Our apprenticeship pathway is designed in semester-long blocks, so that study is interspersed with periods at work. This means your employee can combine periods of study whilst working for you full time.

Our unique structure provides apprentices with the experience of studying alongside our full-time MArch students, as well as learning within their own practices. Your employee will have the space and time to fully develop their academic ideas in our studios and still be able to contribute to your workplace projects.

“We are really excited to be offering this apprenticeship pathway at Bath. This is a great opportunity to strengthen our existing practice partnerships and form some new ones. Our apprentice structure is designed so students will get the very best out of their study and work commitments, preparing them to contribute original thinking to our profession in future.” — Professor Alex Wright

Your employee will spend years 1–3 studying for their Master of Architecture (MArch) degree, which is validated by the RIBA and prescribed by the ARB as an approved Part 2 qualification. They will complete the same academic units as our MArch students on the traditional pathway, but these will be completed in 3 years rather than 2.

Year 4 of our apprenticeship is devoted to the Postgraduate Certificate in Architectural Practice (PGCert AP), which is validated by the RIBA and prescribed by the ARB as an approved Part 3 qualification. This involves attending university for two week-long teaching blocks. At the end of year 4 those students who have met the required standards will enter the End Point Assessment period, which is completed over a maximum of 6 months.

Apprentices who successfully pass this assessment will complete the apprenticeship and be awarded the PG Cert AP and become fully qualified Architects.

Generally, you must be a UK-based practice contributing to the apprenticeship levy fund (practices with a salary turnover of at least £3 million a year) to support an apprentice with 100% of the university fees covered by the apprenticeship levy fund. Smaller practices can still employ an apprentice with 95% of the university fees covered by the apprenticeship levy fund. Find out more about apprenticeship funding on the UK government's website. Employers are responsible for paying their apprentice's salary throughout the apprenticeship.

You may wish to support a current employee, a former student who you employed on placement or a new employee. Practices who are interested in employing an apprentice can ask to be included on our register. Students with an offer to study on our MArch course can then contact you directly about an apprenticeship.

Once you have agreed a position with a prospective or current employee who has an offer to study on our MArch course, the University and your practice will then enter into a Training Services Agreement (TSA) before the start of the apprenticeship. This is a contract between your practice and the University of Bath. All employers of apprentices will need to be registered with the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS). You will also need to complete a Commitment Statement (CS).

Your practice will need to complete an apprenticeship agreement with your apprentice. The University of Bath is not a signatory to this, but we are required to hold a copy within our files.