So o

So I guess MSA is out.

I have never hear of Russell Group. Thank you. I know thay QS Rankings are not very accurate but as I searched throughout the internet, I have not found better. Thetimeshigjereducation, shanghai ranking and CWUR all they put some ridiculous statistics.

Hi TED, you seem to be a big champion of the work at QUB. I certainly think that the standard of the lower years is generally quite good, but the work of the master students doesn't stand out in my mind. I often felt that the school suffered from what you might call 'small practice syndrome' since only very small boutique practices taught there, and the master research questions were often quite narrow. I haven't seen the work in about 4 years though, perhaps there's been a change.

Hi Ando - there is a new head (from sept 2019) so makes a difference from what you might have remembered (previous head was an engineer). I visited the Uni Dec 2018, spoke to students, saw the work and studios - students get a desk which is not the case in many unis. I agree Part II work should be of a level of complexity and differentiate itself from part I. With COVID crisis and the mess the UK government has placed on the Universities, non-Russell group Unis are at risk - the temporary staff in those unis are the first to get cut. QUB is a Russell group university and as an 'Old University' is well endowed so threats to the quality of teaching staff are not at issues. QUB is in a School with geography, planning, archaeology and structural/civil engineering each with strong input to architecture. The programme is small (undergrad takes in 40 per year) and Belfast/Northern Ireland is a setting rich with political and social agendas. NI/Ireland is a beautiful setting and a great site for cycling. As a part II student, you should set your own agenda so think the environment you study in should empower you to do this. I love Belfast, the music scene, the NI accent and the Guinness is good also -

Good to hear. Things have certainly changed. Back during the Troubles there were student retention issues and most of the teaching staff were based in Dublin, travelling up and down to teach. I think a culture of architecture has developed in the interim however, and of course it no longer suffers from the sociopolitical issues of the past.