Master of Architecture (MArch)

The University of Hong Kong

Programme Aims

The Master of Architecture (MArch) is a two-year UGC-funded full-time programme offered by the Department of Architecture. The 2-year MArch is offered to applicants who hold a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies degree at this University; or another equivalent qualification from another university or comparable institution accepted for this purpose.

The two-year professional Master of Architecture degree is recognized by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), the Architects Registration Board of HKSAR (ARB), the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), the National Board of Architectural Accreditation (NBAA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Through a multidisciplinary curriculum emphasising current design and production technologies alongside an understanding of the historical and theoretical culture of architecture, the programme enables students to acquire broad the expertise, skills and knowledge to confront the complexities of contemporary architectural discourse, design and practice.

Course Curriculum & Aims

Core Courses:

• Advanced Structural Systems
• Architecture and Its Discourses
• Core Design Courses (i.e. Design 10-13)
• Design and Construction Communication
• Design and Technology of Sustainable Buildings
• Pre-thesis Seminar
• Professional Practice I & II

Elective Courses:

Master programme students may choose elective courses from the below categories. These courses can also be taken in an optional summer semester after the first year:
Categories:

I. History and Theory
II. Urbanisation and Habitation
III. Technology and Sustainability
IV. Digital Media and Fabrication
V. Practice and Management

The pedagogy of the MArch programme is focused on design studios, supported by required core courses and elective seminars in the categories, namely History and Theory, Urbanisation and Habitation, Technology and Sustainability, Digital Media and Fabrication and Practice and Management. This structure aims to enable students to explore the boundaries of disciplinary knowledge with methodological rigour while engaging critically with the constraints of contemporary practice. In the first three semesters of the programme, students select from Design Studio courses offered by staff with a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.
These design studios serve as the testing ground for skills and knowledge acquired in seminars and lecture courses.

In the final semester of the Design Studio course, students focus on a self-directed design thesis, formulated individually and supervised by staff in the Department, as a conclusion of the MArch curriculum. In addition to demonstrating satisfactory ability in the technical aspects of architectural practice, the thesis should produce innovative work that extends and enriches knowledge in the broader field of architecture.

Through an expanding network of international institutional links, the MArch programme offers a wide variety of joint studios, sponsored studios, and other forms of collaborative teaching and learning, in which there are opportunities for travel and academic exchanges abroad, knowledge exchange within the community and in China, direct contact to fabricators in industry, and experiential learning on real-world projects.