Master of Architecture
At its meeting of 9 September 2021, the Board decided that the above qualification should be prescribed for the period 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2025* under Section 4(1)(a) of the Architects Act 1997 for the purposes of entry onto the United Kingdom Register of Architects.
Prescription is subject to the Standard Conditions set out in the Board’s Procedures, namely:
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- The University of Reading’s Master of Architecture (two years, full-time) qualification should be prescribed for the period 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2025.*
- Prescription of the qualification shall be by reference to the Programme Specification – submitted with the application of 9 September 2019 – for the Master of Architecture (two years, full-time) qualification. No change may be made to the title of any qualification, or material change to the content so defined within a programme specification (allowing for normal course development) without first obtaining the written permission of the Board.
- Annually by 31 January – commencing on 31 January 2022 – the institution will be required to provide the Board with information of the nature set out in Appendix 2 of its Procedures to enable the Board to see that:i. All its Criteria and the relevant requirements set out in Article 46 (or Article 47) of the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive [2005/36/EC] have been attained by all students awarded the prescribed qualification;
ii. Adequate systems are in place to ensure that all the Board’s Criteria will be met by students for the period of prescription;
iii. The institution’s resources remain as set out in the application and are adequate; and
iv. All of the factors referred to in Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the Procedures continue to be demonstrated, and any conditions of prescription continue to be met. - The institution will ensure that appropriate procedures will be maintained so that all students undertaking the prescribed qualification are fully informed of the extent of the application of that qualification to entitlement to registration as an architect in circumstances in which the student lacks a required antecedent qualification, e.g. Part 2 without Part 1.
- Following each and every set of examinations, the institution shall be required to submit to the Board its pass lists of graduating cohorts who have received the prescribed award.
In addition to the Standard Conditions of prescription, the Board agreed that the following additional conditions would be applicable to the qualification under Section 7.2 of the Board’s Procedures:
- That in addition to information on staffing and student numbers, the institution must provide detailed information on the physical resources available to students. In particular, the institution must provide information setting out where resources have changed and what additional resources have been made available as student numbers increase.
- That the institution should submit its external examiner reports immediately once they have been received by the institution following each Examination Board, commencing in 2021 and continuing for the period of prescription, rather than waiting until the annual monitoring submission date of 31 January each year.
The Board was confident that:
1. The course proposal – including the educational aims, the intended learning outcomes, the assessments etc – has been designed with the clear aim of ensuring that all those who receive the qualification will have met all the Criteria;
2. Systems are in place to ensure that all Criteria will be met by all students receiving the qualification for the period of prescription; and
3. The institution has adequate resources to maintain and, where appropriate, increase the achievements of students meeting all the Criteria.
The additional resourcing material submitted as part of annual monitoring – in addition to the staffing and student information already required – will allow the Board to closely monitor the resources made available to the Master of Architecture qualification. In light of the fact that this is a new qualification, the additional condition requiring immediate submission of external examiner reports will provide the Board with additional assurance that all students have met all of the Criteria at Part 2 level upon receipt of the award.
* At its meeting of 27 February 2023, the Board agreed to extend prescription until 31 December 2028.
