Through a multidisciplinary curriculum emphasising current design and production technologies alongside an understanding of the historical and theoretical culture of architecture, the programme enables students to acquire broad expertise, skills and knowledge to confront the complexities of contemporary architectural discourse, design and practice.

Core Courses:
‧ Advanced Structural Systems
‧ Architecture and Its Discourses
‧ Core Design Courses (i.e. Design 9-14)
‧ Design and Construction Communication
‧ Design and Technology of Sustainable Buildings
‧ Digital Media and Methods
‧ History of Modern Architecture
‧ Introduction to Building Structures
‧ Pre-thesis Seminar
‧ Principles of Building
‧ Professional Practice I & II

Elective Courses:
MArch(Design) students may choose elective courses from the below categories. These courses can also be taken in the optional summer semester during the first and second years:

Categories:
I. History and Theory
II. Urbanisation and Habitation
III. Technology and Sustainability
IV. Digital Media and Fabrication
V. Practice and Management

The pedagogy of the MArch(Design) programme is focused on design studios, supported by required core courses and elective seminars in five categories, namely History and Theory, Urbanisation and Habitation, Technology and Sustainability, Digital Media and Fabrication, and Practice and Management. This structure aims to enable students to explore the boundaries of disciplinary knowledge with methodological rigour while engaging critically with the constraints of contemporary practice.

In the first five semesters of the programme, students select from the Design Studio courses offered by staff with a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.

These Design Studios serve as the testing ground for skills and knowledge acquired in seminars and lectures.

In the Design Studio during the final semester, students focus on a self-directed design thesis, formulated individually and supervised by staff in the Department, as a conclusion of the MArch(Design) curriculum. In addition to demonstrating satisfactory ability in the technical aspects of architectural practice, the thesis should produce innovative work that extends and enriches knowledge in the broader field of architecture.

Through our expanding network of international institutional partners, the MArch(Design) programme offers a wide variety of joint studios, sponsored studios, and other forms of collaborative teaching and learning, in which there are opportunities for travel and academic exchanges abroad, knowledge exchange within the community and in China, direct contact with fabricators in industry, and experiential learning on real-world projects.