Architecture and the Sustainable Environment - MSc

The MSc in Architecture and Sustainable Environment (MASE) is a taught course aimed at professionals and academics world-wide with an interest in sustainability in the built environment, including architects, engineers, geographers, surveyors, historians and urban designers.

The MSc is offered by Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment, a new research centre in the Kent School of Architecture and Planning (KSAP) that promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to research in the field of sustainability in the built environment, bridging the traditional boundaries between the arts and the sciences, research and practice.

The course content ranges from the development of the design skills and the technical and scientific understanding required to develop sustainable solutions for new and existing buildings, the analysis of historic buildings and past environment technologies, to a critical exploration of the historical and cultural context of sustainability and environmental design.

The course, which can be studied full-time or part-time, offers an academically rigorous and intellectually challenging learning environment, which aims to enhance career development within the field for professionals and academics. The over-arching aim of the programme is to provide participants with a systematic understanding of core and advanced areas of sustainable design through a combination of taught courses, research assignments and project work. Students will be asked to conduct rigorous technical and historical research and to explore the practical application of their findings in the context of design and technology.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• enable students to develop systematic understanding of the effect of the built environment on the environmental performance and energy consumption of buildings, while optimising comfortable conditions for the occupants
• develop your understanding of the sustainability drivers for the built environment
• develop your in-depth knowledge of the theoretical principles of low carbon design
• develop the ability to analyse the environmental behaviour of historic structures and the efficiency of past environmental technologies, using modern scientific methods
• promote creativity in the integration of sustainable solutions in the built environment at different scales
• enable you to develop skills for physical monitoring and digital modelling of the environmental and energy performance of buildings
• provide you with the ability to work in multidisciplinary design teams
• promote and support independent research skills.
• enable you to develop the skills required for both autonomous practice and team-working.
• support you, so that you can fulfil your full potential in the programme.

Teaching and assessment

Assessment is mostly based on coursework, with presentations, case-study analyses, design proposals, essays and the dissertation.

Students need to have a 2.1 honours degree (or equivalent), in architecture or related discipline in the built environment. Those without the degree or who come from other disciplinary backgrounds will be considered for entry on an individual basis but must be able to show a considerable period of experience at an appropriate level. All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, and professional qualifications and experience will also be taken into account when considering applications.