Civil Engineering and Architecture with Foundation Year

Civil engineering and architecture together address the challenge of building the environments in which people live, work, and move. Civil engineering is the discipline that designs, constructs, and maintains the physical infrastructure of society, from roads and bridges to drainage, foundations, and the structural systems that make buildings safe and durable. Architecture brings design sensibility, spatial thinking, and a concern for how built form serves human experience and shapes urban life.

Studied together, they equip you to understand the relationship between aesthetic intention and structural reality, and to contribute to projects that are both technically sound and well designed.

This five-year full-time degree at the University of Southampton includes a foundation year and develops expertise across both disciplines. You will study structural and geomechanical engineering alongside architectural design and urban design, building competency in the engineering principles that make structures work and the design thinking that makes them serve their users and their contexts well. You will also develop key skills in design and manufacturing, giving you practical capability alongside theoretical understanding.

The programme is particularly suited to students interested in structural engineering design in an architectural context, or in urban development projects where engineering and design must be integrated from the outset. A typical entry tariff of 152 points applies.

Graduates from this combined programme are well placed for careers in structural engineering, civil engineering consultancy, architectural practice, urban design, infrastructure development, and project management. The combination of engineering rigour and design awareness is increasingly valued as the construction industry grapples with complex challenges around sustainability, density, and climate adaptation. Postgraduate study in structural engineering, architecture, urban design, or civil engineering is a natural continuation, and many graduates pursue professional registration with engineering or architectural bodies.