Study area

Architecture and Design

Study architecture and design to create cities, cultures and communities for a sustainable future. In this field, creative and strategic thinking come together.

 

 

Tackle the greatest challenges facing global cities, learn how to create liveable environments and make your mark on infrastructure projects while developing socially engaged designs and responsible heritage practices.

Study in this field will develop your critical thinking skills and help you find creative solutions to bring spaces to life. You will use state-of-the-art equipment, such as plastic-extrusion 3D printers and laser cutters, and have access to facilities such as the Cullity Gallery, Design Hub, printmaking studios and 24/7 computer labs.

You will participate in real projects, from housing and museums to space stations, with our range of industry and community engagement opportunities, enabling you to make a difference.

Our courses help you forge a strong foundation for your future career, ensuring you graduate with the skills to shape the world around you.

 

  • Award-winning students and grads who get jobs
    1st in WA for full-time employment for postgraduate coursework students in Architecture & Urban Environments (QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020).
  • Recognised courses
    Many of our degrees are accredited or recognised by the relevant body.
  • Test your ideas through design and experimentation
    at the Australian Urban Design Research Centre, an independent, research centre within our School of Design.
  • Learn from award-winning, internationally recognised teachers and practitioners.
  • Best reputation among employers
    for architecture (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020).
 

Zac's story

Graduate architect at Klopper and Davis, Zac Evangelisti, shares why he loves architecture, the best thing about studying it at UWA, and his advice for future students.

Where our graduates go

Architecture and Design can take you anywhere in the world. Graduates have gone on to create landmark designs as the next generation of architects, landscape architects and urban designers.

Notable alumni include:

  • Architect, President of the WA branch of the Australian Institute of Architects, and Deputy Lord Mayor of Perth Sandy Anghie
  • Architect Richard Hassell (Director WOHA, Singapore)
  • NSW’s first female government architect Abbie Galvin
  • WA Government Architect Rebecca Moore
  • ABC's Restoration Australia host Stuart Harrison
Abel is a Norman Foster Foundation Scholar and contributing writer to ArchitectureAU. He has worked in the international studios of Kengo Kuma & Associates (Tokyo), Foster + Partners (London) and the Norman Foster Foundation (Madrid), collaborated alongside the Australian Urban Design Research Centre (Perth), and taught at the UWA School of Design.
Abel Feleke
Abel Feleke
Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture
Norman Foster Foundation
Jenny Watson
Jenny Watson
Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture
Associate, ARM Architecture
Jenny is a Melbourne-based associate at ARM Architecture. She has worked on a wide range of large projects all over Australia including RAC Arena, Elizabeth Quay, Melbourne’s Southbank Theatre and the Gold Coast’s HOTA Gallery and Geelong Arts Centre.
After graduating, Joe worked for residential architecture practice David Weir Architects, then lived in remote north-western Zambia with Orkidstudio (now Build X and BuildHer), working on design and project managing construction of doctors’ and nurses’ housing. He now runs a small business called Brave and Curious with a friend and mentor, working across urban design, landscape architecture and architecture.
Joe Bean
Joe Bean
Bachelor of Design and Master of Architecture
Brave and Curious
Sara Kjaersgaard
Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Honours)
Lecturer, UNSW
Sara is a registered landscape architect (AILA) and lecturer in landscape architecture at UNSW. She was awarded the Jeppe Aagaard Andersen scholarship to travel to Denmark in 2006, where she worked on projects including the London Olympics and the Aalborg Music Hall. She has held several leadership positions with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) and has recently been a juror (2019) and co-host (2020) of Channel 10’s Australia By Design – Landscape Series alongside Jamie Durie. 

Industry snapshot

Clever and creative design is needed now more than ever, and Western Australia is a unique place in which to learn and practise the field of architecture, landscape architecture, uban design and environmental planning.

Strong future growth is forecast for jobs in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning (joboutlook.gov.au).

Potential jobs

  • Architect
  • Architectural draftsperson
  • Conservation officer
  • Environmental consultant
  • Environmental manager
  • Geographer
  • Land economist
  • Landscape architect
  • Natural resource manager
  • Policy analyst
  • Policy and planning manager
  • Urban and regional planner
  • Urban designer

Job growth in this industry

Job growth in Architecture and planning. Urban and regional planners +13.8%, Architects and landscape architects + 14.0% Urban andregional planners +13.8% Architects and landscape architects + 14.0%

Occupation projections - five years to May 2024 (source: Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business Projections)

Undergraduate courses

To find out more about our range of undergraduate courses, visit Our courses explained.

Have a question? Get in touch with us

 

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