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Situated Practice MA

London, Bloomsbury and London, Hackney Wick (Here East)

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Situated Practice MA (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£16,000

£8,000

Full-time: Published fee is for the whole programme and must be paid in Year 1. No fees are charged in Year 2..
Part-time: Published fee is for half the programme and must be paid in Year 1. The other half must be paid in Year 2. No fees are charged in Year 3.
Note: SLC instalments and UCL fee payment deadlines do not align. You will therefore have a shortfall in your fees to UCL. You will need to personally fund any shortfall until the remainder of your loan is paid to you by SLC.

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£33,000

£16,500

Duration

4 terms

30 months

5 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 04 Apr 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class UK degree in an appropriate subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. A design/creative portfolio is also expected. Applicants will be asked to submit a portfolio of their design work once their completed application has been received, and should not send or upload work until it has been requested.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Contemporary culture doesn't fit neatly into a box. The overlap between practices, methods and approaches from the fields of architecture, art and design is the fast-evolving terrain of this programme, which examines how architecture cross-pollinates with other creative arts.

Students learn about spatial theories and practices in art, architecture, performativity, urbanism and writing. They develop a robust understanding of research methods in art and design, and design practice-led research, and create their own site-related projects – from physical installations and digital interventions to site writings.  Working with practitioners and researchers from The Bartlett School of Architecture, alongside affiliated centres and institutions, this programme empowers students to pioneer new forms of hybrid practice between art and architecture.

Who this course is for

The programme is suited to those who aspire to work toward understanding and enlivening the environment we live in. We are looking for applications from people with multiple aims, whether you wish to gain core skills for a research degree, are in employment seeking continuing professional development or looking toward an academic career.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

Strong understanding of research methods: Students develop a strong understanding of appropriate research methodologies in art and design practice-led research, specifically relating to approaches towards criticality, performativity and textuality.

Varied and immersive projects: Students make situated practice projects that are site-related from physical installations and events to digital interventions and site-writings.

Exciting and innovative studies: The Bartlett School of Architecture helps students to prepare for successful careers in a range of fields. We aim to be an exciting and innovative place to study architecture. Our students have the opportunity to develop their creativity, curiosity and dynamism, and learn the skills they need to build a better future for people and the planet.

Showcase your work: You will have the opportunity to display your work at an incredible annual showcase of student projects.

Top Ranked: For the second year in a row, The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment was ranked #1 in the world for ‘Architecture and Built Environment’ (QS World University Subject Rankings 2024). It was also ranked #1 in the UK for Architecture, in The Guardian Good University Guide 2025.

Career Support: Studying at UCL provides students with access to a range of career services including networking events, career workshops, and internship opportunities.  

Here East: Situated Practice MA is taught in the school's impressive Here East campus, based in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. Students not only enjoy the facilities' unique studio spaces and culture, but also state-of-the-art workshop and fabrication facilities.

‘World leading’ research: The Bartlett School of Architecture is part of UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, where 91% of research has been deemed ‘World Leading’ or ‘Internationally Excellent’ in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). The Bartlett is also ranked #1 for Research Power in the built environment. 

Find out more about the benefits of studying at The Bartlett School of Architecture.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates of this programme are critical, innovative and transdisciplinary practitioners who undertake projects addressing the specific concerns of sites and developing appropriate transformations for them.

93.3% of Bartlett School of Architecture graduates were in work or further study 15 months after graduation. (Graduate Outcomes Surveys, 2017-21)

Top industry sectors for Bartlett School of Architecture graduates in work are construction, built environment and property (68% of graduates); performance and creative arts (7%); academic research and higher education (6%) and technology (6%).

Bartlett School of Architecture graduates are working in 52 countries around the world.

Employability

The Bartlett School of Architecture is one of the world's top-ranked architecture schools and our graduates enjoy excellent employment opportunities and the practice-led research skills to carry out future doctoral research in the field.

Networking

The Bartlett School of Architecture hosts numerous events throughout the year that feature industry guests and networking opportunities. These include lecture series, seminars, conferences, symposiums, book launches, and show launch events.

Additionally, there are a broad range of university-wide career events to help current students and recent graduates develop their employability skills, explore different sectors, increase commercial awareness, build professional networks and more.

Teaching and learning

Modules use advanced-level teaching approaches to encourage innovative student-led work. Tutorials and seminars are the leading teaching methods, together with lectures, group-working, writing workshops, research seminars, film screenings, and reviews of student work by Bartlett School of Architecture staff and visiting researchers. There are building and gallery visits in London and further afield, and an annual field trip (optional).

As a project-orientated programme, all research work and design exploration culminate in an original piece of situated practice in the form of a live intervention designed for a specific site. Assessment is through documentation in a design portfolio: an artist’s book and a situated video work.

In terms 1 and 2 full-time students can typically expect around 15 contact hours per teaching week through lectures, workshops and tutorials. In terms 3 and 4 (Summer term included), students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.

Outside of lectures full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed work and completing their final projects.

Modules

The programme consists of four compulsory modules (90 credits) and a 'Major Project' exhibition module (90 credits). 

The programme consists of five modules, two of which are taught in Term 1 and two in Term 2. For one of the modules in Term 2, you have the option to undertake a self-defined project to address specific research questions or to take another relevant module from the Bartlett School of Architecture, Faculty or UCL.

In Terms 3 and 4, you complete the last module, a project portfolio with a written element of critical self-reflection. This is called the Major Project.

Part-time students must complete 180 credits over two years. Students should select half taught modules in year one and half in year two plus the major project module.

Modular/flexible students can choose any modules per year as long as they complete 180 credits within 5 years. Students will select all taught modules first and take the major research project module in their last year of study.

Compulsory modules

Critical Spatial Practice: Site-Writing

Mediated Environments

Situated Practice: Major Project

Situated Practice: Research Methods

The Open Work

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Situated Practice.

Fieldwork

There will be one field trip (optional) annually as part of the programme. Students will also conduct their own original spatial research into a specific site of their own choosing for their Major Project.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£16,000	£8,000
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£33,000	£16,500

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There is one optional field trip for this programme, which costs students a maximum of £500 each. We estimate that students spend between £300-£600 on specialist materials throughout the programme.

All students work differently so costs incurred depend on the approach they take to the brief given. The school encourages students to use recycled materials in their models and presentations, not only is it sustainable, but also cost effective and potentially innovative. The school also offers subsidies for exhibition costs.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

UCL offers a range of financial awards aimed at assisting both prospective and current students with their studies.

Any additional funding available from The Bartlett School of Architecture and The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment are advertised on their respective websites.

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the UK Master's scholarship and Sub-Saharan Africa Master's scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship

Deadline: 28 March 2025

Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Bartlett Promise UK Master's Scholarship

Deadline: 31 May 2025

Value: Tuition fees plus £15,864 maintenance/yr (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

We invite applications from candidates with a passionate interest in new forms of situated practice, innovative forms of research dissemination, and new architectures of exhibition and installation. With a clearly trans-disciplinary ethos, we are looking to recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds and previous experience in the fields of art, architecture, curatorship, public engagement, event design, creative regeneration, participation design, performance, ethnography, activism, writing, filmmaking, information design and publishing.

Tier 4 Student Visa holders are advised to meet the English language proficiency of their offer no later than the end of June, in order to allow sufficient time to obtain a CAS number and visa.

To accept your offer, you must pay the non-refundable fee deposit within 4 weeks and decline any other offers for programmes at the Bartlett School of Architecture. If you do not respond within 3 weeks, your offer will be withdrawn.

A design/creative portfolio is also expected. Applicants will be asked to submit a portfolio of their design work once their completed application has been received, and should not send or upload work until it has been requested.

This programme only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.