Existing Bath uni architecture students - brutally honest thoughts?

Hey,
Currently deciding between Bath and Lboro as my uni firm for architecture. I wanted to know your honest opinions of your course? What’s the balance between work and spare time like? Do you get along well with the others in the course? Do you think you’re well assisted for your future after graduation? How do you truly feel about the course and your wider university experience?
Any other points you want to mention are welcome.
Thanks so much,
Haneul_Sol

Hi there,

I’m a civil engineering student at the university, so while I don’t do your exact course, I can offer some insight based on working with architects and getting to know the university.

In your first semester you’ll work with civil engineers in a big group design project where you’ll be given a prompt to design and construct a structure. I personally found this a super cool way to be integrated into the course as it was super different to what I had done before and immediately gets you utilising your creativity and analysis skills. You’ll then have further lectures and modules with exams and coursework (both group and individual). In general, I have found it a good idea to treat university like a 9-5. The amount of in person lecture time you receive varies a lot from semester to semester however its good to do work at 1:1 ratio where you do one hour of personal studying alongside every hour you learn. If you treat the course like a job, you should be able to keep up with your workload and still have weekends and evenings free. That said you may choose to structure your hours differently, some people work late into the nights and then take breaks in the day, some people choose to spread their hours into the weekend. Its up to you how you choose to structure your week and there is no correct way. When managing coursework, you’ll also be given dedicated days and times to utilise the design studio to complete such, so don’t worry that your coursework is overlooked alongside your lectures, you’ll have time set to be able to complete such.

Working across the course has allowed a lot of opportunities to get to know who’s on the course for both civil engineering and architecture. Personally, I get along great with others on the course and majority of students are super willing to help each other out and support each other on the projects, personal studying etc. its really good to remember that in every aspect of university you are not the only one, whether you’re struggling with a particular module, meeting people or coursework, you are absolutely not the only person struggling with such and students are almost always more than willing to try and help each other out. In addition, the lecturers are very supportive and have dedicated times to answer questions from students.

The architecture course also offers two 6-month placements and if you choose to study at bath, I highly recommend doing those. They are a great way to gain real world experience in the architecture world and are huge CV boosters for when you graduate. Bath has a great placement team which assists in applying to such, offering CV advice, mock interviews and gathering job opportunities to apply for. This team also exists for graduate opportunities so there is so much support available to be hired. Bath has an excellent employability rate, and (especially in architecture) some companies actually look for Bath students specifically as the university is preferred by some for our great student reputation.

Overall, I have greatly enjoyed my time at Bath. While there is a step up from A-levels, especially in individual study and work or the course content, this is the same across the entire university world, so be prepared to manage your time. Bath also has a bunch of societies, sports, a beautiful city with super easy transport links and so much student support from mental wellbeing teams to financial services etc.,

Good luck with your decision! Hope this helped,
- Sophie (uni of Bath)

Hey Sophie,

Thanks so much for the in-depth comments - it actually helped put things into perspective in relation to my other choices for uni.
As of now, I think I should just go for it and firm Bath as my top choice for uni; it really seems like the best option for me in most aspects.
All that’s left is the grades, which I’m kinda scared about and hoping doesn’t go wrong!

~ Haneul

Although I am not a student I have also firmed Bath after talking to some students. I am also doing architecture!
Good luck on your exams!