BA in Landscape Architecture with Urban Design Birmingham City University

Do you love the character and buzz of urban places? The Landscape Architecture with Urban Design degree course will help you to gain real industry exposure and work on a wide range of exciting briefs. The course focuses on offering experience through practice, which will enhance your chances of securing a role after you graduate.

In Landscape Architecture with Urban Design, our focus is on a need to transcend traditional built environment disciplines towards the creation of lively and sustainable urban places. Through guided exploration of personal design and research processes, you will explore and unwrap many layers to reveal the unlimited design options that our urban landscapes present.

As a compliment to Landscape Architecture, this pathway focuses on urban contexts as social places and looks at ways in which human built-environments can ensure a more sustainable, happy future for all of us.

What's covered in this course?

Covering the spectrum of landscape architecture, with an enhanced focus on urban design.

You’ll work in a design studio culture, which mimics real-world creative practice to prepare you for your future career.

Experience on live local sites and project briefs in design studios will develop your design creativity and hone your professional practice skills. Placements and competitions will give you fantastic opportunities. There are also chances to compete for industry-connected awards.

You’ll have the chance to be part of numerous collaborative initiatives within the School of Architecture and Design that give you the chance to work on a diverse variety of live projects. Past examples include explorations into the death and life of a local high street, wayfinding from forgotten nodes and journeys in hybrid reality.

You’ll also have the opportunity to attend lectures and take part in workshops from a large variety of international and award-winning professionals. Previous guest speakers have included Martha Schwartz, Andrew Grant, Andrew Wilson, Jeppe Aagard Anderson, Neil Porter, Chris Beardshaw and Kim Wilkie.

You’ll be based in our multi-million pound City Centre Campus within our Parkside Building, where you will have access to digital studios and 3D design workshops. The proximity of the newly built Eastside Park provides inspiration for your studies, introducing a strong example of contemporary civic space and park design.

Professional placement year

This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).

Why choose us?

1. You’ll gain real industry experience, working on a wide range of briefs, from broad strategic scale, down to detailed design for construction.
2. Our connections with the region’s best landscape architecture and urban design practices give you unrivalled work experience while studying and help you secure employment after graduation.
3. 91 per cent of leavers from the School were in employment or further study, according to a recent survey.
4. Birmingham School of Architecture and Design is highly respected and has a rich history of providing education and opportunities. It celebrated its centenary in 2009.
5. Two-thirds of the impact of our research was judged to be very considerable (3*) or outstanding (4*) - REF2021

Year one

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):

• Inspiration
• Skills
• Influence
• Components
• Formation

Year two

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 100 credits):

• Urban Character
• Context
• Praxis
• Urban Design
• Sustainable Urban Futures

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following list of optional modules.

• Collaborative Practice
• Live Project

Professional Placement Year (Optional)

In order to qualify for the award of BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture With Urban Design with Professional Placement Year a student must successfully complete the following module.

• Professional Placement Year

Final Year

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):

• Major Project: Landscape Architecture
• Professionalism
• Major Design: Define
• Major Design: Deliver Urban Design

Enhancing your employability skills

You’ll have a sound knowledge of the physical, economic and social factors which influence contemporary built environment practice. You’ll also understand the professional, legal and institutional framework of landscape architecture.

You’ll develop a comprehensive portfolio that shows employers a range of skills in design practice and academic study.

Experience on live local sites with client-driven briefs in landscape studios will develop your design creativity and hone your professional practice skills.

You’ll be skilled in the latest techniques, including rapid prototyping and 3D design.

The course supports student employability and long-term career opportunity by enhancing your development and instilling an understanding of life-long professional progression.

You’ll develop a range of transferable skills, such as how to communicate ideas and solve problems, as well as develop negotiation and planning skills. You’ll learn how to work effectively and efficiently either on your own or as part of a team.

Links to industry

The learning environment is embedded in practice-based learning, aligned directly to landscape architecture and urban design. We strive to open up opportunities for practice collaboration, with specialist presentations on current projects, design office and live build project tours and guest reviews.

Our teaching staff all hold trans-disciplinary qualifications, which span landscape architecture, architecture, urban design and more, teaching design is developed from an extensive and varied combination of practice, academic and teaching experience. We are committed to the continual development of the course in alignment with contemporary issues and practices, in support of our professions and our graduates’ success.

Placements

During her studies on the BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture course, Daniela Teleku completed a work placement at Fira, a nationally recognised practice of landscape architects, urban designers, master planners and architects.

Daniela wanted experience working for a practice where Architects worked together with Landscape Architects and Fira stood out as a firm with a multidisciplinary approach to projects.

Daniela was given the opportunity to get involved in a range of project work all at different stages, from early design to on-site. Her work included detailed design for construction, conceptual and innovative design for a new play area in a historic park, looking at materials for construction, and a site visit at the University of Birmingham Hotel and Conference Centre. She also built a 3D Revit model for a mental health project.