Curious to find out what a typical day is like for an Architecture and Planning student? Find out why Maud chose to study her course, and what she thinks of the reality of student life...

My days and timetable are incredibly varied both day-to-day and week-to-week, and this is a depiction of one of my busiest days. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is when I have my lectures and seminars for all my modules, and then Thursday and Friday tend to be dedicated entirely to working in the studio and having design tutorials about the current design projects we’re working on.

If you can manage your time relatively well, the workload isn’t that demanding, but being organised is important (especially when you have multiple deadlines coming up) in order to thrive on the AUP course.

9:00 - Architectural Technology Lecture

I (unfortunately) have a lot of 9:00 lectures this semester, and today I’ve got an ARC1014: Architectural Technology lecture. This was an optional module for me, but I chose it because I find the technical and constructional side of architecture pretty interesting. 

12:00 - Studio

After grabbing a coffee and some lunch I head up to the AUP studios (which are brand new this year!) to work on my module for ARC1007: Architectural Design. We’re creating our own design for a shelter on the beach in Tynemouth, a coastal town near Newcastle; we got to go look at the site before we started the project which was great because it lets us visualise the space we’re designing for.

14:00 - Planning Processes Seminar

We take both Architecture and Urban Planning modules in AUP, and TCP1014: Planning Processes is a module we take alongside Urban Planning students. Seminars involve working in smaller student groups to talk about an aspect of the lecture we’ve had previously in the module, so you can work through applying concepts to real-life scenarios – particularly important when it comes to a subject like planning, which is always updating.

16:00 - Alternative Practice Lecture

This module, ALP1001, is unique to AUP and is a critical exploration of architecture and architectural history, with a particular focus on urbanism. It helps you understand how architecture is formed, and how you can relate architecture and urban planning together.

17:30 - Flat

After heading back home (I live in first-year halls), I make some dinner and a quick catch up with my flatmates before going back out into the city for a society meeting.

18:00 - Lit Soc

I’m a member of Literature Society, so we meet once a month to discuss a book we’ve all read (with snacks & tea). Societies are a great way to meet people from all stages as well as do something outside your course.

20:30 - Free Time

I get back to my flat and watch a film with my flatmates, whilst some sketchbook work I need to finish for tomorrow. The perk of AUP is, given how much module content varies, you’re always working on something new and learning new ways to do and look at things.

This is just an example of one day-in-the-life of an AUP student – it’s a really varied course, so you won’t always be doing this much work in one day. If you have any questions about the AUP course here at Newcastle, feel free to send me a message via Unibuddy!

Interested in finding out more about studying Architecture and Urban Planning at Newcastle University? Discover the practicalities of our degrees, career prospects, and opportunities to study abroad in our Architecture and Urban Planning subject page.