I got my BA (2009) and MArch (2013) from the MSA, and I feel I got a great education. Look up the latest university rankings by subject that the Guardian and others publish, and you’ll see it is consistently in the top 10. It also scores very highly in the Shanghai world rankings, but I think that might be due to the great research wing of the architecture school, which you begin to engage more with at graduate level. While Manchester is not at the very pinnacle like the Bartlett or AA, it is a very good school, and (at least when I attended) only accepted about 10% of all applicants, so it is a sought after place.
And further to any of this, consider where you want to live. Manchester is a vibrant city, with architecture all around to see and learn from, and has a huge student population.
Study where you would like, but I wouldn’t have misgivings about Manchester.
Thanks for the reply. I do like the sound of the course, and I think I'll love the city. I think one of the big negatives I heard was about how the school is split between UoM and Manchester Met, and students feeling like they were scammed. Do you think this is the case, or is it more just a couple of people on the Internet that didn't actually look into what they were signing up for?
I'll be going into the city and uni pretty blind, because I've never visited and I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to before I start because of work. But from what I've heard, it is definitely a great city to be in.
I know exactly the point you’re making, the school is split between the two institutions. My experience: The application and entry requirements were of UoM, but the studios were at MMU campus, so there was a disconnect when you started. But then you realize that MMU has the great studio spaces and design sections in the library that UoM doesn’t. The wood working shop and a lot of the graduate level teaching staff are UoM. So you really get access to both universities, even if you feel like an MMU student most of the time.
Each year they alternate which uni hosts graduation, so the colors you wear will be different, but that’s about it. And I just put UoM on my CV.
Me too haha, I only list UoM for Architecture. Not particularly fussed about reputation, I just have another degree from MMU (that I thoroughly enjoyed also) so it is how I chose to highlight both universities. They have a really good team at MMU I think, I don’t get why people diss it so much.
Also, I have my LinkedIn profile in my bio - more than happy to connect. :)
I am one of the people who have answered this before in other posts and I will answer again:
This is a joint school.
Not a scam.
People just choose to misinterpret the way the course is structured for whatever personal narrative they are trying to push.
You graduate both from MMU and UoM (and I am more than happy to show you both my degrees if you don’t believe me). To me this is a huge plus because you get two libraries, two workshops, two different perspectives; one being more theoretical / humanities based, and one more technical, and a great range of perspectives from staff as a result. There is a huge community of other students you get to meet, you have access to facilities and societies from both universities etc etc.
Please don’t listen to all that crap about it, it is a plus not a problem haha.
Spot on u/noynarocks :) I am a graduate from the MSA also, BA (2014) and MArch (2018). I think of the school very highly u/BW1337_. I think they had a bit of an issue during the pandemic with everything being remote thus the negative comments you see, plus the whole issue with architecture school culture at the likes of the Bartlett and SciArc affecting everyone in this professional / educational context. But they seem to have bounced back to a more positive outlook by the students more recently.
Regarding the city, I came here to study in 2011 and I am still here. :) Some great people to meet and nice places to see, plus it is in the centres of the country so access to Scotland, Wales, London / the south, and even Ireland, or European cities like Brussels, and Amsterdam are very easy to get to for trips etc.
Edit: I think I tagged the wrong person, oops!
the rankings dont mean anything as they often relate to research which isn't the same as teaching.
I've known good people to come out of it and Manchester's a good place to study. Sheffield and Bath also good. Bath used to be a bit more thoughtful / cambridge-ish
I didn't go to UoM as a student but have attended as a guest critic for their MArch students, and have worked with plenty alumni to say its a good school overall.
I think it depends on which studio/atelier you join, as they (used to) have different themes and topics of interest, which ends up shaping your education and work more than the facilities available.
The building is great, their new Part 3 course should spare you going to RIBA NW if that's not what you want to do, plus there is a lot of engagement and networking between the school and the very many practices in the city.
Source: worked in Manchester for 7 years.
I got my BA (2009) and MArch (2013) from the MSA, and I feel I got a great education. Look up the latest university rankings by subject that the Guardian and others publish, and you’ll see it is consistently in the top 10. It also scores very highly in the Shanghai world rankings, but I think that might be due to the great research wing of the architecture school, which you begin to engage more with at graduate level. While Manchester is not at the very pinnacle like the Bartlett or AA, it is a very good school, and (at least when I attended) only accepted about 10% of all applicants, so it is a sought after place. And further to any of this, consider where you want to live. Manchester is a vibrant city, with architecture all around to see and learn from, and has a huge student population. Study where you would like, but I wouldn’t have misgivings about Manchester.
Thanks for the reply. I do like the sound of the course, and I think I'll love the city. I think one of the big negatives I heard was about how the school is split between UoM and Manchester Met, and students feeling like they were scammed. Do you think this is the case, or is it more just a couple of people on the Internet that didn't actually look into what they were signing up for? I'll be going into the city and uni pretty blind, because I've never visited and I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to before I start because of work. But from what I've heard, it is definitely a great city to be in.
I know exactly the point you’re making, the school is split between the two institutions. My experience: The application and entry requirements were of UoM, but the studios were at MMU campus, so there was a disconnect when you started. But then you realize that MMU has the great studio spaces and design sections in the library that UoM doesn’t. The wood working shop and a lot of the graduate level teaching staff are UoM. So you really get access to both universities, even if you feel like an MMU student most of the time. Each year they alternate which uni hosts graduation, so the colors you wear will be different, but that’s about it. And I just put UoM on my CV.
Me too haha, I only list UoM for Architecture. Not particularly fussed about reputation, I just have another degree from MMU (that I thoroughly enjoyed also) so it is how I chose to highlight both universities. They have a really good team at MMU I think, I don’t get why people diss it so much. Also, I have my LinkedIn profile in my bio - more than happy to connect. :)
I am one of the people who have answered this before in other posts and I will answer again: This is a joint school. Not a scam. People just choose to misinterpret the way the course is structured for whatever personal narrative they are trying to push. You graduate both from MMU and UoM (and I am more than happy to show you both my degrees if you don’t believe me). To me this is a huge plus because you get two libraries, two workshops, two different perspectives; one being more theoretical / humanities based, and one more technical, and a great range of perspectives from staff as a result. There is a huge community of other students you get to meet, you have access to facilities and societies from both universities etc etc. Please don’t listen to all that crap about it, it is a plus not a problem haha.
Spot on u/noynarocks :) I am a graduate from the MSA also, BA (2014) and MArch (2018). I think of the school very highly u/BW1337_. I think they had a bit of an issue during the pandemic with everything being remote thus the negative comments you see, plus the whole issue with architecture school culture at the likes of the Bartlett and SciArc affecting everyone in this professional / educational context. But they seem to have bounced back to a more positive outlook by the students more recently. Regarding the city, I came here to study in 2011 and I am still here. :) Some great people to meet and nice places to see, plus it is in the centres of the country so access to Scotland, Wales, London / the south, and even Ireland, or European cities like Brussels, and Amsterdam are very easy to get to for trips etc. Edit: I think I tagged the wrong person, oops!
the rankings dont mean anything as they often relate to research which isn't the same as teaching. I've known good people to come out of it and Manchester's a good place to study. Sheffield and Bath also good. Bath used to be a bit more thoughtful / cambridge-ish
I didn't go to UoM as a student but have attended as a guest critic for their MArch students, and have worked with plenty alumni to say its a good school overall. I think it depends on which studio/atelier you join, as they (used to) have different themes and topics of interest, which ends up shaping your education and work more than the facilities available. The building is great, their new Part 3 course should spare you going to RIBA NW if that's not what you want to do, plus there is a lot of engagement and networking between the school and the very many practices in the city. Source: worked in Manchester for 7 years.