Course Details

Course Code(s):
MRARCHTFAD
Available:
Full-Time
Intake:
Autumn/Fall
Course Start Date:
September
Duration:
2 years
Award:
Masters
Qualification:
NFQ Level 9 Major Award
Course Type: Taught
Fees: For Information on Fees, see section below.

Contact(s):

Name: Declan Feeney
Email: Declan.feeney@ul.ie

Brief Description

The M.Arch. graduate programme at SAUL offers an innovative course and a recognised route into the profession of architecture for those with an undergraduate degree in architecture; it can be tailored in length depending on an applicant’s prior learning.

 

Our graduate programme is fast-paced and flexible, and is run by architects, writers, critics, historians, engineers and philosophers. Established in 2005, SAUL now comprises 140 undergraduate students, from Ireland and abroad as well as European and International students with us for a year of their studies. SAUL’s two studios are located in Limerick: the main studio is in a very central location on the campus of the University of Limerick near the banks of the River Shannon; the SAUL Fab Lab is located in the heart of the Georgian city. SAUL teaching faculty has a strongly international dimension; as well as coming from Limerick and Dublin, staff hail from New York, Stockholm, London, Berlin, Scotland, France, Morocco and Spain. These top quality teaching faculty practice architecture in varying ways; as directors of a range of award-winning architectural practices in Ireland including Bucholz McEvoy Architects, Grafton Architects, A2 Architects, Hassett Ducatez Architects, PAC Studio, Urban Agency; as academics from a variety of disciplines including Architecture, Architectural History, English literature and Geography; and as professionals in Local Governance and Civil Engineering. SAUL conducts research projects through its dedicated research arm the SAUL Intelligence Unit.  The SAUL IU engages in a variety of areas, from individual academic research projects to larger-scale undertakings with partners in local governance, local industry, and other faculties within the University. 

The new M.Arch. graduate programme at the University of Limerick is fast-paced and flexible, offering an innovative course for those with an undergraduate degree in architecture. Research learning is at the core of the course, through the Design Studio with its unique instruction method and collaborative peer-to-peer learning environment. The course is between one and three years full-time, depending on an applicant’s prior learning. Note: This programme is subject to professional accreditation by the RIAI. 

Year 1
Autumn Semester Spring Semester
  • Design Studio 1 (Graduate Entry)
  • History, Theory and Criticism in Architecture
  • Digital Representation
  • Structural Concepts: Gravity and Reaction
  • Design Studio 2 (Graduate Entry)
  • Visual Culture and Expression
  • Environmental Systems and Forces
  • Construction Documents: Coding, Organising and Managing  Information
  
Year 2
Autumn Semester Spring Semester
  • Graduate Design Project 1
  • Graduate Design Research 1
  • Advanced Construction Technology Elective
  •  Graduate Design Project 2
  • Graduate Design Research 2  
  • Profession and Practice of Architecture
  • Elective
Year 3
Autumn Semester Spring Semester
  • Graduate Thesis Project 1
  • Graduate Thesis Dissertation 1
  • Graduate Thesis Seminar 1
  • Elective
  • Graduate Thesis Project 2
  • Graduate Thesis Dissertation 2
  • Graduate Thesis Seminar 2
  •  

 

Elective Offerings available for Year 2 and Year 3 from within SAUL Elective Offerings available for Year 2 and Year 3 from within the University 
  • Utopian Studies (Graduate Elective)
  • Digital Media and Representation (Graduate Elective)
  • Experimental Construction (Graduate Elective)
  • Engineering Research (Graduate Elective)
  • Digital Technology (Graduate Elective)
  • Architectural Form and Culture (Graduate Elective)
  • Design Philosophy (Graduate Elective)
  • Urban Design (Graduate Elective)
  • Culture Place Environment (Graduate Elective)
  • Broadening for Better Futures: Science & Medicine in History & Society
  • Broadening: Our City – Our University
  • Broadening: Social and Civic Engagement
  • Broadening: Social Media for Social Good
  • Broadening through Creativity and Proactivity
  • Broadening by understanding and confronting Risk and Crisis
  • Broadening: Active Body, Active Mind
  • Broadening: Exploring the Brain and Understanding Behaviour
  • Broadening through Awareness, Activism and the Arts (Postgraduate)
  • Broadening through Sustainable Development

SAUL seeks highly motivated, independent thinkers for this dynamic new graduate programme. Applicants must have a first or second class Level 8 honours degree in architecture (Level 8 - NQAI National Qualifications Authority of Ireland). The admissions procedure of portfolio, interview, and assessment of prior learning will determine each applicant’s entry point.

The applicant’s portfolio may contain selected undergraduate work plus any relevant professional work and selection of any other relevant content to demonstrate the applicant’s creativity and suitability for this course. Following a portfolio assessment, the applicant will be called to interview. Applicants from non-English speaking countries must have high-level competence in English.

WHAT TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR APPLICATION:

  • Qualification transcripts and certificates
  • Portfolio
  • English language qualification if English is not your first language
  • Certified English translations of your transcripts/certificates where the originals are in a language other than English.
  • A copy of your birth certificate/passport

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of either prior successful completion of a degree qualification taught through the medium of English or meet one of the criteria below (no longer than two years prior to application):

Acceptable English Language qualifications include the following:

  • Matriculation examinations from European countries where English is presented as a subject and an acceptable level is achieved
  • Irish Leaving Certificate English –Ordinary Level Grade D or above
  • TOEFL – 580 (paper based) or 90 (internet based)
  • IELTS – Minimum score of 6.5 with no less than 6 in any one component.
  • English Test for English and Academic Purposes (ETAPP) – Grade C1
  • GCE ‘O’ level English Language/GCSE English Language – Grade C or above
  • University of Cambridge ESOL –Certificate of Proficiency in English - Grade C / Certificate in Advanced English Grade A
  • GCE Examination Boards – Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations – Grade C / Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate – School Certificate Pass 1-6 / University of London Entrance and School Examinations Council – School Certificate Pass 1-6


Results in examinations other than those listed above may also be accepted as meeting our English language requirements. Contact the International Education Division for advice.
 

EU - €6,992 per annum*

Non EU - €16,094 per annum*

*Please not year two fees are subject to change

Further information on fees and payment of fees is available from the Student Fees Office website. All fee related queries should be directed to the Student Fees Office (Phone: +353 61 213 007 or email student.fees.office@ul.ie.)

Please click here for information on funding and scholarships.