The Student Room Group

A LEVEL SELECTION (sorry for posting this again)

okay so i want, from as many people as possible, the A levels they did, or are doing, to progress onto architecture at university,

As many people as possible answer please, thanks.
Art, Product Design, Maths, Physics. EPQ and General Studies also.

I have heard all sorts though! At my course at Newcastle Uni I have heard the craziest of things!
I know you may still wonder and worry however my best advice is to not worry and pick subjects you will excel at.

I have heard people come from art foundations, BTEC things and this one dude resat his A-Levels 3 times and has done like 10 different A-Levels.
International student who have never even drawn in formal education and just drew in their spare time.

Another guy when to architecture school since the age of 11.

For me on the course I think I am really prepared (maybe I wish I had done an art foundation?). You must be able to communicate your ideas somehow and utilise a design process.
There will be some Maths/physics. However all subjects come into play as it is architecture and you just need to pick the A-levels which will accentuate your skills. I would really recommend art or design related subject though!
Art A'Level / BTEC is the one that will open up the most Uni's for you since most uni's have this as a requirement to get on the course or at least it is preferred. I don't have it, there are a few uni's that will let you in without it for straight Architecture courses, but most want it so you will severely limit your choices if you don't do it. Some will accept an Art portfolio (i.e.something you done in your own time) without Art qualification but unless your a natural at Art you might as well do a full on Art course to get the training and the qualification. Besides that few care what other A'level subjects you do just so long as the points criteria is met, some don't like lightweight subjects like General Studies though. That's basically it really, if you seriously want to make sure you get on an Architecture course, do Art.
Reply 3
Original post by Stewie2011
if you seriously want to make sure you get on an Architecture course, do Art.


I didnt take art at GCSE, so i cant actually do it for A level, what do you suggest? i was thinking graphics as an alternative?
Would suggest doing an Art GCSE possibly alongside your A'Levels or for a year after and delay uni by a year or so. You may also need to do an Art A level after that or BTEC. Would be worth talking to (or emailing) those that run Art A level and Art BTEC courses and see what there thoughts are. Graphics is unlikely to be taken as the equivalent to Art by many uni's wanting Art as the two are different, they are unlikely to see them as similar enough. You could Email some admissions departments that are asking for Art now to find out, better to find out where you stand for certain now then get there with something you thought would be ok only to find out it isn't. Remember any delay in getting to uni is not a problem, use any time your at a loose end to do short courses in CAD/Photography, Architecture knowledge/study etc it will make Architecture course lighter going when your on it, otherwise you'll probably have your work cut out for you if your lacking above skills or have nothing to compensate for them. Off hand uni's that run Architecture that may not ask for art or accept graphics (you'll have to look them up to be sure) UEL -University of East London, possibly South Bank, and some up north and here and there. Hope that helps.
Reply 5
I am applying for Architecture this year and am taking Product Design: Graphics, Maths, English & EPQ (also German but thats my mother tongue so it doesn't really count :P) for A Level.
Just to put it out there, I don't agree with the fact that you have to have Art at ALevel. I did it at GCSE but due to the large amount of work it was then, I purposely made the decision not to do it to this level. When I was finding Unis, I only came across perhaps 3 or 4 which wanted Art, or any specific subject to be honest. Most of them in fact say that if your taking 3 A Levels, it would be best not to have a Design and Technology subject as well as Art (that changes it you take more than 3 etc.) All of the 5 I have applied to, none really specify any kind of subjects, so I think it is true that you can get into Architecture with a wide range of subjects, just make sure you do thorough research into the courses! I also know someone who took the same subjects as me and is studying Architecture now, and she does not think not having Art is a disadvantage either. I guess you could even argue that a D&T subject would be more useful as I know we're doing an Architecture based project this year already? It just depends on your interests and skills, to get the best grades you can!
Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by _sophieann
I didnt take art at GCSE, so i cant actually do it for A level, what do you suggest? i was thinking graphics as an alternative?


To add to the suggestions above, many people applying to Architecture courses do an Art Foundation course beforehand. Without Art A-level or GCSE it may be hard to get onto, but it's something to look at.

Also, at Oxford Brookes (maybe at other unis too, although I haven't seen any) they offer a Built Environment foundation course, which gives preparation for all the Built Environment courses, including Architecture.

As to my A-Levels, I'm doing Maths, Physics, History, and Art - plus General Studies and the EPQ.
It is hard to say which subjects would suit best for studying architecture. You should rather think which subjects fit you most. Universities, especially for architecture courses, tend to look for various students instead of a generic group of students that can only produce same set of thoughts or ideas. In my opinion, you should do what ever subjects you want to do, as long as you are good at and interested in. Only in this way are you able to become a clear-minded and unique individual, which would catch uni tutors' attention.
I agree you shouldn't really need Art but last time I looked a year or two back most uni's where asking for it, that's just what I gathered at the time, don't know if its that different now, doubt it and probably unlikely to change, most uni's seem set in their ways on this one. Only way would be to check through the course info page that interests you on each website. To be honest Architecture is a broad subject and to narrow it down to Art students is kind of short sighted. There's a lot of presentation methods of presenting your work in a lot of the RIBA courses which I think is why it is there partly. CAD tends to get dissed a bit, but its down to the student whether the results come out good or not, just as Art doesn't always come out well if your not good at Art. Main thing apart from getting on an Architecture course is to go onto it good at something, whatever your method of entry onto the course I think.
Reply 9
To be honest i'm not sure that it makes a massive difference. I am studying architectural tecnhology at UWE and I completly screwed up my a levels. Took Art, Product Design, Chemistry and Physics at AS level, failed chemistry and physics so took art and product design through to A2 and picked up AS ICT along side the EPQ qualification. Sell yourself when writing your personal statement and why you want to do the corse and I'm sure you will be fine :smile: xx

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by martinetlau
Universities, especially for architecture courses, tend to look for various students instead of a generic group of students that can only produce same set of thoughts or ideas.


As far as I've seen, this seems the case - I'm at Sheffield and people have come from all sorts of backgrounds - from 3 sciences/maths to art foundation. They just seem to want a mix of people with a mix of backgrounds. The general advice from most schools of architecture seems to be a balance between the arts and the sciences. That said, I know people with no A levels in maths OR physics on my course, and they're in no way hampered by this.

So really, it's up to you - do what you're interested in and what you enjoy. Just be aware some architecture schools request maths or physics, but never usually both. And most unis will request art A level or a portfolio (:
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 11
I studied

Maths
Graphic Design
IT
and Art at AS level.

I chose subjects i enjoyed rather than tailoring them specifically for architecture, and would echo others suggestion that doing an Art foundation before uni could be the answer.
Reply 12
Original post by Jamiem13
I studied

Maths
Graphic Design
IT
and Art at AS level.

I chose subjects i enjoyed rather than tailoring them specifically for architecture, and would echo others suggestion that doing an Art foundation before uni could be the answer.

im planning on choosing both maths and graphic, but instead of your other two im planning on doing geography and photography, i never did art gcse so have no option of doing A level art, therefore no option of doing an art foundation unfortunately x

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