Study urbanism abroad

Urbanism program structure

Urbanism is a relatively new subject that is typically studied as a postgraduate master’s degree. An MSc usually takes one year to complete if you’re studying on a full-time basis, or two years if you’re studying part-time. Most universities will ask that you already have a bachelor’s degree in a related subject area, like architecture or engineering, although this isn’t always a requirement.

There are some undergraduate urbanism courses to choose from, but they’re less common. You’ll study over three or four years, depending on your university and whether or not you undertake a placement year.

If you decide to study in the US, urbanism will be your major. Undergraduate courses in the US take four years to finish. You’ll spend the first half of your degree working on your general education, before focusing entirely on urbanism-specific modules in the second half of the course.

Once you’ve completed a bachelor’s and a master’s, you could study for a PhD. This advanced research degree usually takes between four and seven years to complete.

Most urbanism programs are taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, and practical studio work. Some universities will also arrange for industry experts to deliver guest presentations.

It’s important to bear in mind that your country and city of choice will influence the kind of content you cover on your program. However, most urbanism courses will include these key topics:

• Contemporary urban design
• Urban design history
• Urban theory
• Sustainability
• Transport policy and planning
• Urban economics and politics
• Cities and the environment
• The representation of cities