MSc International Professional Practice in Architecture (part time)

Contemporary architectural practice connects design with sustainability, technology, management, and business. The MIPP brings these perspectives together, enabling students to develop the knowledge, critical thinking, and professional skills needed to contribute to the built environment.

Through a combination of core and optional modules, students can design their studies around their backgrounds, interests and career ambitions. This flexibility supports both those seeking to advance within their current field and those looking to explore new directions in architecture and the wider built environment.

The programme is delivered by Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Design School in collaboration with other departments and schools across the University, including International Business School Suzhou. It connects expertise in architecture, industrial design, civil engineering, and business, offering an interdisciplinary perspective on modern architectural practice in an international context.

Students engage with professional challenges through lectures, seminars, case studies, collaborative activities, and independent research. Their final dissertation or project provides an opportunity to investigate a topic aligned with their individual interests and career aspirations.

The programme enables students to:

• broaden their understanding of contemporary architectural and built-environment practice;
• explore the complexities of managing projects and running a practice in an international context;
• evaluate sustainability, environmental responsibility and life-cycle approaches to design and construction;
• understand the economic, organisational and ethical dimensions of professional practice;
• develop leadership, management and entrepreneurial capabilities;
• explore the applications of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in design and construction; and
• build an individual learning pathway that supports their professional development.

Through the MIPP programme, students will develop an understanding of:

• the responsibilities of built-environment professionals towards clients, employers, users, and wider society;
• the economic, socio-political and ethical influences on global professional practice;
• the principles and skills involved in planning, managing and delivering projects;
• construction processes across the project life cycle, including health and safety and project planning;
• business development, entrepreneurship and practice management;
• organisational behaviour, leadership and people management;
• the principles of financial management in business;
• approaches to meeting building users’ needs while complying with relevant legislation and performance standards;
• sustainability rating systems, environmental design strategies and life-cycle assessment; and
• digital technologies and their application in contemporary design and construction.

Students will also develop their capacity to undertake independent research, critically evaluate evidence and communicate their findings through a dissertation or applied project.