Undergraduate course information

Design

The Bachelor of Design offers four distinct professional areas of specialisation:

• Fashion and Textile Design
• Industrial Design
• Interior Design, and
• Visual Communication.

Design students are required to undertake a professional core program specific to each individual course, as well as elective studies or a sub-major to their degree. The four areas also share a number of subjects within the Design Studies strand.

Design Studies subjects

All design students are required to undertake 30 credit points of Design Studies subjects offered by the Interdisciplinary Studies Unit. Each subject is worth 6 credit points and is one semester in duration.

These subjects examine what is common to the different forms of designing and the interface between design and other disciplines and professions. They develop creative thinking within a critical framework. They foster openness to difference and alternative futures while establishing criteria for judgment about the value of designed proposals. They enhance students' abilities to work collaboratively and reflect individually. Through these subjects, students acquire an understanding of, and skills in, a range of design research:

1. research for design – investigating the cultural contexts of design problems and solutions
2. research of design – reflecting upon and explaining the nature of creative design processes
3. research by design – exploring and articulating what can be discovered about situations through designed interventions.

Not all subjects are offered every semester and some are subject to change in 2005. Contact the Faculty for details.

Elective stream

Students are required to undertake 24 credit points of elective subjects. This may be in the form of a sub-major – 24 credit points in a single specialist area – or chosen by students from a variety of electives offered by the different faculties in the University.

Overseas exchange

The Design programs offer students opportunities to undertake concurrent study at approved institutions overseas. The Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building has a Memorandum of Understanding with institutions in Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom.

Architecture

The Architecture program includes the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (C10004)
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Architecture (C09001), and
• Bachelor of Architecture (C08001).

Overview

The Architecture program at UTS offers disciplinary and professional education through two distinct but consecutive and strongly interconnected degree courses. The first tier of this two-tier structure comprises a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (BA), awarded after successful completion of three years of full-time study (or part-time equivalent). The second tier comprises a Bachelor of Architecture (BArch), which involves a further two years of full-time study (or part-time equivalent).

In general terms, the BA can be seen as a liberal introduction to the study of architecture as a discipline. This degree can stand alone and equips students to join other design fields or related disciplines, or to go on to further academic research and study. It also plays an important role in preparing students for the BArch degree. In this second degree, the emphasis lies on educating students for the practice of architecture. Together, the two degrees acknowledge the nature of architecture as both a discipline and a profession.

The Bachelor of Architecture is a professional degree, i.e. a qualification accepted for candidates seeking to take the professional examination of the Board of Architects and Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) as a prerequisite to registration under the provision of the Architects Act. The Bachelor of Architecture may be undertaken only after the successful completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree (or equivalent), a degree that by itself does not lead to professional recognition.

Practice-based learning

Students who are working also have an opportunity to reflect analytically on this experience through selected core and elective subjects that can be taken in practice-based learning mode.

The practice-based learning option reflects the true roles played, respectively, by the institution and the workplace in architectural education. This mode offers academic support and supervision for practice-based subjects, thus encouraging critical and reflective modes of practice. The practice-based learning mode reinforces a conception of architecture as both a discipline and a profession, and allows for these to be mutually informing.

Although they are conducted through flexible delivery, the practice-based learning subjects, like normal academic subjects, require assignments and some academic contact hours. The distinctive feature is that architectural practice is treated as the source of learning, while the university remains the site of learning.

In the Architecture program, there is a range of subjects that may be undertaken in practice-based learning mode. This maintains and supports the value of practical industry experience, and acknowledges this through academic credit. Across the BA and the BArch, there are a maximum of six subjects (a total of 36 credit points) available in practice-based learning mode: a suite of four practice-based elective subjects (11294–7 Architectural Experience A, B, C and D) that may be taken over Years 2 and 3 of the BA, and Years 4 and 5 of the BArch. A student who takes all four of these subjects has the potential for a sub-major in Architectural Experience. There are also two compulsory subjects in the BArch that offer the option of practice-based learning mode: 11261 Architectural Design – Thematic Design, and 11265 Integrated Technologies. Those students who choose not to work have the option of pursuing an entirely academic program.

Subject strands

The subjects in the program are ordered into four strands. While the four subject strands offer a 'vertical' structure and continuity throughout the program, they do not represent rigid disciplinary specialisations. Indeed, their boundaries should be regarded as permeable, since it is desirable to encourage 'horizontal' integration between the threads in a strand, and bridging between the strands.

Architectural Design

This strand is the core of architectural education, as it combines and integrates the knowledge and skills taught in all other areas. The Architectural Design strand necessarily has an interdisciplinary focus, and is the primary site for the application and synthesis of theoretical knowledge. Architectural design education has traditionally centred on the studio-teaching mode. This acknowledges the unique role of architectural design in architectural education, wherein honourable labour and long apprenticeship are essential for its craft.

History and Theory

This strand includes four interrelated threads: Architectural History, Urban Studies, Architectural Research Methods, and Architectural Theory. The strand addresses the historical, sociocultural and conceptual context of architecture. It aims to inform contemporary architectural practice by drawing tangible links between history, theory and architectural design.

Science and Technology

This strand includes four interrelated threads: Structure, Construction, Environmental Science, and Applied Services. It is concerned with the scientific, technical and environmentally sustainable aspects involved in the materialisation of architecture.

Professional Practice

This strand serves to link architectural education with the specific knowledge, skills, and competencies required in the ethical, legal and technical practice of the architectural profession.

Building

One undergraduate course, which commenced in 2003, is offered:

• Bachelor of Construction (C10214)

The Bachelor of Construction is concerned with the management of all aspects of the construction process and provides a high quality education for both construction managers and quantity surveyors.

It delivers all the recognised competencies for construction professionals and gives graduates the opportunity to diversify into project management. This unique new degree provides graduates with the broader skills and knowledge base required to meet the changing demands of the construction industry.

This course offers a first-rate building education and gives students opportunities such as industrial placements, field trips, practical and lab-based work and international exchange programs which enhance the learning environment. Students have access to state-of-the-art computing facilities and even take some subjects over the Internet. Every stage of the course includes a practical component and there is a substantial professional work experience program.

The Bachelor of Construction has replaced the Bachelor of Building in Construction Economics and the Bachelor of Building in Construction Management. Existing students in these two old courses, who are unable to complete discontinued subjects due to failures or leave of absence, are encouraged to transfer to the new course, in which case their standing will be determined on the basis of the transition arrangements, the details of which are available from the Faculty Office. Should this not be possible, equivalent subjects in the new course will be allocated to replace those discontinued in the old courses.

Property

One undergraduate course of cooperative education is offered:

• Bachelor of Property Economics (C10007)

Property is valued as a fundamental economic asset that affects the security and wealth of the 'owner'. Success in this industry requires an understanding of the principles of valuation, legalities and ethics, economics, finance, accounting and management.

The Bachelor of Property Economics produces highly skilled property professionals and is fully recognised by Australian employers, governments and professional associations.

The Faculty provides a broad-based applied property degree course that includes the important component of practical experience; full-time students complete their degree on a part-time basis for the final two years, ensuring all students have industry experience upon graduation. Because of this, 97 per cent of our graduates are in full-time work in the industry before, or soon after, completing the course.¹

Faculty teaching strategies

The teaching strategy consists of a commitment to the creation of a learning environment where:

• students are motivated to want to learn
• students learn both in groups and independently
• students learn using a combination of theoretical and practical applications
• students adopt a scholarly approach to their studies
• students emulate practice
• students learn from feedback on exams, assignments and general performance, and
• research and writing skills are promoted.

Students learn from highly accomplished and motivated staff, student readers, workbooks and texts where appropriate.