Pushing the envelope
HERE I GO AGAIN
After two and a half years of living in France it is time for me to go back to the architecture school.
It has been a long but exciting road, during these almost three years I have experienced the best moments of my life. I became a mom to a beautiful girl, and I am expecting my second, I have tried things and I worked a lot.
Also, I tried new roads to get registered as an Architect in France; I learned routes I did not know and I even tried to go to the school in this country. I will write about the dossier jaune soon, as this is an interesting process also.
I am the type of person who follows the natural flow of life, and I do not give up on my dreams, one of them is to get that registration number right next to my architect tittle and use it throughout Europe.
Around three years ago I was lucky enough to get a place in the RIBA studio diploma at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford. My unexpected move to France and the arrival of my first child made me decline days before the programme started. I was not ready at all.
This year was a special one. Covid made us get extra time, so I used it to do some research and figure out that I was ready to keep going. After learning that I could still have access to the part 3, despite Brexit and get registered in France, I did not hesitate and went back to Oxford, I felt like going back home and not even a surprise, that is exactly how they treated me during the enrollment process.
They gave me incredible support, and I am grateful for that.
HOW TO GET AN OFFER IN OXFORD BROOKES
If you wonder how to enrol for a Part 2 masters degree in the UK you may find this quite useful.
In my case, I decided to apply for Oxford Brookes because they have a partnership with RIBA and they run together a unique programme that allows you to keep working and studying whilst living anywhere in Europe.
Requirements to study in the UK for non-Europeans are strict and tough, for this you need to be accepted in the University you wish to study and second you need to get your ARB Prescribed Part 1.
Getting the prescribed represents so much work that some architecture schools lessen their requirements in order to give you access to their Part 2 just for the fact you have successfully passed this examination.
Some schools let you study the Part 2 but if you want to pursue your Part 3 you have to sit the prescribed no matter what.
I contacted the school and asked for information, they sent me their requirements and deadlines.
Oxford Brookes is one of the best architecture schools in the UK, so they ask for many reference letters to support your candidature. You need to be ready to contact your architecture school to get specific letters from the director (yes, this letter needs to come from the head of the architecture school), you also have to ask for one to your boss and other people you have worked with. In addition, you will write a great statement explaining why you want to study at Brookes and why you should be offered a place.
If you apply for a Part 2 you need to prepare a portfolio and bring your part 1 thesis to the interview. This portfolio needs to show your best skills and also your love for architecture and art.
You also have to show written work and evidence of your professional work.
Getting the letters from your home country can be tricky as they may not be aware of the importance of this step.
Keep in mind that the Part 2 is not an average master, is the one and only way to progress your career towards registration. So if you are planning on staying in the UK you def need to go through this. If your degree was a 5-years programme, you may apply for the Part 2 prescribed examination and continue with the Part 3.
Once you get an offer in Oxford Brookes, you have to go through more steps before the programme starts:
1. Get a tutor in the country where you live.
2. Produce a written piece of work that needs to be reviewed by this tutor.
3. Read a specific book about time management.
I consider finding a tutor the hardest task.
FINDING A TUTOR
As this is a RIBA studio programme, I have to be guided by a local tutor who has a substantial experience teaching design in any EU recognized architecture school and be registered in the country they practise. Like every single thing, I have done in the UK, I learned a lot from this search.
Finding a tutor in France is hard, not only because of the English language barrier but also there are a good number of cultural differences that makes this process pretty much impossible.
Tutorship in the UK is a common practice and you have more chances to get a great one even if you do not study at the University this person teaches.
In France, architecture schools are independent even though the majority of them are part of the public education system. Every school has its own rules, and some of them don’t allow their lecturers to teach students from other schools.
It took me months to find the right person. I had to contact a good number of people, get many negative responses, explain why I was doing this in England and not in France. I also realized that ALL design teachers I approached are literally talented stars. The majority are awarded researchers, some of them worked with Jean-Nouvel and now run their own practices, I also talked to teachers who worked with Renzo Piano, some others are foreign architects with an amazing work experience in France. France deserves to be globally recognized for its architecture academic level.
The only thing I can say is that I got an incredible one, and I will have the best of both worlds.
BENEFITS OF BEING A STUDENT IN THE UK
If you are a student in the UK, you are likely to be part of a network called SCONUL, this allows you to use almost all libraries and workspaces in almost all Universities in the UK and Ireland.
In the UK all architecture schools are driven by the ARB and RIBA Criteria, they all follow a unity in order to keep a high level in every single architecture school and they support each other.
You get a student RIBA membership having access to events, contact and invaluable resources.
If you are interested in how education in the UK works you can contact RIBA directly, they are amazing and open to give information to anybody.
Now I have everything I need including a supporting family, and I am ready to start this journey.
Let’s do it!!!!