifth Year students.
The AA offers ten Taught Postgraduate Programmes for students with prior academic and professional experience. Most of the programmes are full-time courses of advanced study, except for Conservation and Reuse, which provides a part-time study option.
Professional Practice is a RIBA Part 3 course and examination that allows successful candidates to register as architects with the Architects Registration Board (ARB). The course is open to AA RIBA Part 2 graduates and eligible non-graduates.
The Visiting School encompasses diverse learning programmes, workshops and site-based agendas shaped by participants working intensively in small groups over varying periods of time from one to two weeks. Central to each programme is the idea that experimental, new and provocative forms of architecture are best learned by doing.
The Sustainable Environmental Design (SED) Programme leads to either an MArch (16 months) or MSc (12 months) degree. SED investigates real-life projects sited within a broad range of climates, building types and urban morphologies. The programme works to develop architecture that contributes to carbon-neutral futures and promotes inhabitant comfort, health and wellbeing. Its educational approach is research-led, evidence-based and practice-oriented.
The programme consists of two consecutive phases. In Phase 1 (Terms 1 and 2), students undertake experimental fieldwork and conduct computational studies within group projects. The ongoing SED research agenda Refurbishing the City provides briefs for case studies of buildings and outdoor spaces around London and other major cities. We examine historical data and projections that demonstrate climatic variability in a range of contexts, and use fieldwork in London to determine how the morphology and materiality of cities can interact with sun, wind and human activity, creating unexpected conditions and microclimates. Students use data collected during this work to calibrate computational models and simulations, and are encouraged to view challenging climatic conditions as creative opportunities. These studies provide the starting point for the design research that takes place in Term 2. Students develop their design briefs with input from seminars that highlight progressive environmental design research and practice.
In Phase 2 (Terms 3 and 4), students develop individual MSc and MArch dissertation projects focusing on zero-carbon research that benefits local communities and engages with global issues. MSc projects explore the architectural potential of this research across a range of climatic zones and building types. MArch research culminates in a specific application for a given site and design brief.
Both must follow the SED research methodology by systematically assessing the outcomes of their projects against local and international standards and benchmarks. Since the programme’s first cycle in 2005–6, more than 500 dissertation projects have been completed on sites spanning 60 countries and 150 cities, predominantly within the tropics north and south of the equator. These projects now form part of a growing SED archive that has so far been published in books, journals and conference proceedings. The school-wide Climate Matters activities in Term 1 will provide opportunities to share our climate studies and research with other parts of the AA.
In 2025–26, SED will expand its networks by initiating new collaborations with London-based practices and international institutions. We will continue to engage with other AA programmes, in particular by exploring opportunities at the school’s Hooke Park campus, and will extend our external research networks through alumni.