a level subject choices for architecture

in the future I want to be an architect and aiming for universities like UCL and Cambridge. I am planning to choose physics, art, maths and geography. My questions are:
Can I not study maths in a level and still get into a good universities. If so, what are the universities choices I can get into.
What are the pros and cons of choosing art as an AS subject not a full a level course. Does this affect the universities I can get into.

thank you so so much for helping.

Reply 1

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Both UCL and Cambridge put far more emphasis on your portfolio than your A level subjects. Do you think that you’ll be capable of producing an outstanding portfolio in your free time and get excellent grades in 3 A levels? Taking art as a full A level will give you more content for your portfolio.
Neither prefer maths A level. Only bath and strathclyde express a definite preference for maths.

Reply 2

onocleqs

8

I applied to four universities this year (including UCL) - two of them required a portfolio to be sent and UCL sent an assessment task that was also art-based. I think the majority of them also preferred an A-level art qualification, and as the person above mentioned I found that the majority of the work I put in my portfolio came from previous A-level work. I took maths and physics alongside art, which worked out fairly well in my opinion as there was some overlapping of content (particularly in the mechanics modules) that lessened the workload a little, however they can both be quite difficult. Honestly overall I'd recommend taking art as a full A-level and only choosing two others as I've known people to drop down from three to two A-levels, so four is only an option if you're really sure you can handle it.

Also I got offers from the three other universities, but I should warn you that the admissions process for architecture at UCL can be very slow - I applied around 15th December last year and besides sending the assessment task mid-January I never heard anything back and had to withdraw my offer at the start of March in order to confirm a different offer (apparently it could've taken a couple more months than that). If you're applying by the October deadline (I assume so if you're applying to Cambridge uni) then you might not have to worry about this, it may only be an issue for later applicants, but I thought I'd warn you just in case.

One last thing - it might be a good idea to find out what each uni's course is like - the one I've settled for (BCU) is mainly art-based(?) but a lot of the work revolves around 'live projects' and such, whereas none of the other courses I applied for mentioned this. I think courses vary between art-based and technology-based from what I've heard (I might be wrong here) so depending on what the unis you want to apply for offer, it could be a good idea to base your options on this. I'm fairly sure UCL is also more heavily art-based - none of the courses I applied for were 'technology based' and I only heard this term from one uni (Kent) that claimed it was a fair mix of both so honestly I don't really know what it means, maybe whether they lean more towards traditional or digital methods?

Anyway sorry this is so long, hopefully some of this info helps!

OP

thank you soo much

Hi there!
The University of Kent's architecture undergraduate course accepts students without A-level Maths, although you do have to have achieved a C at GCSE Maths. Also, Kent is ranked in the top 20 universities in the country for its architecture course so you won't have to compromise in that respect :smile:

Here is the link to the University of Kent's architecture course so you can check it out for yourself;
https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/4/architecture#overview

Also, you can speak to a current architecture student at the University of Kent via the Unibuddy scheme to find out what it's like to study architecture at Kent. https://www.kent.ac.uk/unibuddy/
I hope that this helps :smile:

Original post by mukh.t

in the future I want to be an architect and aiming for universities like UCL and Cambridge. I am planning to choose physics, art, maths and geography. My questions are:
Can I not study maths in a level and still get into a good universities. If so, what are the universities choices I can get into.
What are the pros and cons of choosing art as an AS subject not a full a level course. Does this affect the universities I can get into.

thank you so so much for helping.

Reply 5

thewinelake

17

Original post by mukh.t

in the future I want to be an architect and aiming for universities like UCL and Cambridge. I am planning to choose physics, art, maths and geography. My questions are:
Can I not study maths in a level and still get into a good universities. If so, what are the universities choices I can get into.
What are the pros and cons of choosing art as an AS subject not a full a level course. Does this affect the universities I can get into.

thank you so so much for helping.

Just thinking - the architecture summer shows are on right now, but not for long. If you're in/near London you should go visit (UCL Bartlett & Cambridge). Plenty of people to talk to there, as well.

a level subject choices for architecture

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you