Architecture, Landscape and Environment MSc

The MSc Architecture, Landscape, and Environment is a one-year postgraduate taught programme delivered over three semesters. The programme structure includes:

• compulsory courses which provide theoretical understanding of site-based/situated knowledge
• experimental approaches to research
• expanded conceptions of fieldwork
• humanities-based methodologies.

Running through semesters 1 and 2, the aim of compulsory courses is twofold:

• To allow you to develop a methodological approach to your final research project (60 credit compulsory course in semester 3).
• Provide a theoretical foundation to which compulsory course options and recommended elective course options add specialist areas of practice and knowledge.

Compulsory course options include a suite of courses specifically aligned with the programme as specialist pathways, covering key thematic areas of:

• environmental humanities
• landscape theory and practice
• climate action
• critical heritage studies
• and/or architectural history

Additionally, recommended elective course options include a suite of existing courses within ESALA, ECA and across the University of Edinburgh, offering you the opportunity to either diversify your interests or underpin your area of specialism.

Teaching

Based on critical and participatory pedagogy, the programme encourages students to develop their critical thinking skills, collaborate and learn from each other, co-produce knowledge in the classroom and inform the curriculum. The programme aims to provide you with a critical understanding of how the landscape and environment are situated in and produced through particular social realities, histories and practices.

Individual supervision by research-led senior staff is built into the programme structure, and will help you achieve the learning outcomes of the major situated research project in semester 3. The range of methods you will encounter on the programme, especially situated methods and engagement with everyday practice, are highly tangible and you will find this reinforces and underpins the written and project work you will work on. The experimental approaches you might use will therefore also be firmly grounded in tangible spaces.

You will also be expected to work in an independent and self-directed manner between points of contact with tutors.

The overall teaching mode for this programme is delivered through:

• Field trips
• Group and individual tutorials
• Seminar discussions

We promote a safe, inclusive and supportive peer-based learning environment in which helpful and constructive feedback can be shared across staff and students.

Assessment

The programme’s two core courses in semesters 1 and 2 have their own individual summative assessment based on reflective, experimental and situated research methods.

You will engage with different textual forms to communicate your work (such as reflective diary and report). For your final situated research project in semester 3, you will develop a portfolio and written reflective report of 8,000 words based on your own fieldwork.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Joining our MSc Architecture, Landscape and Environment programme will enable you to:

• Draw from an experienced group of research-led senior staff at the University of Edinburgh, to appreciate and develop a wide range of specialised and experimental approaches relevant to the field of spatial and site-related theory and practice.
• Work closely with other disciplines to demonstrate and work with an expanded understanding of interdisciplinary theories and practices at the forefront of contemporary environmental and societal challenges.
• Use sites in Scotland and abroad as contexts of enquiry, apply critical approaches to fieldwork that identify, conceptualise and define contemporary environmental and societal concerns, while developing creative responses through site-related investigations.
• Apply knowledge and skills in applying a range of advanced spatial theories, concepts and methods of enquiry, while demonstrating originality in planning and executing a significant investigative site-related project.
• Demonstrate initiative in articulating ‘situated’ projects as outcomes that respond to current environmental and societal challenges and situations, while theorising these as identifiable contributions to critical spatial theory and practice.

As an advanced postgraduate programme, the MSc Architecture, Landscape, and Environment will provide you with a strong foundation to further your career path in your chosen disciplinary areas, with an expanded understanding of critical theories and practices relevant to contemporary environmental and societal challenges.

The programme offers you the necessary critical skills to pursue a diverse career in areas such as:

• spatial and design practices
• the creative arts
• policy (for example, heritage management)
• advocacy in third sector organisations (such as international NGOs and charities related to climate emergency, landscape conservation or cultural landscapes)
• cultural organisations
• museums and global media

The programme may also support you if you want to advance to doctoral-level research.

Field trips

Being in the field is key to the MSc Architecture, Landscape and Environment. We use an expanded notion of the 'field' where you can learn through the exploration of sites as diverse as, for example:

• an archive
• a city
• a building
• a digital platform.

On this programme, the site is a pedagogical tool to engage you with sociocultural debates, a theoretical context, social and political issues, an institutional framework, a community or social event and/or a historical condition. Field trips are also an important opportunity to strengthen the sense of community in the programme.

Campus facilities

As one of Europe's cultural capitals, Edinburgh offers an inspiring environment to live and study in, while being a short distance from many of Scotland’s dramatic landscapes.

While on the programme, you will spend your time between a dedicated seminar space in Minto House, the ECA Lauriston Campus and University of Edinburgh facilities (including exceptional workshops and libraries), and the landscapes you will focus on for your coursework.

Lauriston campus redevelopment

ECA are excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston campus over the next 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027.

The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.

The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.

You can find more about the project at the below link:

Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston campus | Edinburgh College of Art

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in architecture, architectural history, landscape architecture, or another humanities, social science, or creative arts subject.

We will also consider a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in other subjects.

If you do not meet the academic entry requirements, we may still consider your application on the basis of your relevant professional experience, please contact us to check before you apply.

As part of the application process, you must submit a personal statement. Your personal statement must include a 300-word summary addressing the following points:

• What is your specialist field of interest?
• How would you hope your time on this programme will further your academic interest?
• What are your ambitions following your successful graduation from this programme?

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding