Architecture and Building

The difference between architecture and building courses should be pretty obvious - one designs it, the other knocks it up, but there are many areas where the two overlap, hence the two cosying up in this chapter.

To take the second first, university courses on building studies (or the built environment) focus on all aspects of buildings - except the design element that belongs to architects. In many ways, it's an altogether more practical course than "pure" architecture, covering, as it does, construction management, construction techniques, structural and civil engineering and the planning of infrastructure for major building developments, including airports and railway's.

The idea of a building course is to become one of the highly skilled professionals who gets to plan and build increasingly complex projects anywhere in the world. Britain, despite the fact that its manufacturing industry has been butchered over the past 25 years, remains a centre of excellence in civil engineering and construction. The chances of employment post-graduation, therefore, are pretty high, although it does depend rather on the state of the economy. For both architecture and building, national-lottery-funded projects are keeping things moving (so that's another reason to buy a ticket). Four-fifths of building graduates are in jobs six months after leaving university.

Where the two courses divide is that building studies courses have largely developed from university schools of engineering, though many courses have also built up a grounding in urban policy and history. It's all very well knowing how to plan and how to build, but the "science" of getting things done is always at the whim of local and national politics. The best engineers and contractors understand the political ins and outs of projects, and one way of understanding the political sensitivities of particular projects is to understand their history. to many arts students, courses like these can appear dry and mechanical; but in the truly gritty world of construction, nothing could be further from the truth.

The more closely focused courses - those containing engineering or architecture modules, for instance - often require specific A-level subjects, such as maths or physics. These types of degree will also draw more on your numerical skills, whereas more general or management-based building degrees will require a greater emphasis on communication and organisation.

But because the learning-through-doing component is so essential in this field, courses are inevitably more "hands-on" than many arts subjects. This is also why courses can be sponsored by industry without the feeling that the university departments are being "bought", and it also can't do any harm when it comes to post-graduation employment prospects.

An increasing number of women apply to study construction engineering and built environment courses; traditionally, and until recently, this has been a male-dominated preserve, but the times are a'changing.

In the immortal words of the greatest architect of the 20th century, Le Corbusier, architecture is "the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light". Sounds wonderful and it can be, but it is also a long course of study, comprising a three-year BA or BSc degree at university, a year of practical training in an architect's office, a two-year Dip Arch or BArch at university, and a further year of practical training before the final Professional Practice Examination, which will qualify you for registration as an architect.

You will study across a wide range of subjects, from history and theory to IT, technology and management, each of which will contribute to the core area of architectural design, which comprises 50% of the course.

There are numerous Schools of Architecture in the UK whose qualifications are prescribed by the regulatory body for architects, the Architects Registration Board, and whose courses are validated by the professional body, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and in addition there are several candidate courses which are currently seeking both prescription and validation.

If a five-year course is a daunting financial prospect, several schools in metropolitan areas offer a part-time alternative. It takes a little longer, five years for a BA or BSc degree and three years for a Dip Arch or BArch, but you have the advantage of earning a living while studying, and gaining a deeper insight into the workings of the profession and the building industry.

The breadth of the subject and the structure and content of the courses will equip you with many transferable skills, and for those who decide after taking their undergraduate degree not to pursue a career as an architect there will be many employment opportunities in IT, journalism and the media.

It is a myth that A-level maths and physics are a prerequisite for entry on to architecture courses, but it certainly will he an advantage if you have a natural feel for geometry and three-dimensional form, and skill in drawing. Most schools will expect to see evidence of your abilities in a portfolio of work at the time of your application.

You will need a minimum of two A-levels if you enrol on leaving school, but the government's widening access policy encourages candidates from non-traditional academic backgrounds to enrol as mature students if they can demonstrate an aptitude for the subject. Some of the best architects began their working lives as carpenters or bricklayers.