You should first submit your application, including your personal statement, to UCAS. The University of Reading will assess the application and eligible candidates for our BSc (Hons) Architecture course will receive an email inviting them to interview.
Your application
Your interview
You will be given a choice of dates and times to attend an interview, with options for either in-person or online. Interviews take place in small groups with a lecturer from the School of Architecture. During the interview you will be able to discuss your motivation to study architecture at Reading and talk through your portfolio. It is also a good chance to ask any questions you might have about the programme and ascertain whether Reading is the right fit for you. Your portfolio forms an important part of the interview. For in-person interviews this should be a physical portfolio brought with you. For online interviews, it is a requirement to submit a digital portfolio, as a PDF file, at least one week before the date of your interview. Further information on how to submit your digital portfolio will be provided in your interview invitation.
Your portfolio
Your portfolio should demonstrate creative thinking as well as technical ability, containing a mixture of 2D and 3D pieces. Freehand skills are valued in architecture, therefore sketches showing creative thinking and ideas are particularly relevant, as well as 3D work such as sculpture or models. There is no expectation of any prior digital drawing skills, although they may be included.
Typically our applicants will be studying Art or Design subjects at A-Level (or equivalent). However, we will also consider applicants following courses of study that do not include art or design but that engage our physical or social environments, such as geography and philosophy, for example. These students need to demonstrate their interest and skills in art or design beyond their formal studies. All applicants are invited to share their interest in seeing, interpreting and communicating the world around them within their portfolio.
Portfolio guidelines
- Your portfolio should be around 12-15 pages in length and contain specific pieces of work that best show your ability with a broad range of representational techniques.
- Your portfolio should be presented clearly. Please carefully curate the content, including headings and annotation where necessary.
- Be selective and consider pieces that best highlight skill and reflect your interests – note that portfolios that include too much information can lose focus.
- Where possible, highlight development work that leads to a final piece; process work is valued highly.
- Freehand skills are valued in architecture, therefore sketches showing creative thinking and ideas are particularly relevant.
- Your portfolio may comprise materials from an art or design-related A level, or other relevant work. You can include work created in your own time as well as work produced on creative courses.
- If your interview is online or you are unable to original work along to an in-person interview, please include photographs of physical works such as paintings, models, 3D work, etc. Images should have a clear title and date of completion. If the size of the work is not obvious, please state this in a caption.
- We do not need to see everything you have done – be selective and curate the portfolio with care.
Think about what your portfolio communicates to the viewer. Your portfolio may reflect a breadth of different media which you have experimented and worked with or a depth of skills in specific forms of representation.
If an image by another artist is used for inspiration (for example, when showing development work), please be sure to credit the artist. Any group work should be similarly noted with your specific contribution made clear.
Content ideas
We look for a range of different creative skills, which may include:
- Sketches / process work (sketchbooks).
- Photographs of work in progress.
- Creative writing.
- Precedent studies / case studies.
- Hand-drawn sketches of places, spaces or buildings.
- Physical models, 3D sculpture/installations (photograph).
- Life drawing.
- Photographic studies.
- Collage or mixed media works.
- Paintings.
- Analytical drawings / mappings.
- Orthographic drawings (such as plans, sections and elevations).
- Measured drawings.
- Computer-aided design (CAD).
- Digital images made in Photoshop, Procreate, etc.
- Graphic & Product design.
- Digital 3D models.
- Website design (include screenshots).
Try to include at least 3 or 4 from this list if possible, however this list is not exhaustive and if you have work that highlights your creative skills which are not listed above, we encourage you to include such work.
Submitting your digital portfolio (online interview only)
Your digital portfolio should be submitted as a single PDF file, with a file name that begins with your Reading ID number followed by your name. By submitting your portfolio you confirm that all work is your own unless you have indicated otherwise directly adjacent to the work (for example, including an artist’s original piece as inspiration or development).
What happens following interview?
Your performance at interview is reviewed in conjunction with your wider UCAS application (qualifications, personal statement, etc.). Once the School of Architecture has made a decision on your application, the Admissions team will contact you to let you know the outcome.
Questions?
Please contact the Admissions Support team if you have any questions about preparing or submitting (for online interviews) your portfolio.
Free Online Course to help with your interview
We have developed a free online course, Stress-Free University Interviews available to students who are invited to an interview for a University of Reading course. The course will help you make the most of your skills, build confidence and enable you to practice those all-important interview techniques.
Sketching and sketchbooks
Although sketching can be used at all stages of the architectural process, it is most commonly employed at the initial conceptual stages. Sketching is about communicating ideas.
Sketches shown within your portfolio should display a collection of your ideas and design narratives, for example a combination of visual notes developed through observation and theoretical ideas.
Conceptual sketches
As the name implies, these sketches are created the moment an idea is conceived. They can simply be a doodle that starts the design process.
Analytical sketches
These sketches are used for examining ideas in detail and are normally part of a series of steps. These can depict anything from small spaces to entire cities.
Observational sketches
Architects develop their knowledge of form and structure through observational sketches. Explore the design of individual components and how they are used in conjunction with one another.