Cities and regions throughout the world face challenges that require integrated knowledge of urban geography, economic geography, international development studies, and planning. In this Research Master’s programme in Urban and Economic Geography (previously known as Human Geography and Planning), you will gain a broad theoretical and methodological background that will allow you to become an academic or professional researcher of ongoing social, spatial, and economic developments in cities and regions. You can specialise in your preferred geographic sub-discipline while maintaining a broader perspective on the functioning of cities and regions, as well as the relevant theories and methods.
Globalisation is subjecting cities and regions to continuous challenges such as increasing urbanisation and growing economic and social interdependences. Complex and dynamic relationships have developed between inhabitants, migrants, businesses, and institutions, and these relationships can foster innovation, creativity, and economic growth.
However, increasing urbanisation can also lead to social and economic inequalities, tensions between groups with different lifestyles, and threats to health and well-being. In addition, globalisation can reinforce economic disparities within regions and cities in both developed and developing countries. Environmental changes can also generate unhealthy living conditions and lead to a displacement of people and businesses. In general, regional and urban areas worldwide experience disparate development due to differences in their position in globalised systems; their location in a developed or developing country or region; and specific cultural, social, political, and economic characteristics.
As a student in this two-year Master’s programme, you will focus on research questions such as:
The course content includes various courses on research skills and philosophy in order for you to acquire both advanced research skills and an ethical framework. You will also participate in research, carry out your own research, and discuss your research with peers and advanced researchers throughout the programme. You will form an integral part of the research community at the Urban Future research centre (UF) of Utrecht during your studies.
In Urban and Economic Geography, you will study the reasons behind the diverse developments in the globalised and urbanised world, and you will learn to translate up-to-date theoretical and methodological developments into empirical research. You will also formulate effective policy recommendations to make cities and regions more viable and sustainable.
As a graduate, you will have an excellent basis for completing a PhD in the fields of urban geography, economic geography, development studies, and urban and regional planning. You will also qualify for senior research functions within international and national organisations, such as the United Nations, Dutch ministries, regional and local bodies, NGOs, and multinational companies. You will be able to perform advanced scientific research within the fields of human geography and spatial planning.
Human Geography is a new Master’s programme that starts in September 2017. It stems from the former Economic Geography and Urban Geography programmes. You can specialise in one of the two fields by choosing a track:
Urban regions are bubbling, dynamic places where people get together and generate new ideas. They are breeding grounds for innovation and economic growth. Many people still move to the city, chasing their dreams: for a challenging career, a pleasant living environment, all the amenities within easy reach. And besides the local residents, large numbers of tourists visit the city seeking an entertaining stay.
The continuous urban growth in an increasingly global economy has both winners and losers. On the one hand, there are start-ups that expand to become large companies. While on the other hand, there are traditional companies that succumb to global competition. How can we explain success and failure?
Urban growth also leads to a great diversity of people and lifestyles, which ensure thriving communities. Yet there are also places where spatial and social inequalities reveal themselves between communities. This results in unpleasant living environments and neighbourhoods in decline. How do you breathe new life into those communities?
In the Human Geography Master's programme you learn how urban and economic issues are interwoven. As a student of the Human Geography Master’s, you will study the city and its economic developments from various academic perspectives and thematic angles, with an interdisciplinary approach.
This Master’s programme has an international character. We welcome students from around the world onto the programme. This way you are provided with the opportunity to come into contact with other cultures and national contexts. You will go on an international fieldtrip and can complete your Master's thesis project and/or internship abroad. You will be able to find work in many fields, positions, and locations following graduation.
This Master’s programme gives you a thorough understanding of important urban and economic issues. You will receive comprehensive training in the methodological and critical analytical skills needed to find possible solutions for challenges in urban regions. Working from a scientific and theoretical foundation, you come into contact with the daily practice. Through guest lectures and practical assignments (active learning), you will learn what graduates do and be able to determine where you would be most at home.
Your choice of graduation subject and the accompanying research internship provides the best way for you to present yourself to future employers. The programme has made arrangements with various companies, research agencies and government organisations regarding internships and interesting research projects.
In this Master's specialisation you will study the role of regions as locations for economic activities. Especially with increased competition an optimal interaction between economic activities and the local environment is essential. Think of flows of knowledge, the recruitment and training of employees, relations with suppliers, local governments and the role of environmental and social organisations. In this specialisation you will learn to analyse and understand local developments from a global perspective, focussing on both mainstream and alternative economic practices.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/eg
The Master's specialisation in Economic Geography prepares students for a professional career in government, semi-government, and business. It also provides a stepping stone towards a research career in academia or consultancy. You will be able to apply the scientific insights and the practical skills you have acquired to topics including the development of regions and cities, the marketing of regions and cities, the locational choice of (multinational) companies, and innovation and learning in regions and firms.
Imagine yourself working at the Spatial or Economic Development department of a municipality or a larger city. You could become responsible for labour market policies, the planning of industrial zones, the upgrading of city centres, the attraction of new firms and investments, or for getting European Union funds. Provincial governments and new spatial-governmental entities such as city-regions are also happy to employ economic geographers. The same goes for Ministries: in the Dutch context, you can think of ‘Economische Zaken’, ‘VROM’, ‘Verkeer en Waterstaat’, ‘Binnenlandse Zaken’ and ‘LNV’.
A range of job opportunities is further offered by Chambers of Commerce, Regional Development Agencies, and Innovation Platforms. These institutions provide (starting) entrepreneurs with a wealth of information about rules, subsidies, regional labour markets and innovation policies. Often, they are the nodes in formal as well as informal networks of key actors in a region. It is important to add that governments, employers’ organisations, labour unions and housing corporations are increasingly interested in themes such as immigrant entrepreneurship, the ‘Creative Economy’, and sustainability. Economic geographers are well equipped to work on these socially engaged themes.
Currently, a majority of economic geographers works for consultancy and advisory firms. As a consultant or advisor, you may find yourself writing Strategic Plans for the sustainable development of regions and cities, you may help foreign firms and investors to find a suitable location, or you may assist regional and city governments in getting and managing EU funds (project and process management).
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/eg
Human Geography is a research field which focuses on studying the spatial behaviour of people, firms and organisations. Or, to put it simply, it is a study that observes the relationship between human activities and their spatial environment. Because it is an integrative discipline, Human Geography serves as an excellent platform for integrating knowledge from various related disciplines, such as Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, International Relations, Economics, Business Administration and Development Studies.
The Human Geography Master's programme at Radboud University offers five specialisations and the option to develop your own specialisation:
- Conflicts, Territories and Identities
- Economic Geography
- Europe: Governance, Borders and Identities
- Globalisation, Migration and Development
- Urban and Cultural Geography
- Free specialisation: combination of courses of your own choice, subject to approval by the Examination Board
The Master's programme can also be conducted in dual mode (information in Dutch: studying next to working in the human geographic profession). Additionally there is a post-Master's programme for secondary teacher training also called educational Master's at the ILS (in Dutch).
Throughout the Master's programme you will be assessed by a mixture of written exams, essays, papers, projects, oral presentations and your Master's thesis.
Graduates of the Master's in Human Geography will be qualified for many different job positions. These jobs all require excellent analytical skills at an academic level, a critical perspective, thorough knowledge of societal relations and a clear vision of how crucial societal problems can be solved. Human Geography graduates find jobs rather easily at (international) research institutes, international companies, or at consultancy firms. Top-ranking positions, in private industry as well as in governmental and non-governmental organisations can also be found.
Human Geography is a research field which focuses on studying the spatial behaviour of people, firms and organisations. Or, to put it simply, it is a study that observes the relationship between human activities and their spatial environment. Because it is an integrative discipline, Human Geography serves as an excellent platform for integrating knowledge from various related disciplines, such as Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, International Relations, Economics, Business Administration and Development Studies.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/english/education/masters/human-geography
Spatial planners are fascinated by on-going and future changes in cities and regions and take on the role as managers of those spatial transformations - think of: regenerating shopping districts or old industrial sites; designating water retention areas; shaping urban mobility concepts for the future. Related challenges vary in scale, from individual property to European policy making.
The Master's in Spatial Planning has the subtitle ‘managing smart cities and regions’. This reflects the challenges of current and future urban societies, at a time that ambitions for a ‘New Urban Agenda’ for the 21st century are formulated, with policies and strategies to create more sustainable and equitable urban spaces.
You can choose a specialisation that best reflects your passion for spatial planning:
Find out more on our website: http://www.ru.nl/masters/spatial
If you are interested in developing a different understanding of planning and forms of practices and you want to create socially, environmentally, economically just places, come study our Master's in Spatial Planning!
Many stakeholders have different ideas on how to use urban land – learn to balance them and find sustainable solutions. As a planner, you are also directly involved in preparing public policy for sustainable cities. Apply appropriate methods and instruments that contribute to sustainable, smart, and inclusive spatial policy. Learn how to develop innovative concepts and manage complex governance processes for the sustainable use of spatial resources such as land and shape the urban environment of the future.
The programme in Utrecht prepares you to approach issues such as, facilitating sustainable urban (re)development, finding answers to changing socio-spatial demands (such as demographic or climate change), dealing with complexities of metropolitan areas and real estate development in difficult economic times, or governance of environmental changes in an uncertain climate. Therefore, you will be trained in:
