Masters Degrees (Urban Design)

The Masters in Urban Design course combines students' existing strengths with focused design training to produce urban designers capable of managing the complex problems of development, urban space and form.

The certificate and diploma stages of the Masters in Urban Design course introduce theoretical concepts and practical methods of urban design. They will enable you to understand processes of urban design production and consumption, and to develop skills and techniques for communicating three-dimensional urban design.

Why choose this course?

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in both the public and private sectors, in planning, architecture, landscape and urban design practices; undertaking design, consultancy and research work. Several have also gone on to take up senior posts in universities in the UK and abroad. This is the longest established programme of study in urban design in the UK, and consequently has a vast network of graduates across the globe.

Staff are engaged in world-leading research (69% either world leading or internationally excellent in REF 2014) which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work. A major strength of the course is its multidisciplinary, collegiate, team-based approach to project work and presentation.

Based in Oxford, we are well located for access to both this historic city, to London and other urban centres in the UK.

This course in detail

The Masters in Urban Design is offered as a linked PGCert/PGDip/MA. The aim of the PGCert and PGDip stages is to provide a framework of current knowledge and skills in urban design and masterplanning.

The PGCert stage of the course focuses on the basic concepts and theory of urban design, establishing a solid grounding in the practical realisation of design qualities in a case site situation.

The PGDip stage increases the emphasis placed on the application of more specific design skills in differing contexts, through live projects and a more in-depth examination of design history. Theory and new research are provided through a series of history and theory lectures and seminars.

The aim of the MA stage is to provide an opportunity for developing urban design research skills through individually selected topics in theoretical and practical fields of study in urban design.

The MA dissertation gives students the opportunity to explore in depth a subject related to urban design, and to integrate the various elements of the course. Past topics for the MA include local identity, transport and design, public art and urban design, urban coding, environmental design, digital cities, and eco-towns.

The course is structured around nine modules.

Please note: as courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the module lists you choose from may vary from the ones shown here.

The PGCert stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 60 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Studio I
-Urban Design Theory I
-Urban Design Practice I and II
-Urban Design Studio II

The PGDip stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 120 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Theory II
-Urban Design Issues II
-Urban Design Development Seminars
-Research Methods in Design

The MA stage of the course consists of the following compulsory module:
-Master's Dissertation

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design in practice.

Lectures provide the framework, essential background and knowledge base for the course, while you are encouraged to probe deeper into different topics by further reading and review.

Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in lectures are demonstrated through studio sessions, workshops, seminars and practical project work. Site visits and a fieldwork component are an important component.

Careers and professional development

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

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The Liverpool School of Art and Design offers you the space to explore your creative potential and understand how its application in design can interact with, adapt and change the landscape of cities and urban spaces and our experience within them.

•Course available to study full time (1 year) and part time (2 years)
•A new programme open to applicants from a wide range of first degree disciplines such as architecture, spatial design, landscape design, environmental art, geography and planning
•Join a strong research-focused academic community
•Prestigious Susan Cotton Travel bursary and the Michael Pugh Thomas and Julia Carter Preston Legacy postgraduate study awards available
•Develop your work in state-of-the-art workspaces and facilities within the RIBA award-winning John Lennon Art and Design Building

In a world of rapidly rising and migrating urban populations, there is a palpable need for smarter, more inclusive approaches to city planning, adaptation and spatial design.

Liverpool is a creative hub with a heritage of high quality civic design and creative urban engagement. The study of Urban Design is perfectly suited to the rich infrastructure of this truly global city. Read more about the outputs from the programme by visiting the Urban Design blog.

This programme has strong links with the RIBA North and the Liverpool Biennial which, every two years, delivers an international programme of exhibitions and projects that lead to a rediscovery of the city.

Based within the School’s Architecture and Urban Design subject area, this studio-based programme is nourished by the School’s burgeoning research in Urbanism and close association with the University's European Institute for Urban Affairs.

The curriculum has creative place-making at its core and we welcome applicants from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds such as architecture, planning, landscape architecture, art and spatial design.

What you will study on this degree

Please see guidance below on core and option modules for further information on what you will study.

Research & Practice 1

An introduction to some of the common principles of research in Art and Design, tailored to help you develop the skills required to become an effective independent researcher / practitioner.

Studio Practice (Urban Design)

Upon successful completion of an urban design project, you will acquire skills to analyse contemporary urban design themes through in-depth research and the intelligent development of a critical argument. You will also be able to evaluate innovative and visionary urban design theories and precedents in the context of the project work and synthesize knowledge and skills in the production of an urban design strategy for the redevelopment of a substantial piece of cityscape.

Research & Practice 2 (Urban Design)

You will be presented with an overview of urban scale sustainable design principles and objectives. You will then explore a range of contemporary sustainable best practice case studies. These principles will then be applied in practical project work, exploring urban design sustainability benchmarks and audit methodologies. You will thereby be provided with a range of theoretical tools to support independent conceptual and critical evaluation of sustainable urban design. Tools will be explored such as to enable students to understand and evaluate the environmental impact and ecology of urban design proposals

Collaborative Practice

Here you will be given the opportunity to think through, re-situate and re-imagine how the term ‘collaboration’ can affect and develop your own developing art and design practice in the broadest sense. A framework of teaching, study and assessment that will allow the student to develop a realizable collaborative project proposal that has the capacity to be developed into a fundable/sustainable project/collaboration.

Final Major Project (Urban Design)

Through a major project you will explore and apply a contemporary urban design theme through in-depth research and intelligent development of a critical argument or creative piece of work.

Further guidance on modules

The information listed in the section entitled ‘What you will study’ is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal Academic Framework review, so may be subject to change. Students will be required to undertake modules that the University designates as core and will have a choice of designated option modules. Additionally, option modules may be offered subject to meeting minimum student numbers.

Academic Framework reviews are conducted by LJMU from time to time to ensure that academic standards continue to be maintained.

Please email [email protected] if you require further guidance or clarification.

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The Inter-disciplinary Urban Design MRes is a faculty-wide one-year research degree designed to allow students to tailor their own learning to their background and future aspirations. Students can construct their study in an inter-disciplinary manner, enabling them to explore urban design as a critical arena for advanced research and practice.

Degree information

This programme provides an interdisciplinary space in which students can examine the challenges of urban design from comparative disciplinary perspectives; students are exposed to the latest cutting-edge urban design research and teaching at the UCL Bartlett and are offered the opportunity to conduct a substantial piece of individual urban design research, receiving training in methodologies appropriate to the conduct of urban design and urban scale research.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (totalling 105 credits), and either a 15,000-word dissertation or a 10,000-word disssertation and a research-based design proposal (75 credits).

Core modules
-Inter-disciplinary Urban Design - this module draws from a range of named feeder modules from across The Bartlett and across UCL (see below)
-Urban Investigations - this module explores cutting-edge research and research techniques in urban design

Feeder modules
-Adaptable Cities
-Architectural Phenomena
-Cities, Space & Power
-Creative Cities
-Design as a Knowledge-Based Process
-Design and Real Estate
-Detailed Urban Design
-Embodied and Embedded Technologies, Cities as Interface
-Environmental Masterplanning
-From Strategic Vision to Urban Plan
-Geographic Information Systems and Science
-London, Aspects of Change
-Participatory Process: Building for Development
-Public Space & the City
-Social Dimensions of Sustainability
-Spatial Modelling and Simulation
-Spatial Cultures
-Spatial Justice
-Strategic Urban Design
-Theorising Practices: Architecture, Art & Urbanism

Dissertation/research project
All students undertake an independent urban design research project culminating in either a dissertation of 15,000 words or a 10,000-word dissertation and a research-based design proposal.

Teaching and learning
Methods of delivery will vary (because of the flexible nature of the programme) but a typical student might encounter studio teaching, formal lectures, analytical modelling, small-group tutorials and discussion, formal presentations, and site visits. Student performance is assessed through individual and group work, essays, and project work.

Careers

The programme opens up a range of future opportunities for participants along two primary paths:
-It provides an opportunity for students seeking to further their professional careers, to specialise in urban design and, within that broad arena, to engage deeply with a particular research agenda of direct relevance to their future professional practice.
-For students seeking a research or academic career, the MRes provides the ideal training for a PhD and eventually an academic or other research position.

The first cohort of students on this programme graduated in 2015. A significant proportion - approximately 50% - are embarking on PhD studies, while others are developing their professional careers in a range of research, institutional or professional settings.

Employability
The programme is globally unique and will give students an important employment edge in allowing them to tailor their studies to their own individual circumstances, building on existing strengths or extending their knowledge. It will deliver a research training in urban design whilst also helping to build a unique and first-class portfolio of work in which the student, rather than syllabus, is the driving force.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Bartlett brings together literally dozens of scientific and professional specialisms required to research, understand, design, construct and operate the buildings and urban environments of the future.

This MRes is a faculty-wide programme, and students are able to access perhaps the largest global concentration of urban design related researchers and professional expertise.

The programme has a simple and highly flexible structure, designed to allow students to tailor their learning both to their own background, and how they wish to specialise in the future.

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This Master's programme has a unique focus on urban design as a creative planning tool and the interface between urban design and city planning. It offers a comprehensive understanding and exposure to urban design theory and practice, and also the complexity of its interface with the city planning field.

Degree information

The programme equips students theoretically and practically, engaging academically and in practice with urban design and related fields of knowledge. Students will learn how to think critically, creatively and in analytical ways across the different city scales, from strategic to local, and across urban design, city planning, place-making, real estate and sustainability arenas.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of seven compulsory modules (105 credits), one optional module (15 credits) and a research dissertation or major research project (60 credits). A Postgraduate Diploma, eight core modules (120 credits) full-time nine months and part-time 2-5 years, is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate, four core modules (60 credits), full-time nine months is offered.

Core modules
-City Planning
-Collaborative City Planning Strategies
-Critical Debates in Urban Design and City Planning
-Design and Real Estate
-Sustainable Futures by Design
-Urban Design: Layout, Density and Typology
-Urban Design: Guidance, Incentive and Control
-Urban Design: Place Making

Dissertation/research project
MSc students have the choice between a 10,000-word dissertation or 8,000-word final major research project in planning; the dissertation being by nature a rather more analytical exercise and the project a rather more propositional one.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of individual and group project work, skills-based practical and IT work, lectures (including some by visiting practitioners), tutorials, student presentations, seminars, field trips and direct practitioner involvement. Student performance is assessed through individual and group work, essays, examinations, project work, other skills-based practical work, and a dissertation or final research project report.

Careers

Graduate students from the Bartlett School of Planning have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment. There is growing demand for our Master's graduates from a wide range of both public and private employers. On completion of this programme the majority of graduates will work in either the public or private consultancy sectors. A minority will continue in higher degree studies and research.

Employability
The Urban Design and City Planning MSc is an opportunity for students seeking to further their professional careers to specialise in urban design and, within that broad arena, to engage deeply with both the theoretical debates and practice methodologies, with particular research agendas of direct relevance to the future of their professional practice.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Bartlett School of Planning has a strong history of teaching and research at all levels. The school has been at the forefront of planning research and teaching for more than 100 years and is one of the foremost planning schools in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation.

This programme is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The Bartlett School of Planning is situated in the heart of London, which offers unique opportunities to study the complexities of contemporary urban design and planning processes, and engage with practitioners, alumni and academic guests through seminars, site visits and workshops.

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The MA in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) is a wide-ranging mainstream Master's programme in architecture that gives you an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective on contemporary architecture and urban design. The programme informs you about the latest knowledge of architecture and urban design in order to prepare you to become a successful professionals working on a global scale.

You are taught how to combine academic analysis with the development of creative and intellectual skills. We regard theory and practice of architecture as equally important, and believe that joint effort and excellence in both areas are necessary for communicating architecture and urban design competently and successfully. You are encouraged to develop your creative and imaginative abilities; to produce ideas and undertake work that conveys your understanding of architecture and cities in fresh and effective ways.

You learn how to approach contemporary architecture and cities and their relation to the society, culture and arts including film and theatre. Through the analysis of wider social and environmental aspects and through modeling of cities’ life and its dynamic forces, programme considers the ways in which both the heritage buildings and the new design proposals can facilitate in the sustainable development of cities in the future.

Kent School of Architecture (KSA) has developed a unique partnership with Farrells, the internationally renowned architects and urban planners. John Letherland, the Head of Master Planning, currently leads a design module for all students on this programme.

This is a versatile Master’s qualification for architects, urban designers, surveyors, historians, landscape architects, theorists, engineers and other related professionals involved with planning and design of contemporary cities, as well as graduates interested in pursuing further postgraduate studies and an academic career.

This programme is taught at our Canterbury campus. There is also a version of this programme which allows you to spend a term in Paris (https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/181/architecture-and-urban-design-paris).

Visit the website https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/180/architecture-and-urban-design

About Kent School of Architecture

Research at Kent School of Architecture achieves excellence in both the history and theory of architecture and in sustainable urban, peri-urban and environmental design. School staff have design expertise and specialist knowledge; they are at the forefront of current architectural issues, including sustainability, technology, professional practice and research. Our staff are active at academic and professional conferences, both nationally and internationally, and appear and publish in local and national media. The School promotes innovative and interdisciplinary research, emphasising sustainable design.

Much of the project work involved in the Kent School of Architecture is located on 'live' sites in the local region, using real clients and engaging challenging issues. Students in all stages of the school have been introduced to real urban and architectural design challenges in Lille, Margate, Folkestone, Dover, Rye, Chatham and, of course, Canterbury. Much of this work involves liaising with external bodies, such as architects, planners, council and development groups.

Course structure

The MA is composed of four taught modules (two modules per term full-time, one module per term part-time) and a dissertation on the topic of your own choice. The programme leads to an MA but may be taken as a Postgraduate Diploma without the dissertation.

Graduates have worked at the cutting edge of the architectural profession on a global level and progressed to work in academia.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.

AR831 - Urban Landscape (30 credits)
AR832 - Research Methods and Analysis (30 credits)
AR848 - Theory and History of Urban Design (30 credits)
AR847 - Urban Design Project (30 credits)
AR999 - Dissertation:Urban Design (60 credits)

Assessment

Assessment is by coursework and the dissertation.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

- ensure that you achieve excellence in your knowledge of architecture and cities through the development of your understanding, research, design and other related abilities

- promote creativity and excellence in architecture and urban design; from understanding concepts to thoughtful project development and the integration of research, strategically and in detail

- develop your knowledge of the theoretical, historical and professional contexts of architecture and urban design and ensure that you are aware of your responsibilities

- develop your understanding of architecture, cities and urban design within a broader cultural context that would include studies of arts and humanities

- promote and support independent research and high-quality skills

- accommodate a wide range of views and develop your specialised original interests

- develop understanding of how the boundaries of knowledge are advanced through research and promote originality in applying knowledge in architecture and urban design

- develop initiative, responsibility and sound critical judgement in making decisions about complex architectural and urban design issues

- enable you to develop strategies for self-improvement and commitment to research and learning

- support you in achieving your full potential in all parts of the programme.

Careers

Our Master’s programmes have been devised to enhance your prospects in a competitive world. Professionals in the architectural, planning, environmental design and conservation fields who develop higher-level skills, accredited by relevant bodies, will find themselves well-placed to progress in their field. Our students have gone on to work for major public agencies and universities, as well as leading practitioners in the private sector.

Find out how to apply here - https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

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Our MA Urban Design programme is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. The goal of this programme is to enable practitioners and scholars to transform the field of urban design through critical thinking and creative practice.

Urban design is transdisciplinary, straddling professional fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public policy, and also disciplines such as politics, economics, sociology and cultural studies. The programme fully embraces this transdisciplinarity through the theory, research training and design teaching it offers.

You will learn from academic staff from both schools who are highly accomplished and locally engaged in Cardiff, nationally in the UK, and internationally across the world. In the context of the design studios, you will also be able to benefit from the input and expertise of leading practitioners.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism

Distinctive features

• Learn from academics in two Schools which are ranked among the top 50 in the world.

• The course is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by staff drawn from both the architecture and planning schools, who are leading experts in their fields. Design Tutors include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting edge practice to the core of design studio work.

• The course is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute as a 'specialist' masters for those who have completed at least a three-year RTPI recognised undergraduate spatial planning degree, allowing completion of the RTPI's educational requirements for membership. For further details visit the Royal Town Planning Institute website.

• Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), allowing completion of the educational requirement for RICS membership.

Structure

This is a one-year full-time degree.

The course is structured to provide a set of three lecture-based modules and three studio-based design modules, followed by a dissertation in the form of a research-based design project. The three lecture-based modules run in parallel with studio-based design projects which enable you to continually relate theory and practice.

Your research-based design project represents the culmination of your studies. You will be required to develop proposals relating to a chosen site, demonstrating an understanding of all aspects of urban design drawings and a written, reflective commentary.

You will have between 2-3 days of contact time each week, working between the design studio and your module lectures/seminars.

Core modules:

Urban Design Thinkers
Urban Design Foundation
Research Methods and Techniques
Development Management
Autumn Studio
Spring Studio
Research Based Design Project

Teaching

Teaching takes place in new light-filled studio spaces in the centre of the City. You will also have access to the latest modelling and workshop facilities in the Architecture School.

This MA is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by lecturers who are all experts in their fields – in geography, urban planning, urbanism, urban design and architecture. The design tutors also include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting-edge practice to the core of design studio work.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Assessment

Non-design modules provide the foundations for developing understandings of urban design. These are assessed through:

• Essays
• Reports
• Presentations

Most of these provide the opportunities for summative assessment. However, tutorials, and a number of essays provide the opportunities for formative assessment.

Summative assessment is conducted at the end of each module. Formative assessment elements include design reviews, usually one or two per design module, and weekly tutorials also provide an opportunity for this.

Other forms of assessment include:

• Drawings
• Sketchbooks
• Viva voce examination of the dissertation
• Reports

Career Prospects

Graduates move onto careers as urban designers, or in urban design related work. Most of these careers are to be found within the wider areas of architecture, urban planning, property or public policy. These may be within the public, private or voluntary sectors. Some of our graduates continue to higher research degrees.

Guidance and mentoring on careers are provided during the year.

Fieldwork

As part of your studies you will take a field study visit within a UK city or a city in mainland Europe, which is fully funded within the advertised fees.

Study visits are an intrinsic part of this programme. Where your experience during the visits inform assessed assignments in required core modules, the visits are compulsory.

These field study visits are compulsory since experiences of urban design ‘in the field’ are required for completing some assignments. However, modified versions of the field trips may be allowed at the discretion of the Course Director.

The trip will require you to move around the city and make observations and presentations during these journeys. Every effort will be made to accommodate students with disabilities. It is advisable to speak to the Course Director about the possibility of adjustments before enrolling.

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Our MA Urban Design programme is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. The goal of this programme is to enable practitioners and scholars to transform the field of urban design through critical thinking and creative practice.

Urban design is transdisciplinary, straddling professional fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public policy, and also disciplines such as politics, economics, sociology and cultural studies. The programme fully embraces this transdisciplinarity through the theory, research training and design teaching it offers.

You will learn from academic staff from both schools who are highly accomplished and locally engaged in Cardiff, nationally in the UK, and internationally across the world. In the context of the design studios, you will also be able to benefit from the input and expertise of leading practitioners. 

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Distinctive features

• Learn from academics in two Schools which are ranked among the top 50 in the world.

• The course is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by staff drawn from both the architecture and planning schools, who are leading experts in their fields. Design Tutors include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting edge practice to the core of design studio work.

• The course is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute as a 'specialist' masters for those who have completed at least a three-year RTPI recognised undergraduate spatial planning degree, allowing completion of the RTPI's educational requirements for membership. For further details visit the Royal Town Planning Institute website.

• Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), allowing completion of the educational requirement for RICS membership.

Structure

This is a one-year full-time degree.

The course is structured to provide a set of three lecture-based modules and three studio-based design modules, followed by a dissertation in the form of a research-based design project. The three lecture-based modules run in parallel with studio-based design projects which enable you to continually relate theory and practice.

Your research-based design project represents the culmination of your studies. You will be required to develop proposals relating to a chosen site, demonstrating an understanding of all aspects of urban design drawings and a written, reflective commentary.

You will have between 2-3 days of contact time each week, working between the design studio and your module lectures/seminars.

Core modules:

Urban Design Thinkers
Urban Design Foundation
Research Methods and Techniques
Development Management
Autumn Studio
Spring Studio
Research Based Design Project

Teaching

Teaching takes place in new light-filled studio spaces in the centre of the City. You will also have access to the latest modelling and workshop facilities in the Architecture School.

This MA is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by lecturers who are all experts in their fields – in geography, urban planning, urbanism, urban design and architecture. The design tutors also include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting-edge practice to the core of design studio work.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Assessment

Non-design modules provide the foundations for developing understandings of urban design. These are assessed through:

• Essays
• Reports
• Presentations

Most of these provide the opportunities for summative assessment. However, tutorials, and a number of essays provide the opportunities for formative assessment.

Summative assessment is conducted at the end of each module. Formative assessment elements include design reviews, usually one or two per design module, and weekly tutorials also provide an opportunity for this.

Other forms of assessment include:

• Drawings
• Sketchbooks
• Viva voce examination of the dissertation
• Reports

Career Prospects

Graduates move onto careers as urban designers, or in urban design related work. Most of these careers are to be found within the wider areas of architecture, urban planning, property or public policy. These may be within the public, private or voluntary sectors. Some of our graduates continue to higher research degrees.

Guidance and mentoring on careers are provided during the year.

Fieldwork

As part of your studies you will take a field study visit within a UK city or a city in mainland Europe, which is fully funded within the advertised fees.

Study visits are an intrinsic part of this programme. Where your experience during the visits inform assessed assignments in required core modules, the visits are compulsory.

These field study visits are compulsory since experiences of urban design ‘in the field’ are required for completing some assignments.
However, modified versions of the field trips may be allowed at the discretion of the Course Director.

The trip will require you to move around the city and make observations and presentations during these journeys. Every effort will be made to accommodate students with disabilities. It is advisable to speak to the Course Director about the possibility of adjustments before enrolling.

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This highly-regarded and well-established course covers a range of disciplines across the area of urban design, helping you develop your creativity and knowledge.

We welcome students from diverse backgrounds in design and environment subjects, including architecture, landscape architecture, planning and geography. If you have an interest in planning and design, this will enable you to explore your passion for collaborative working, challenging traditional professional boundaries.

We are actively involved with urban design initiatives in the region, giving you the opportunity to assist local communities and practitioners in live projects and competitions. You will study modules that integrate theory and practice, allowing you to gain hands-on experience whilst you explore the theories relevant to current and emerging workplace challenges. Our professional network will enrich your experience and assist you in finding a rewarding career in the UK or overseas. The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accredits this professional course.

You will be able to customise your learning to your own individual needs, interests and career aspirations, leaving the course with a design portfolio that demonstrates your personal skills and professional ability to analyse, plan and design urban environments.

- Research Excellence Framework 2014: our University's results for the Architecture, Built Environment and Planning unit, which it entered for the first time, were impressive with 37% of its research being rated world leading or internationally excellent.

Visit the website http://courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/urbandesign_ma

Mature Applicants

Our University welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. We usually require some evidence of recent academic study, for example completion of an access course, however recent relevant work experience may also be considered. Please note that for some of our professional courses all applicants will need to meet the specified entry criteria and in these cases work experience cannot be considered in lieu.

If you wish to apply through this route you should refer to our University Recognition of Prior Learning policy that is available on our website (http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/studenthub/recognition-of-prior-learning.htm).

Please note that all applicants to our University are required to meet our standard English language requirement of GCSE grade C or equivalent, variations to this will be listed on the individual course entry requirements.

Careers

You will be introduced to practitioners during the course, while we are also kept up to date with job vacancies, helping many of our graduates find careers in private design consultancies, local government agencies and environmental organisations in the UK and overseas. In addition to this, we provide research opportunities working with academic staff.

- Urban Designer (Public Sector)
- Urban Designer (Private Consultancy)
- Urban Designer (Voluntary Sector)
- Urban Designer (Research and Teaching)

Careers advice: The dedicated Jobs and Careers team offers expert advice and a host of resources to help you choose and gain employment. Whether you're in your first or final year, you can speak to members of staff from our Careers Office who can offer you advice from writing a CV to searching for jobs.

Visit the careers site - https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/employability/jobs-careers-support.htm

Course Benefits

The course has links with many areas in the industry, from Local Authority Planning Departments to Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Practices. It is suitable for architects, landscape architects, planners, highway engineers, public artists, designers and professionals from other related areas.

A multi-disciplinary team of professionals with extensive practice-based experience teach the course, there are also sessions from visiting professionals.

You will benefit from our new multi-media studios equipped with drawing boards, computers and model making facilities, together with a state-of-the-art library.

Core Modules

Site Analysis Project: Theories & Practices
Analyse an urban design site of interest and relevance to you. You will work in the studio, in the library and at your chosen site to develop your analysis, applying relevant theories and presenting your work in an exhibition format at the end of the module.

Place Making Project: Design Challenges & Solutions
Challenge your creativity with this design-based module. You will explore the design conception, development and resolution of a complex urban design project, following the site-based analysis conducted in your first module.

Sustainable Communities
Examine the theory and history of sustainable communities through lectures, seminar discussions, project work and presentations.

Landscape & Urban Design Specialist Studios
Enhance your skills in your chosen design area. You will reflect on your recent work and learning needs to help you propose what you intend to do with your time in the studio. Lectures and seminars will guide you through the critical and contextual issues relevant to your topic.

Reflective Practice
Reflect on your own professional practice as an urban designer, linking the theory you are learning with your own experiences. We can help you find professional work experience if you have limited or no experience in urban-design related practice.

Research Methods: Theory & Practice
Develop your knowledge and understanding of the different design research philosophies and methodologies and learn how to apply them as you prepare the proposal for your Advanced Urban Design Project.

Advanced Urban Design Project
Carry out an in-depth study of an urban design topic of your choice which develops your personal interests and reflects your career aspirations.

Facilities

- Design Studios
Our modern multi-media studios include a dedicated CAD suite and specialist software, such as REVIT, allowing students to develop skills in 3D design and building information modelling.

- Library
Our libraries are two of the only university libraries in the UK open 24/7 every day of the year. However you like to study, the libraries have got you covered with group study, silent study, extensive e-learning resources and PC suites.

- Broadcasting Place
Broadcasting Place provides students with creative and contemporary learning environments, is packed with the latest technology and is a focal point for new and innovative thinking in the city.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/postgraduate/how-to-apply/

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Associated with the research group Cass Cities, this Spatial Planning and Urban Design MA embeds you amongst the city-focused researchers of The Cass. Architecture, urban design and planning subjects are explored while you're introduced to a live site in London at the forefront of urban change. Resources and connections across the city are here to help support you throughout your studies. In the most recent (2014-15) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 100% of graduates from this course were in work or further study within six months.

More about this course

The Spatial Planning and Urban Design MA is associated with Cass Cities, a group of doers, thinkers and researchers at The Cass led by Professor Mark Brearley.

The course combines the disciplines of architecture, urban design, and planning to help you become effective in all aspects of urban understanding. We'll encourage you to become an architect and architectural designer who understands how to intervene strategically in city-level architecture and planning.

Cass Cities engages in urban research and proposition. Urban change happens when people with ideas, knowledge and experience work in creative ways to transform cities. This happens through designing buildings, engaging with local communities, developing masterplans, re-thinking public transport networks and informing policy change.

We'll nurture your ability to form architectural propositions and develop a strong spatial judgement, but we'll also emphasise that there is much more to city processes than building design.

You'll work in the Cass Cities Unit alongside postgraduate architects, and every year we choose live and significant sites which are at the forefront of urban change, with a strong focus on London. There will be work on these live projects as well as the attendance of meetings on relevant topics and access to influential decision-makers in London. These resources and connections will help you direct your work in professional, practical and influential ways.

The projects produced in the unit are concerned with the shaping of both buildings and places. You'll participate in contemporary debates in all forms as a proposer, responder and observer.

Get a taste of things to come by watching this video of Professor Mark Brearley talking about the MA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkCHzBzQOcs

The course can lead to a further MA by Project or PhD research opportunities.

Assessment is through a range of methods, including written coursework submissions and design portfolio presentation.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2016/17 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:
-Design Thesis (core, 60 credits)
-Economics of Place (core, 20 credits)
-Planning and Urban Practice (core, 20 credits)
-Planning and Urban Theory (core, 20 credits)
-Research for Spatial Planning and Specialism (core, 20 credits)
-Sustainable Communities and Governance of Place (core, 20 credits)
-Urban Design (core, 20 credits)

After the course

The course is designed for practicing planners and architects wishing to specialise in urban design, as well as urban design practitioners who require knowledge of spatial planning. It is also suitable for graduates with relevant degrees who wish to obtain a postgraduate qualification in planning or urban design. Graduates of this course have gone on to become urban designers and freelance consultants.

If you are a student who has already obtained a relevant London Met first degree, especially in architecture, and wish to progress into the above professions, then we recommend you consider this MA course. Even if you come from a background that does generally do not progress into spatial planning or urban design positions, this course will be of advantage to you in your career.

Moving to one campus

Between 2016 and 2020 we're investing £125 million in the London Metropolitan University campus, moving all of our activity to our current Holloway campus in Islington, north London. This will mean the teaching location of some courses will change over time.

Whether you will be affected will depend on the duration of your course, when you start and your mode of study. The earliest moves affecting new students will be in September 2017. This may mean you begin your course at one location, but over the duration of the course you are relocated to one of our other campuses. Our intention is that no full-time student will change campus more than once during a course of typical duration.

All students will benefit from our move to one campus, which will allow us to develop state-of-the-art facilities, flexible teaching areas and stunning social spaces.

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Urban design is the discipline of the design and management of our ever-changing cities driven by urbanization, global economics, and advancing technologies. The interdisciplinary curriculum fosters responsible graduates with design studios in varied scales from the region to block and courses in history, environment, policy, and economics. Master of Urban Design is a post-professional program for future planners interested in advancing the scholarship and design innovation of urban metropolises.

Quick Facts

- Degree: Master of Urban Design
- Specialization: Landscape Architecture
- Subject: Specialty
- Mode of delivery: On campus
- Program components: Coursework + Major Project/Essay required
- Registration options: Full-time
- Faculty: Faculty of Applied Science
- School: School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Program Overview

The Master of Urban Design (M.U.D.) program curriculum synthesizes urban design theory and practice. It provides a foundation in the seminal works of urban design theory and offers a myriad of opportunities to test and critique theory through community-based projects and design studios. Students have the necessary space to think freely and openly about urban design problems and become equipped with the skills essential for producing innovative and creative solutions. In parallel, students are exposed to the realities of urban policymaking and property development, forcing them to address the challenges that impact the urban design process. This dynamic, yet structured, curriculum capitalizes on the Vancouver region's international reputation as a leader in sustainable urban design policymaking and implementation, offering a constructive forum for critical analysis, review, and reflection.

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This course provides a specialist understanding of the relationship between urban design and planning by focusing on issues that are of international significance.

The course is fully accredited by the RTPI and will provide you with the core knowledge and competencies needed to become a chartered planner and specialise in urban design and international planning.

Special features

An overseas field visit is an optional part of the programme, if students choose to undertake the relevant optional course unit: International Planning (Field Visit). The cost of the visit is partly covered by the course fee, but students in recent years have also been asked to contribute around £200 towards the cost of the trip, depending on the venue. Recent fieldtrip locations have included Barcelona, Amsterdam, Belfast, Dublin and Toronto.

Countries to be visited may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice. Planning and Environmental Management cannot guarantee that where visas are required for the field course, they will be granted. In the unlikely event that this occurs, we will ensure affected students are not academically disadvantaged by setting alternative assignments covering the same learning outcomes as the field visit components, but which can be completed in Manchester.

Teaching and learning

Part-time students complete the full-time programme over 27 months. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time programme, therefore if you are considering taking a programme on a part-time basis, you should discuss the requirements with the Programme Director and seek approval from your employer to have the relevant time off. Timetabling information is normally available from late August from the Programme Administrator and you will have the opportunity to discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Career opportunities

This course has been specifically designed to equip you for professional practice in urban design and planning in a fast moving international market. Oportunities will arise in both the private and public sectors across global consultancies, development companies, government departments and agencies, and third sector organisations.

A number of professional practitioners are engaged in teaching on this course making for a theoretically informed, practice-orientated approach to teaching and learning. Our overseas fieldtrip provides an opportunity for you to gain knowledge and experience of urban design and planning in practice in an international setting.

Accrediting organisations

The course is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute.

You will gain:
-A framework for knowledge in the fields of urban design and planning, enabling you to engage in professional and inter-professional debate on the nature, purpose and methods of successful urban design and planning projects from an international perspective.
-An understanding of the cutting edge theoretical and practice-related debates in urban design and planning from an international perspective.
-Analytical and practical skills needed to deepen your knowledge of urban design and planning to enable you to identify, investigate, and critique existing theoretical, methodological, and analytical approaches to urban design and planning in different international contexts.

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The Master of Research in Urban Design is designed primarily to enable students to link a programme of substantive research training to the subsequent pursuit of a doctorate.

The course is modular in structure and includes training in urban design and in research methods and methodology.

Research staff are drawn primarily from the Joint Centre for Urban Design and the Department of Planning but with some contributions from the School of Architecture and the Department of Real Estate and Construction, and the wider university community.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/urban-design-mres/

Why choose this course?

- Oxford Brookes is renowned internationally for its research in town and country planning. In REF 2014 69% of our research was rated as either world leading or internationally excellent.

- Staff feed their research directly into the teaching and studio work.

- You will have the opportunity to become involved in research projects of Brookes' Joint Centre for Urban Design.

- Visiting speakers from business and industry, local government, and consultancies and research bodies provide external input.

- Site visits will give you direct experience of some of the most important issues in urban design.

Teaching and learning

Teaching methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design and research, and include lectures, studio sessions, seminars, workshops, practical project work, field trips and research project shadowing.

The course includes site visits that provide students with direct experience of some of the most important issues in urban design.

The majority of assessment is based on coursework, such as essays, seminars, project work, presentations and the dissertation.

Careers

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

Research areas and clusters

Staff are engaged in world-leading research which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work. Recent topics include:
- place-identity
- heritage led regeneration
- sustainable cities
- place-making
- aesthetic appreciation of buildings, streets and open spaces
- retrofitting cities
- community engagement
- new pedagogy of teaching urban design.

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The Urban Design course combines students' existing strengths with focused design training to produce urban designers capable of managing the complex problems of development, urban space and form.

The certificate and diploma stages introduce theoretical concepts and practical methods of urban design. They will enable you to understand processes of urban design production and consumption, and to develop skills and techniques for communicating three-dimensional urban design.

Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) when combined with the PGDip in Spatial Planning.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/urban-design-ma/

Why choose this course?

- Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

- Staff are engaged in world-leading research (69% either world leading or internationally excellent in REF 2014) which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work.

- A major strength of the course is its multidisciplinary, collegiate, team-based approach to project work and presentation.

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design in practice.

Lectures provide the framework, essential background and knowledge base for the course, while you are encouraged to probe deeper into different topics by further reading and review.

Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in lectures are demonstrated through studio sessions, workshops, seminars and practical project work. Site visits and a fieldwork component are an important component.

Approach to assessment

Modules are assessed by methods that include essays, seminar papers, project work and presentations, workshops and simulations. All the assessment is based on coursework. The assessment methods aim to test not only knowledge but also skills in, for example, research, analysis, specification and design.

Urban Design students

The Joint Centre for Urban Design has around 100 students enrolled at any one time on its academic and research degrees. Over the last five years students have come each year from, on average, 22 different countries and with a wide range of backgrounds.

Careers

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

Research areas and clusters

Staff are engaged in world-leading research which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work. Recent topics include:
- place-identity
- heritage led regeneration
- sustainable cities
- place-making
- aesthetic appreciation of buildings, streets and open spaces
- retrofitting cities
- community engagement
- new pedagogy of teaching urban design.

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About the course

Urban design professionals are in demand. We can help you develop design skills that will relate to a broader social, environmental and economic context, linking individual architectural projects and overall planning strategies. The MA in Urban Design is a studio-based design programme with a strong emphasis on community participation. The aim is to address the challenges of uneven urban development, both locally and internationally.

Advance your career

Our graduates are architects, project managers, urban designers and client advisers.

Employers include the Olympic Park Legacy Company, Hawkins Brown, Renzo Piano Building Workshop and URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd. With a post-qualification degree, you could move on to a senior position or further academic research and teaching.

Learn from experts

You’ll be joining one of the largest and most diverse groups of full-time architecture academics in the country. Our staff come from the arts, physical and social sciences, and engineering. This connects our research to other disciplines and stimulates debate about the future of architecture.

Our international research projects shape policy and address public and professional needs. We integrate those projects with our teaching on courses that will develop your core skills. You’ll be encouraged to provide social and environmental solutions to the challenges of our time.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) ranks us fourth in the UK.

Explore your ideas

You’ll have access to a lot of specialist facilities. Our media unit has a range of audio-visual and environmental equipment including artificial sky for daylight simulation, a thermal imaging camera and a mixed reality imaging suite. We have our own photography studio, reprographics unit and 3D printers. There are design studios, research rooms and computer labs.

Our teaching is more than lectures and seminars. Our student-led design projects help you learn by doing. You’ll discover the benefits of socially engaged design and collaborative working.

Core modules

Urban Design Project 1, 2 and 3; Urban Design Thesis Project; Participation in Architecture and Urban Design; History and Theory of Urban Design; Trajectories on Urban Design Practice; Urban Design Tools and Methods.

Examples of optional modules

Reflections of Architectural Education; Analysing Urban Context; Interactive Urban Visualisation Modelling; Building Environmental Simulation and Analysis; Parametric Architectural Geometry; Building Information Modelling, Management and Analysis.

Teaching and assessment

Studio-based design work with individual and group tutorials, block seminars, workshops and traditional lecture modules. You’ll be assessed on course assignments and examinations, design thesis and a dissertation.

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The Urban Design MArch is a design-oriented and project-based programme, with a strong research component, which aims to enhance the quality of our cities by bringing innovative design into a new relationship with the latest theoretical research on the special structure of urban form.

Degree information

The programme aims to bridge the gap between architecture and urbanism, and has a strong emphasis on physical design and radical experimentation, combined with rigorous analysis and state-of-the-art theories and methodologies. Students explore design decisions at both a strategic level and the more detailed level of urban regeneration.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of four core modules (105 credits) and an urban design report (75 credits). A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits, full-time nine months) is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) is offered. There are no optional modules for this programme.

Core modules
-Introduction to Urban Design Theory (15 credits)
-Design Thesis Report (30 credits)
-Technical Skills (15 credits)
-Urban Design Thesis Initial Projects (45 credits)
-Urban Design Thesis Final Project (75 credits)

Dissertation/report
The programme culminates with students undertaking a major design project, the 'Urban Design Final Project' in combination with an individual written submission, the 'Design Thesis Report'.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, case-study presentations, site visits and field trips. As a project-orientated programme, all theoretical research work and experimental design exploration culminates in physical design propositions for specific design projects. Assessment is through design portfolio, essays, oral presentations and a written design report.

Fieldwork
There is one field trip (optional) annually as part of the programme. Maximum cost to the student is £500.

Careers

UCL Bartlett graduates have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment. At present there is a growing demand for our Master's graduates from a wide range of both public and private employers. Graduates of the programme have gone on to work principally in the field of urban design, architecture and urban regeneration.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Architectural Assistant, Wilkinson Eyre Architects
-Assistant Architect, Gustafson Porter
-Graduate Consultant, Buro Happold
-Urban Designer, Publica
-Urban Designer, SOM

Employability
Study at the UCL Bartlett is enriched by the vibrant community of specialist consultants, partners and research associates who provide valuable contact with industry and academia. Many of our staff are themselves in practice. Our students benefit from the most advanced and broad suite of facilities available in any such faculty in the EU. This combination of networks, knowledge and technical expertise makes our graduates some of the most sought after in the world. Some choose to continue with academic research and others go on to roles in architecture, urban design and the built environment.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Bartlett is the UK's largest multidisciplinary built environment faculty, bringing together scientific and professional specialisms required to research, understand, design, construct and operate the buildings and urban environments of the future.

Located in London, it is at the heart of a large cluster of creative architects and engineering firms, next to the UK's seat of government and finance and has all the resources of a world city to hand.

The architecture coming out of the UCL Bartlett is characterised by a high level of invention and creativity. The school is internationally known as a centre for innovative design.

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