Program Overview
The design and construction of buildings and other physical structures is the art and science of architecture. It includes the aesthetically pleasing and practical facets of designing environments that satisfy human requirements. Form, space, materials, and environmental considerations must be carefully considered while designing a structure to look good and accomplish its intended function.
For buildings to be safe, sustainable, and receptive to user demands, architects must thoroughly grasp structural engineering, construction methods, and cultural contexts. The physical environment is shaped by architecture, which we use to design places that uplift, stimulate feelings, and enrich the human experience.
The development of human imagination and inventiveness may be seen throughout the long, 4,000-year history of a building. Architecture has always reflected societal, technological, and cultural developments, from the prehistoric wonders of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the splendour of Greek and Roman temples. While the Renaissance saw a resurgence of classical forms, the Middle Ages saw the growth of Gothic churches and castles.
New building materials and methods were introduced during the Industrial Revolution, which sparked the development of modernism and the ascent of skyscrapers. Architecture is advancing, embracing sustainability, and incorporating cutting-edge concepts influencing urban environments.
Architecture encompasses more than simply the design and planning of the constructed environment; it significantly impacts our culture, our sense of self, and the surroundings in which we live. For a minute, consider a world without architecture. There are no physical boundaries or structures in a sterile environment.
There are no beautiful structures to admire and no visible skyline. Nothing can shield us from terrible weather. We seek sanctuary in the woods to obtain what little shelter the trees can offer. We are unfamiliar with the concept of shelter acting as protection. It is reasonable to state that few people can withstand such harsh circumstances.
A thorough programme leading to a bachelor’s degree in architecture provides students with the information and abilities required for a building design and construction career. A comprehensive range of topics, including architectural design, structural engineering, construction technology, history of architecture, building materials, and environmental sustainability, are covered during the study of a degree program in architecture.
- Architectural Design Studio
- Structural Engineering and Analysis
- Building Construction and Materials
- History of Architecture and Urbanism
- Building Technology and Systems
- Sustainable Design and Environmental Planning
- Architectural Theory and Criticism
- Professional Practice and Project Management
The future for architects’ careers is typically favourable, and there are possibilities across various industries and places. Architects can work for architectural firms, building corporations, governmental organisations, or as independent contractors. The need for sustainable design, urbanisation, and population expansion are some elements driving the demand for architects.
Architecture coexists with people. Humans are dependent on people and cannot survive without architecture. The building reminds people how its design and beauty may express history, culture, and wishes. This guide will help you figure out your way through the world of architecture.
Why Study This Program
It Offers Global Travel Opportunities
A love of travel may considerably be enhanced by studying architecture. One’s creative perspectives are broadened through travelling to different cultures and landscapes and admiring architectural marvels worldwide. One may get priceless insights and inspiration by immersing oneself in various places, examining architectural marvels up close, and witnessing how people interact with their constructed environment. A global viewpoint that fosters innovation and originality in architecture is facilitated by the capacity to appreciate and comprehend various architectural styles, techniques, and materials from many regions.
If you enjoy travelling, you might also consider majoring in architecture. Some believe being an architect “is a lifestyle, not a job.” Many people have hectic schedules and frequently travel for both work and pleasure. Going directly to the source is the most significant way to learn about architecture. Consider the contrast between learning about churches and their construction in a book and being at the Sagrada Familia’s foundation. Architects travel to see many cultures, be inspired by how light falls on a building at a specific angle and time of day, and learn how various facilities work together.
Be Artistic and Analytical
The potential to embrace creative expression and critical thought is exceptional while studying architecture. It is a discipline that necessitates carefully balancing imagination and reason. Architects need a good aesthetic sense to conceptualise and design aesthetically attractive structures that move people and stir feelings.
The architectural design calls for a sharp, analytical mind. Among the many things that architects must consider are architectural codes, structural soundness, environmental sustainability, and spatial functionality. They evaluate the wants and demands of the customers, decipher complex data, and come up with workable solutions that fit the situation.
Studying architecture develops critical thinking skills and the capacity to see options and solve problems precisely. In addition to developing a feeling of obligation to society and the environment, it creates a strong appreciation for the artistry of form, space, and materials. People interested in architecture may combine the spheres of logic and art by using their analytical thinking and artistic flair.
This multidisciplinary approach equips architects to influence the built environment in novel and significant ways, enhancing the lives of people who live in their works and having a long-lasting effect on communities.
Problem-Solving Profession
The notion of studying architecture is appealing to people who enjoy solving problems. It is a field that combines artistic talent and technological know-how to solve practical problems, making it an excellent career choice for anyone looking to have a real effect on the built environment. Fundamentally, being an architect involves addressing problems.
Architects are responsible for creating visually beautiful and practical buildings with challenging spatial, social, and environmental concerns. They must consider security, sustainability, cultural context, and user experience when imagining novel solutions. By studying architecture, aspiring professionals acquire a broad range of skills to critically analyse issues, think creatively, and offer workable solutions.
Urban planning, environmental design, structural engineering, and construction management are just a few topics covered in the curriculum, giving students a wide range of tools to use when confronting complex problems. Along with this, architecture promotes a multidisciplinary approach that supports cooperation with stakeholders, including engineers, urban planners, interior designers, and others.
This collaborative environment fosters collaboration, communication skills, and the capacity to incorporate many viewpoints into coherent design solutions, which improves problem-solving abilities. In conclusion, those who appreciate addressing problems may consider studying architecture. It offers a platform for combining innovation and technological knowledge to solve practical problems, influencing the built environment’s future in a significant and maintainable way.
Discover Your Capabilities
Studying architecture is an effective method to identify and use your special talents. It provides a rare chance to explore and realise your creative potential while learning various skills. You start a transforming journey of self-discovery by immersing yourself in architecture. Your capacity for critical thought and problem-solving is strengthened by architecture, which forces you to consider complex spatial and environmental challenges.
It promotes creativity and pushes the limits of imagination, allowing you to express your ideas via simple designs that influence the physical world. As an architectural student, you explore a variety of fields, including sociology, engineering, physics, and the arts, expanding your knowledge and encouraging interdisciplinary thinking.
You hone your artistry and attention to detail while gaining technical drawing, modelling, and building skills. Additionally, because your creations directly influence people’s lives and our environment, architecture instils a strong feeling of social responsibility. It allows you to design practical, environmentally friendly, and visually beautiful environments, boosting community comfort and quality of life.
Ultimately, pursuing an education in architecture reveals your potential, stokes your enthusiasm, and equips you for a rewarding job that combines aesthetic vision, technical expertise, and social influence. It is a life-changing experience that gives you the power to influence the world while embracing your special skills.
Continuously Evolving Field
Studying architecture provides a strong incentive to interact with a field that is always changing. Architecture is a dynamic field that constantly adjusts to societal changes, technical developments, and environmental issues. People who decide to study architecture start a path that values innovation, creativity, and the search for answers to the ever-changing requirements of society.
The built environment is significantly shaped by architects, who also impact how people interact with one another and with settings. Incorporating pioneering expertise, developing design trends, and environmental practices must all be navigated by them. Due to the dynamic nature of architecture, it is essential to constantly learn new things and be open to fresh perspectives.
In addition, studying architecture helps students develop an awareness of historical and cultural settings, allowing them to appreciate the rich history of architectural accomplishments and consider novel future directions. The industry provides opportunities to participate in multidisciplinary partnerships combining sustainability, urban planning, and engineering. In conclusion, the fact that architecture is continually changing offers an alluring justification for studying it. It enables people to push limits and have a lasting influence on the built environment while making important contributions to society.
Why Study In Malaysia
Create Unique Things
The chance to develop original and interesting structures is one persuasive argument for studying architecture. With the help of architecture, people may express their creativity and self-expression by turning their concepts into real-world, useful structures. As an architect, you can influence the environment by creating environments that provoke feelings, enrich knowledge, and instil wonder. S
tudying architecture lets you realise your vision for sustainable projects, famous monuments, or leading-edge residential constructions. The industry supports research, innovation, and blending art and science, allowing architects to create enduring works.
Functional Art Form
Exploring architecture as a practical art form might be motivated by studying it. The architecture mixes aesthetics, design principles, and functionality to produce environments that inspire and enthral people while serving a purpose. As an architect, you may combine creativity and usability to create buildings that not only help to satisfy human wants but also arouse feelings and improve the human experience.
You may develop rooms with architecture that maximise functionality, improve comfort, and encourage well-being. By majoring in architecture, you may be able to influence the built environment and help create stunning, harmonious environments that artistically combine form and function.
Affordable Course Fees
The fee required to study architecture in Malaysia is comparatively less than that required in many other countries, such as the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada, to name just a few. With architecture degree expenses shooting up worldwide, Malaysia comes across as a reliable option to receive a high-quality education at an affordable cost.
Globally Recognised Degrees
Architecture degrees from Malaysian universities enjoy global recognition. Studying architecture in Malaysia allows students to pursue the program in Malaysia and then move anywhere globally. Several students continue their master’s and specialisation in Malaysia or transfer to other countries to pursue different pathways.
International Education Standard
The standard of architecture programs in Malaysia meets international standards. This ensures exceptional education for students who enrol in this course. The course curriculum is rigorously developed, keeping in line with international benchmarks to ensure students learn the latest developments in architecture in Malaysia.
Excellent Campus Facilities and Infrastructure
Malaysia offers excellent campus facilities, modern infrastructure, and innovative teaching aids for studying architecture in Malaysia. The schools in Malaysia offer a great learning atmosphere. Several leading universities have developed in-house labs and testing facilities dedicated to helping students learn with hands-on experience, operate with state-of-the-art machinery, and stay up to date with the latest innovations.
Career Prospects
Architects are experts who plan and construct safe, aesthetically appealing, and functional spaces. They have a special combination of creativity, technical know-how, and problem-solving abilities. Architects regularly collaborate with customers to fully grasp their requirements and preferences before creating intricate floor plans and blueprints for structures like houses, buildings, and landscapes. They combine cutting-edge design features while considering variables like sustainability, accessibility, and construction codes. Architects often work with engineers, contractors, and other investors to guarantee their vision is successfully implemented. Their efforts improve the physical environment and living standards for people and communities.
Architects play a vital role in designing, organising, and supervising the building of diverse structures. Understanding customer needs, doing site investigations, and creating architectural designs are some of their duties. Here are some other roles and responsibilities:
- Designing and building structures that are both visually beautiful and useful.
- Incorporating into architectural plans and understanding customer requirements.
- Analysing the site to evaluate aspects such as topography, climate, and resource accessibility.
- Creating thorough plans, blueprints, and building standards.
- Ensuring adherence to safety norms, laws, and construction requirements.
- Coordinating the architectural vision with contractors, engineers, and other experts.
- Making design decisions while considering elements like sustainability, usability, and accessibility.
- Using creative and inventive aspects to improve the built environment’s quality and attractiveness.
One needs a wide variety of abilities to become an architect. These include originality and a flair for design, strong spatial awareness, technical proficiency in drafting and modelling software, effective communication and teamwork, and the ability to solve problems quickly. Other skills have been mentioned below:
- Creativity and flair are required to create unique and appealingly attractive architectural solutions.
- Expertise in drawing software and architectural software to explain design concepts effectively.
- The ability to visualise and manage three-dimensional spaces with strong spatial awareness.
- Collaboration and communication abilities that are effective for working with customers, engineers, and contractors.
- Detail-oriented approach to assure correctness in blueprints, requirements, and conformity to construction codes.
- Possessing the ability to work through issues in design and come up with workable solutions within limitations.
Landscape Architect
Among other things, landscape architects work on recreational areas, environmental restoration, and stormwater management. This can be your career route if you appreciate working with and in the natural world.
Restoration Architect
This career path is ideal for you if you have a passion for preserving heritage and learning about the history of the building. In this line of work, conservation and restoration will be crucial duties, but they must be performed with care to preserve the work’s original integrity.
Interior Designer
Architects generally have a good sense of design at every scale imaginable. After extensive planning, the interior design opens up significant responsibilities and crucial building procedures.
Framer
Framers could be employed in the business, manufacturing, or housing sectors. Framers are responsible for determining the project’s demands, creating designs, and collecting necessary measurements.
Project Coordinator
People in project development teams include architectural project coordinators. They analyse designs, organise the workflow of structural tasks, and conduct quality control inspections.
Urban Planner
The conditions of urbanisation are always changing due to a continually increasing percentage of our people relocating into urban regions. Urban environments are dynamic, including everything from economic and demographic changes to sustainable development, making it an attractive career option for architects.
Research Architect
Research architecture has greatly improved because of advances in technology and computing. Building Information Modelling (BIM), computational design and a host of other cutting-edge tools already exist, elevating the practice of architecture to a new level while expanding design alternatives and significantly reducing the need for human labour.
Extreme Architect
Becoming a specialist in extreme weather as an architect is a fascinating way to learn about the subject and essential for adjusting to the planet’s future.
Lightning Consultant
Lighting experts create lighting plans and designs. Although they frequently work for lighting businesses, consultants may also serve major venues, private residences, retail establishments, event organisations, or design firms.
Architectural Drafter
Building plans and designs are meticulously drafted by architectural drafters and sent to architects. They must follow specific architectural guidelines and utilise software to make their drafts.
Program Duration
The duration to study architecture in Malaysia is three years for the bachelor’s program. English is the medium of instruction followed in schools across all major international private universities.
The first year will have a number of common subjects between different specialisations. As students progress to years two and three, their modules and subjects will become more specialised as per their field of choice.
Students can sometimes switch from one specialisation to another, but it will require approval from the University faculty and the relevant authorities in Malaysia.
Students who want to opt for program transfers to another University will usually need to prepare the transfer paperwork and start processing from their second year onwards to ensure all the paperwork and approvals are in place so the program transfer can be done.
Entry Requirements
The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) sets the entry requirements and guidelines for university admissions in Malaysia, which all universities must adhere to. All prospective international students must meet the minimum entry requirements, as the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) takes these standards into account during the application acceptance and processing phases.
The admission requirements to study architecture in Malaysia for international students may vary from one university to another. However, the basic entry requirements are the same for most universities.
Usually, there are two pathways to entering a degree program in Malaysia:
- First, students can join a foundation program after completing their secondary schooling, O levels, or equivalent qualifications. After completing the foundation in Design, they can continue to the bachelor’s degree as per their choice.
- Second, students who have completed their higher secondary school or A levels or equivalent will be able to join the bachelor’s degree programme directly into year one.
If a student fails to meet the entry requirements for a bachelor’s degree programme, the faculty may offer different pathways into the degree programme, for example, through a foundation or a diploma programme.
Universities may raise the entry requirements to ensure incoming students are academically prepared for the rigours of their programmes. So, prospective international students should consult with an admission advisor to determine the precise entry criteria for their chosen programme and their preferred university.
General Entry Requirements For Bachelor’s Degree
A Levels or Equivalent:
- Min. CDD or equivalent of min. 200 points excluding General Paper in student’s first language (any combination of grades not lower than Grade D)
Foundation:
- A pass in Foundation studies with a minimum CGPA of 2.00.
English Language
International students who wish to study architecture in Malaysia will need to also provide proof of their English language proficiency with IELTS or TOEFL exams. Students who have studied the British or American curriculum are generally exempted from the English proficiency requirements since the medium of instruction for that curriculum is in English by default.
Students who have studied other curriculums where the medium of instruction is also English will usually need to provide a supporting letter from the school stating that the instruction language for their schooling has been English. With that letter, English language requirements are proven to have been completed.
Fees & Cost
Students sometimes only look at the tuition fee during the comparison. However, depending on how forthright and clear the fee guidelines from the university are, the extra fees can be a hefty amount that could be a surprise. So students are advised to correctly add all the fees and decide which university fits their budget requirements to study architecture in Malaysia.
Various factors will contribute to the overall cost structure, such as:
- Tuition fees
- Accommodation fees
- Admission fee
- Registration and Visa fees and
- Other one-time fees.
These fees vary from university to university and can depend on varying factors. The quality, infrastructure, facilities and teacher-to-student ratio will also determine how much a university charges.
You must find the right balance between quality and cost to get the best education possible. The average cost to study architecture in Malaysia is between RM 35,000 to RM40,000 per year, depending on the University.
For reference, that’s around USD $7,000 to $10,000 per year for a 3-year architecture degree program at the current exchange rate.
Accommodation
Accommodation cost is going to be another recurring fee for international students. Generally, students have two options: they can either stay at the on-campus accommodation provided by the university or at private accommodation. The prices will differ according to which university and area you choose.
Generally, campus accommodations at major universities start at around US$150 per month and can go up to $400 per month. The pricing for on-campus accommodation is determined by the size of the room, whether a student will be sharing the room or will be staying alone, or if the student is taking a master room which generally comes with an attached bathroom or decides to stay at a sharing room with shared bathroom.
Some universities also offer cooking facilities and on-campus accommodation, which are shared facilities which will also be factored into the accommodation costs. Utility costs are generally an add-on fee.
While choosing the university, you can check with your admissions advisor on the options available for accommodation and how much they will cost so that you have an idea of how much of a monthly budget you will require as a student.
Admission Procedure
Researching, applying and managing overseas admissions is a tedious, time-consuming and often confusing process. Incorrect application submissions can lead to lengthy processing, delayed approvals, or rejections. You can visit education, exhibitions and fairs to collect information. However, that is not enough. You can only collect cursory information at these places. However, your admission processing will usually take much longer. During that time, you will need consistent and dedicated support to ensure your application is in the right experienced hands.
This is where we help.
Edmates helps international students from around the world with complete admissions processing. Our integrated one-stop centre helps international students with everything. We help you find future-driven programs that match your abilities and interests in leading universities.
We handle the entire process from the beginning until you have joined the university. Our international support system will manage everything for you, absolutely free.
Each student is assigned with a dedicated admission advisor who will manage the complete admission process and also guide the student throughout the admissions process. The advisor will also liaise with the university admissions department to ensure clear communications and faster processing.
You can speak with your assigned advisor anytime by booking a free call online through the website. You will also receive regular updates regarding your application via emails, SMS and WhatsApp.
To learn about each step of the admission process, you can read our complete guide to start applying for your higher education the right way.