**This is a Connected Degree** Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. **Overview** Take your first step to becoming a registered architect on our BA (Hons) Architecture degree course – accredited by Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). With client-driven projects and professional placements, you'll learn from the best in architecture and how to shape cities and communities for the better. Our teaching team of professional architects and focus on sustainability ensure your practice is future-proof and industry-standard. After graduation, you’ll have the theoretical and practical foundations to pursue Master’s study and advance in your registration. You can also begin a career in the architecture, sustainability and construction industries, such as landscape architecture, interior design and historic building conservation. **Course highlights** - Fast-track your architect registration by completing this degree and getting Part 1 qualification – an ARB requirement - Broaden your professional experience by working with actual clients in our in-house Architecture Project Office - Experience a professional design studio by working in our dedicated studio spaces, developing your individual and team skills - Get a taste of working in the architecture industry by taking an optional one-year placement - Impress future employers by showcasing your work at our annual Graduate Show - Enrich your theoretical understanding by going on site visits to major international cities – past trips include Helsinki, Barcelona, New York and Berlin - Advance your abilities in key software used widely in the industries – including Building Information Modelling (BIM), advanced parametric modelling, environment evaluation software, and 3D scanning and printing tools **Careers and opportunities** Many graduates on this course continue their architect training with paid, mentored professional experience in a practice, before studying at postgraduate level for a Master of Architecture degree. You can use your skills in areas such as design practice, planning and historic building conservation. **Graduate jobs** Jobs our graduates have taken on include: - Architectural designer - Interior designer - Landscape architect - Urban designer - Planner - Architectural technologist - Product designer - Graphic designer - Lighting designer - Set designer **Graduate destinations** Companies graduates have worked for include: - Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt - Make - Re-Format - Grimshaw - PAD Studio - Hawkins Brown - Design Engine - Architecture plb - Hampshire County Architects - Squire & Partners - Allies & Morrison - Penoyre & Prasad Past students, having completed their registration, have gone on to run their own practices. For example, Simon Astridge Architecture Workshop, DMWA and PCA.