initial training

INITIAL TRAINING

The initial training phase of architectural studies follows the European BMD (Bachelor's Master's Doctorate) teaching system and is organised into three cycles.

 

THE FIRST CYCLE

The first cycle leads to the Diploma in Architectural Studies, conferring a State-controlled bachelor's degree. This cycle is for learning fundamental knowledge and skills. Progressivity and method play a leading role.


The course is organised across 3 years - 6 semesters. It consists of 27 course units and is worth 180 ECTS (European credits)

There are 3 main teaching methods:
- project workshops
- lectures
- tutorials.


The Diploma in Architectural Studies must be obtained within a maximum of 4 years in the Bachelor's cycle.


The years have different themes:

 

  • "Perceiving and Representing" in first year;
  • "Places and Uses" in second year;
  • "City and Architecture" in third year is an opportunity to look at the subject on a broader scale.

Progressivity is implemented in project teaching through:


    • an increasingly comprehensive view of the subjects (scales, sites, programmes, etc.),
    • increasing duration of the projects (from 2 weeks in the first year to one semester at the end of the bachelor's),
    • the student's freedom to choose their preferred project workshop from the second year onwards.


2 compulsory internships must be completed during the bachelor's:
    • the work placement
    • the first practice internship

 

THE SECOND CYCLE

The second cycle leads to the State Diploma in Architecture, conferring a State-controlled master's degree.

Its organisation takes account of exchanges with other schools, particularly in the field of international mobility.

The student puts together their own learning pathway for a period of 2 years - 4 semesters. The course comprises 14 Course Units and is worth 120 ECTS credits.
The State Diploma in Architecture must be obtained within a maximum of 3 years in the Master's cycle.
project teaching at master's level: Each semester, the groups of teachers set out the issues and methodological approaches that they will focus on in their workshop. The offer is themed, with the themes being linked to a territory or to the research areas of the Architectural Research Laboratory. Students can state their wish to join this or that workshop.

The final semester project (S10) supports the Final Year Project which is defended at the end of the year before a jury of teachers, academics and professionals.

Seminar teaching at master's level:

The seminar is an introduction to research which is compulsory for master's degrees and is validated by the production of a dissertation. It consists of:
    • fundamental methodological skills: review of existing knowledge, a bibliography, framing an issue and research hypotheses, constructing an analysis methodology, etc.
    • an expert knowledge base specific to each seminar relating to the issue,
    • a personal reflection documented in the dissertation.

The themes of the seminars are based on the research fields of the Architectural Research Laboratory, the directors of studies being for the most part researchers within the LRA.
The seminar is organised over 2 to 3 semesters - in the first year or second year of the master's.
the research pathway: students who wish to do so may choose to follow a research pathway on a master's 2. This consists of exploring the dissertation topic in greater depth and can pave the way for a doctorate. It follows on from the seminar and may lead to a Final Year Project with a research focus

 

Internship

Known as a practical training internship, the compulsory internship lasts for at least 40 working days and must take place within a single organisation, which can be
    • either an architectural agency (architecture, interior architecture, urban planning or landscaping company)
    • or another entity (expert appraisal, design or construction company, research and design office, State department, local authority, association, etc.).

The internship can be full-time or part-time (for all or part of the internship), and part-time hours cannot be less than 2 days a week.  The internship supervisor who oversees the intern must be an architect.

 

DOUBLE ARCHITECT-ENGINEER OR ENGINEER-ARCHITECT PATHWAY

The double architect-engineer or engineer-architect pathway was set up in 1996 by Toulouse School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Toulouse (Insa)

With this double pathway, Toulouse School of Architecture and Insa in Toulouse are pursuing objectives that are relevant to students' future careers and the missions of both institutions.


Architect-engineers or engineer-architects remain rare in France. As things stand, having both qualifications is an asset in terms of career progress and professional freedom. It opens up particularly interesting fields of the job market and justifies the investment of time and academic effort inherent in the double pathway.

This double pathway gives access to a wide array of professions ranging from engineering to architecture and concerning different phases of the architectural or urban project process: decision support, programming, design, implementation, use, restoration and demolition. It is of interest to those involved in consulting, assistance, project ownership and project management.