20 ATSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER2011EDUCATIONThe Institute has been Accrediting Honoursdegree programmes now for over fifteen years aswell as Approving programmes at sub-Honourslevel. Through the work of the Membership andEducation Committee and EducationDepartment, CIAT now awards Recognitionstatus to Masters degrees. Three universities havebeen given Recognition status for their Mastersdegrees and they are: Students graduating with a CIAT Recognisedqualification meet the Institute's requirements forAssociate membership for progression toChartered Membership. In addition they may beallowed certain exemptions from certain sectionsof the Professional and OccupationalPerformance (POP) Record when progressing toChartered (MCIAT) Membership if they havealready demonstrated their competence in theseareas within this qualification.CIAT Recognition is only available to universitiesalready offering CIAT Accredited Honoursdegree programmes to ensure that CIAT's highstandards are maintained. Recognition impliesthat an educational establishment's ArchitecturalTechnology programme at Masters degree levelhas been assessed in terms of content, structureand resources and has met the requiredstandards. It also provides assurances thatstudents will be able to develop their academic,analytical, communication and employabilityskills. All programmes will need to demonstrate anunderstanding of the role of the CharteredArchitectural Technologist both in practice andas part of the wider construction team.Candidates seeking acceptance on a Recognisedprogramme must hold a relevant qualification orhave equivalent experience. To view the CIATMasters Recognition Guidelines, please visit:www.ciat.org.uk/en/careers/approval-accreditation-and-recognition/recognition.cfmCIAT has awarded official Recognition to three Masters degrees, which take thediscipline of Architectural Technology to a new, higher level. Tara Pickles, EducationDirector, looks at the courses on offer. Mastering the disciplineEdinburgh Napier University MSc Architectural Technology and BuildingPerformance.Sheffield Hallam UniversityMSc Technical Architecture.Nottingham Trent UniversityMSc Architectural Technology and Design.


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ATSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER201121EDUCATIONMSc Technical ArchitectureThe Master of Science degree in TechnicalArchitecture has been running at SheffieldHallam University since 2006. The degreeencompasses key elements in advancedtechnical design and advanced environmentaldesign, each with supporting theorycomponents, as well as research methods and adissertation. At the heart of its developmentwas a desire to provide a complementarypostgraduate route to sit above the well-established and successful undergraduateArchitectural Technology degree. It was alsodevised to enhance and exploit the teachingteam's expertise in sustainable, andtechnologically proficient, design for the builtenvironment; for which Sheffield Hallam haswon much praise.The MSc Technical Architecture course is partof a wider suite of professionally recognisedcourses covering architecture, planning,housing, regeneration, and environment, withinthe Department of Architecture and Planning,and the broader Faculty.A variety of attendance patterns is possible andthe structure of the course has been devised toencourage participants working in practice. Thepart-time route requires on-site attendance fortypically one day per week and a significantnumber of graduates have engaged in theprogramme of study through this process. Inaddition however we have also found that thecourse is attractive on a full-time basis (formalattendance on two days per week) both to UKbased students and also to internationalstudents. Students can enrol on the course froma range of approved backgrounds, not onlyarchitectural technology, and this brings breathand new insights. It also means that theArchitectural Technology professional areabecomes a potential career route for studentsfrom a wider base.The course contains both compulsory (core)and optional (elective) modules. The coremodules are designed to ensure all candidatesreach a good level of knowledge andunderstanding together with suitable skillsdevelopment in those aspects of technicalarchitecture essential for the future workplace.The optional modules allow students to addfrom a selection of more specialist themes suchas interdisciplinary working and use of digitalmedia.MSc Architectural Technologyand DesignThe MSc in Architectural Technology andDesign at Nottingham Trent University enablesstudents from a wide range of backgrounds toshare a common learning experience, in a multi-disciplinary environment, in order to developtheir personal skills and interests. The programme is forward thinking and offersthe following distinctive features:.a review of skills and interests atcommencement to ensure an appropriatelearning and teaching experience.the opportunity for students to create aspecific and bespoke learning experiencebased on their background .enhanced inter-disciplinary activity, includinggroup and live project work.potential for graduates to obtain relevantprofessional accreditation.opportunity to study full-time or part-time,including a work-based module.the use of an industrial liaison panel to helpto inform curriculum content and design.the availability of individual modules offeredon a CPD basis.a complete portfolio including a range ofMasters level awards, with scope foradditional programmes to be added in thefuture.The programme has been developed as a oneyear full time and a two year part time mode ofstudy, and is open to a broad range ofEuropean Union built environment pro-fessionals including Architectural Tech-nologists, interior architects, architects,surveyors, construction managers, planners andengineers. The programme is industry focusedand supported, providing the appropriateopportunities for students to be innovative,entrepreneurial and visionary with increasedopportunities of employability. The proposedmodule structure provides a fertile ground forinter-disciplinary activity and opportunities toshare workload, experiences and resources.MSc Architectural Technologyand Building PerformanceThe MSc Architectural Technology andBuilding Performance programme (MScAT&BP) is one of a suite of programmes thatsit within the Building and Surveying Groupthat forms part of the School of Engineeringand the Built Environment (SEBE) atEdinburgh Napier University. It was establishedin 2009 and it is available in full time, part timeand distance learning modes. The programmehas attracted a wide range of internationalstudents from Spain, Norway, Ireland, Poland,Czech Republic, Romania, Iran, India, Pakistanand China as well as students from the UK.The programme is comprised of 6 x 20 credittaught modules and a 60 credit Masters DesignProject. The full time programme is taught overthree trimesters (12 months), with the part timemode taking six trimesters (24 months). TheMSc taught modules reflect the expertise of theresearch centres that sit within two ofEdinburgh Napier's Research Institutes; theInstitute for Sustainable Construction (ISC)and the Forest Products Research Institute(FPRI). These Institutes have unique experts basedwithin specialised applied research centres.Their staff engage daily with government andindustry. Some of the applied centresassociated with these two Institutes and theSchool of Engineering and the BuiltEnvironment include; the BuildingPerformance Centre (BPC), the ScottishEnergy Centre (SEC) and the Centre forOffsite Construction and Innovative Structures(COCIS), Centre for Timber Engineering(CTE) and the Wood School (WS). The experts from these applied research centresdeliver the taught modules. MSc teachingmodules include many of the strengths ofEdinburgh Napier University, focusing onsustainability, energy conscious design, micro-renewables, timber construction, offsiteconstruction, building acoustics and advanceddigital media.The construction industry is legislatively driven.ISC staff are ideally placed to embed currentgovernment policies and thinking into the MScprogramme through their applied research forgovernment departments and agencies.