The Transfer Programme (GradCert) is the world’s first one-year graduate access programme in architecture. Designed for graduates from non-architecture disciplines who wish to transition into architectural study and practice, it offers an intensive, design-led curriculum that prepares students for direct entry into the AA Diploma Programme (MArch) or other postgraduate pathways. The programme encourages applicants to bring a wealth of knowledge and skills from their previous fields to bear in the context of architecture and offers a new pathway into the AA School. Through research, experimentation and collaboration within the AA’s studio culture, students reinterpret prior experience while developing core competencies in architectural design, research and communication. The programme is built around a year-long building design project, supported by active dialogue with leading UK practices.
The programme is framed around the idea of ‘Architecture in Transition’. As cultural producers, architects narrate, materialise and legitimise the systems and values of the world we inhabit – mediating between collapsing orders and emerging futures. The programme invites students to reflect on their own transition into architecture and to consider how design can contribute to world-making in a time of cultural, social and environmental change.
Term 1 introduces students to architecture through a series of short design and research briefs. These micro-projects build on each student’s background, encouraging experimentation with drawing, modelling, material studies and precedent analysis. Workshops and seminars situate this work within wider cultural, social and environmental contexts.
Terms 2 and 3 focus on the Pilot Building Project. Students develop their own briefs by reimagining existing contexts and conditions, addressing aspects such as site, programme, spatial strategies, material choices and detail. Design work is complemented by participation in Core Studies courses (History and Theory Studies, Environmental and Technical Studies and Professional Practice) from the AA’s Intermediate Programme (BA(Hons)).
The Transfer Programme (GradCert) combines design studio work with skills support, seminars and talks, alongside visits to leading UK-based practices. These visits give students exposure to different modes of practice and valuable insight into how architectural studios operate. Students also engage with diverse approaches to design and research, and develop a collaborative project with the AA community – offering a distinctive entry into architecture for graduates from other disciplines, uniquely shaped by the AA’s environment.