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Admissions Process

Our admissions process takes place over the following steps:

Step 1: Application – fill out our 2-stage online application form, including submitting a portfolio and Statement of Purpose.
Step 2: Interview – if we take forward your application, you will be invited to interview to discuss your work and ambitions.
Step 3: Offer – if you are successful in interview, we will promptly issue you an offer.
Step 4: Student Placement – once you have accepted your offer our Practice Network Coordinator will be in touch.

Once these steps are complete you will be ready for registration and enrolment at the start of next academic year. Read through these pages carefully for more information on each step. You can apply at any time, but we encourage early application to ensure the strongest chance of joining us next year and securing a Student Placement, which is a condition of study.

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Step 1: Application form

Our online application form will ask for personal information and contact details, confirmation of your eligibility and fulfilment of language requirements, as well as your employment and education experience, the name of two referees (from academia and practice) and some questions to collect diversity monitoring data.

You will also be asked to submit a portfolio and provide a series of responses that make up your Statement of Purpose. These are assessed carefully as part of our Admissions Process and you will be expected to speak to both if invited for interview.

Statement of Purpose

This should be a maximum of 3 pages of A4 with a minimum font size of 12 and should respond to the following core themes:

1. Motivation

What attracts you to the LSA?
What are your ambitions and intentions regarding a career in architecture?
What are your areas of interest within and outside of architecture, and how do you see the LSA being able to support them?
How do you feel that architectural education or a career in architecture might empower you to have a positive impact upon your life and the lives of others?

2. Design

Describe your design processes and methods. What kind of spatial thinker are you? What are the tools and methodologies that you employ to conceive, develop and communicate architectural and spatial ideas?
Select one of your undergraduate design projects and explain how that project demonstrated an application and realisation of your process and methodology.

3. Practice

Please outline 2 contributions you have made to projects in practice (these should correspond to your portfolio submission):
i. Practice name
ii. Project title
iii. Summary of project
iv. RIBA Plan of Work stages you contributed to
v. Short reflection on your contribution
Describe how your experience of practice has informed your own ambitions and intentions as a designer and future practitioner

Portfolio

The total size of all parts of your portfolio submission should be no more than 16 pages (including name and contents page). Text and images should be legible if printed in A3 and 100MB in PDF format. It should be made up of two parts:

Undergraduate/BA architectural project work: show process and synthesis of design proposal(s) [1 name/contents, 11 pages work]. This work can be from a range of projects but you should aim to demonstrate a wide range of skills and competency from research and analysis to spatial and technical resolution. We are particularly keen to see evidence of process as well as how you communicate a final design proposal. Try and ensure that you represent the ‘messy’ stages of a design process and how you have used sketches, models and other methods to conceive, test, iterate and resolve. We will also be looking for evidence of agency, autonomy and self-direction; we are keen to see your own voice, interests, agendas and curiosity apparent in your projects.
Evidence of work experience and any independent project work highlighting your specific contribution [4 pages]

Step 2: Interview

Upon receipt of a completed online application form, the Admissions Team will select applicants for interview. Interviews will usually take place in London, but may be conducted by video call in certain circumstances.

The interview will afford you the opportunity to present evidence of your qualifications, experience and commitment to the demands of the profession, including a portfolio presentation.

Conditional academic places will be offered to successful applicants in writing, and these will only be confirmed once a practice placement position has been secured. Applicants will be asked to provide evidence of eligibility prior to interview.