Architecture courses

English students and NI students studying in the UK

You may treat the 2 parts of an architecture course as a single course for student support purposes. It's important to note they can attract undergraduate funding for both parts.

This remains the case if a student undertakes one year practical experience between the 2 parts.

You can still treat the 2 parts as a single course if a student takes a break of more than one year between them, if the student does not withdraw from the overall course at the end of part 1.

To treat the course as a single course the student must:

• have studied a qualifying part 1 course before applying for part 2
• not withdraw between parts 1 and 2
• not change mode of study
• not have an excessive gap between completing the 2 parts

There's further information on eligibility in the guidance chapters on the SFE practitioners’ website.

Changes introduced by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) mean that they no longer accredit new part 1 courses. Existing course accreditation will expire on 31 December 2027.

For new students from academic year 2025/26, part 1 courses will use the relevant Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) code attached to identify the course.

Please make sure that HECoS codes are correctly assigned to part 1 courses on CMS. We consider a course as leading to qualification as an architect where it is an undergraduate degree (including integrated master’s) and has the following HECoS code:

• 100122 (architecture)

How to add architecture courses to CMS

Part 1

You should add part 1 courses to CMS as undergraduate courses, choosing the relevant qualification. For example, bachelor’s degree with honours.

You should make sure to attach the relevant HECoS code to the course.

Part 2

If the course meets the eligibility criteria and is a single course, you should add part 2 courses to CMS as undergraduate courses.

When doing this, make sure to choose the Master of Architecture qualification.

If the necessary courses are already listed on CMS, there’s no need to create replacement courses. If you need any HECoS code changes on existing courses, please contact ssin_queries@slc.co.uk.

The single course provision only applies to full-time courses. Students who’ve switched mode of study or are studying both courses part-time will not qualify for undergraduate support for part 2. They could be eligible for postgraduate master's support if the course meets the designation criteria.

Welsh students

The same rules apply to Welsh students as English students with the following exceptions:

• From academic year 2018/19 the Welsh Government changed the single course provision to include full-time and part-time courses.
• Students taking both courses, full-time or part-time, can qualify for undergraduate support for part 2 of the course.

There's further information on eligibility in the guidance chapters on the SFW practitioners’ website.

Postgraduate funding

Students applying for part 2 courses should apply for postgraduate funding when:

• the gap between the part 1 and part 2 course is longer than 3 years
• they've withdrawn from their study before beginning the part 2 course
• they're studying the part 2 course on a part-time basis (England and NI only)
• they've changed mode of study
• the part 2 course is not accredited by ARB
• they’ve previously studied a non-architecture course before acceptance onto a part 2 architecture course
• their part 1 course did not meet the qualifying criteria – determined by HECoS code 100122 for new students from academic year 2025/26

You should add these courses to CMS as postgraduate courses, choosing the Master of Architecture qualification. We'll assess the student’s application and decide if this is the correct funding level for them.