The Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL is one of the UK's best-known architecture schools, with about 900 students and 260 staff.
The Bartlett School of Architecture is part of University College London (UCL) in central London. It teaches architecture from undergraduate level through to research degrees, and it also covers architectural history and theory and subjects such as architecture and historic urban environments. The school says it has about 260 staff and 900 students from 50 countries. It is known for creative and speculative design work, with events such as its Open Crits, where the public can watch design work being discussed, and a summer show each year.
The school describes itself as "setting the agenda for what architecture is and could be". Its stated vision is to use architecture as a method of critical thinking and creative exploration that improves human experience and environmental conditions. In 1841 UCL became the first British university to appoint a chair of architecture. The faculty was later named after its benefactor, the engineer and contractor Sir Herbert Bartlett, and planning education began there in 1914. In the 1960s it was reorganised as a multidisciplinary faculty covering the built environment.
The Bartlett is based at UCL in London. Its own About page did not give campus addresses, so we do not list them here. It is well regarded: the school says it consistently ranks among the UK's top architecture schools in the Guardian and Architects' Journal tables, was ranked second globally by QS in 2017, was the UK's highest-rated department for architectural research in RAE 2008 and REF 2014, and that its students have won more RIBA medals over the past 20 years than those of any other school. These are the school's own claims and the years are dated.
On culture, the school emphasises creativity, critical thinking and speculative design, and it links students with London architecture and engineering practices because part-time teaching staff come from those firms. Jobs at a university school include lecturers and researchers, technicians in model-making and digital fabrication workshops, administrators, student support and admissions staff, and exhibition and events staff. As at any university, the work mixes teaching, research and keeping a large community running.
For a student, the Bartlett is one of the schools you might apply to. Its courses lead to the standard professional steps, with study at Part 1 and Part 2 level followed by Part 3. The UCL site lists the programmes, entry requirements and fees; we have not repeated those here because they change. Check UCL's own pages for current courses and for vacancies.
Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture
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