Top 20 Master's Degrees in Urban Development 2019/2020

The Department of Transportation, Logistics and Finance offers a master's degree and a graduate certificate in Transportation and Urban Systems. The degree is awarded through the College of Business in collaboration with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. The program's interdisciplinary approach attracts students with backgrounds in transportation and logistics, agribusiness, applied economics, engineering, construction management, finance, emergency management, geosciences, and supply chain management.

Master of Science in Transportation and Urban Systems – targeted at students with strong research interestsThis degree focuses on:

We live in a world of cities, and our planet is increasingly urban. Cities are the new engines of the global economy, and at the same time, they can be the main actors to face the challenges of climate change and fight against inequality and poverty. If in the past we lived through stages in which the world was organized by empires and then by nation-states, in the future we will live increasingly in a world of cities, in a world of SuperCities.

We are living an unprecedented "digital revolution" at the confluence of 4 megatrends that are cloud computing, mobile devices, social networks and intelligence applied to "Big Data". We have never had more computing capacity or easier access to information, or better physical and digital communication options and this is changing the way people live, work, have fun, learn and relate. Politics, the economy, society, and of course cities are also changing, which today enjoy opportunities that previously didn’t exist.... [-]

The Master of Real Estate Development + Urbanism is an interdisciplinary one-year graduate program that combines the strengths of the University of Miami’s Schools of Architecture, Business Administration, and Law to create a world-class program that blends the fundamentals of real estate development with livable community planning and design. The MRED+U program is 36 credits.

The MRED+U Program is designed to provide students with the skills and experience to compete in the evolving world of urban real estate development. The curriculum is enriched by the University’s location in one of the world’s most dynamic real estate markets and by the School of Architecture faculty’s experience in community building. Course offerings include real estate finance, market analysis, real estate law, land use policies and codes, construction and project management, public-private partnerships, the development process, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship. The curriculum incorporates case studies and materials on mixed-use development, urban infill, the redevelopment and repositioning of urban properties, historic preservation, and the integration of design, policy, management and real estate development decision making in shaping the built environment of communities.... [-]

Master’s in Urban Governance

As a product of a new collaboration between the Department of Public Administration (Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, ESSB) and the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), this program is a specialization within the MSc in Public Administration of the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

What will I learn?

Cities are complex, challenging and fast-growing. They are major economic and development drivers that generate vast amounts of wealth and are home to more than half of the world’s population (estimated to be closer to 70% by 2050). They are at the heart of cultural, social and political innovation and play a key role in discovering answers to social issues such as migration, social segregation, poverty, climate change, health, unemployment and terrorism. Sustainable governance policies are recognized as essential components of guaranteeing the well-being of all people. Students will learn a variety of skills including the following:... [-]

The general objectives of the Master in Urban Water Cycle are:

Curricular Unit

The aim of the programme is to deepen students knowledge of Urban Studies to be able to participate in research or qualified urban development investigations.

In the first year, you will acquire an overview of the field of Urban Studies and its development. Students will then deepen their knowledge about current urban challenges in a global perspective as well as the growth of different urban conditions and forms. After this, you will deepen your ability to critically examine and describe the encounter between people's everyday life and the physical forms of the city. At the end of the first year, an independent project is conducted.

During the second year, you will take elective courses of 30 credits. To complete this part of the programme you can choose to do international studies at one of Malmö University's partner universities or take elective courses at the Department of Urban Studies. The second-year concludes with a Master's Thesis of 30 credits.... [-]

As events and transformations of the recent decades have forcefully shown, the urban question permeates all major social, economic and political developments of today. The two-year Master’s program in Urban Studies critically engages with the wide-ranging manifestation of contemporary urbanity. What shapes have the processes of urbanization assumed today? How are urban spaces produced?

The program foregrounds the unitary perspective of the city as a physical space, a social space and a space of design. It combines rigorous academic research with intensive fieldwork. The program is situated at the trans-disciplinary crossroad of urban studies, urbanism, and urban planning, architecture theory, sociology, urban ethnography, and geography. Our students have academic backgrounds in architecture, social sciences or humanities. Integrating critical interrogation and experimental practice, the program has a triple focus on social uses, spatial programs, and urban forms.... [-]

Smart Cities

In an increasingly global economy, metropolitan areas are basic components of economic competition and growth. Capital, labor pools, knowledge, infrastructures, and their distribution within and across geographical space play a major role in the economic development and prosperity of a metropolitan area.

As highlighted by the Economist, a report from the American think-tank Brookings Institution shows that “the world's largest 300 metropolitan economies account for 19% of the global population and almost half the world's GDP. In the past decade, incomes and jobs tended to grow faster in these urban areas than their national averages”.... [-]

Architect, planner, and historian, Dr. Jyoti Hosagrahar established and held the UNESCO Chair at Srishti Institute from 2014-2016. In her interview with Shagun Singh of Designwala.org, she shares her thoughts on the need for more sensitive and inclusive approaches towards urban development in Indian cities.

This program is one of the two postgraduate programs established under the UNESCO Chair in Culture, Habitat, and Sustainable Development at Srishti. The program is designed to deliver familiarity with international and national, norms and standards of heritage interpretation and management, based on the foundation of the World Heritage Convention. Furthermore, the courses will be driven towards exploring newer approaches for designing and sustaining the historic towns and centers, amidst the on-going urban development in Indian cities today.... [-]

The Executive Master's Degree in Urban Planning and Development at the school is the benchmark in Spain with two decades of experience accumulated in its full-time version and twelve years in its Executive version.

The planners graduating from the MUOT stand out due to their multi-disciplinary perspective while demonstrating an excellent preparation for meeting the challenges raised by today's cities. A further noteworthy characteristic is their success in the labor market and the occupation of high-level posts in institutions and companies related to the management of urban development projects and the future of the city.

The programme offers a varied set of courses (obligatory and elective), seminars, working groups sessions, and a series of guest lectures by internationally well-known scholars. Furthermore, you will conduct your own research project (thesis) in which you will apply theories and social scientific research methods to examine urban governance issues.

Mode of education

The programme provides courses and training in real life settings giving an opportunity to learn and practice scientific and managerial skills. It includes a variety of teaching methodologies aimed at the interaction between teachers and students, between students and practitioners and between students themselves.... [-]

*The application system opens on January 2nd, 2019.

The Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Urban Systems is a professional degree for systems thinkers who want to address complex infrastructure challenges. This hybrid program combines graduate-level engineering and urban planning courses with UBC Sauder School of Business courses – giving you the skills and confidence to build your career and drive innovation in urban planning.

Public and private sector organizations need urban planners and engineers who have technical decision-making knowledge to efficiently design and manage urban infrastructure and services. They need people with a multidisciplinary perspective who understand the complex interplay of social, environmental and financial factors of the built environment. They’re also looking for people who have the business perspective and interpersonal skills to lead teams and guide change.... [-]

MBE Housing degree engages with housing issues from a multi-disciplinary, internationalist perspective. Its courses explore theoretical, conceptual, social, technical, managerial, legal, financial and planning aspects of housing both in policy and in practice. Through a substantial research component, students are given the opportunity to critically explore a particular aspect of their interest in housing.

The MBE Housing develops practical, managerial, analytical, and spatial skills as well as social and cultural sensitivities to meet housing challenges in the unevenly developing world.

Curriculum Outline/Modules taught

Faculty of Planning – CEPT University

Master of Urban Infrastructure (MUI) prepares young professionals for career in one or many of these: (i) preparing infrastructure projects for the cities and their regions, (ii) undertaking or advising on governance of infrastructure projects and facilities in cities and their regions, (iii) preparing projects and overseeing their execution in the areas of urban infrastructure in India as well as other developing countries and (iv) undertaking research on policies and processes of urban infrastructure development. It also exposes the students to environmental, social, political, economic and financial dimensions of urban infrastructure development and ethical dimensions of working as professional.... [-]

The globalization of the economy and local and regional development are undergoing a major transformation. Moreover, the growing importance of knowledge and innovation in strategies for growth and competitiveness of both companies and the territories, the development of clusters as competitive spatial economic environments, and sustainability as a basic component, raise the need an articulated integration of the region in the processes of globalization.

The objective of the Master in "Regional development" is to provide advanced training with an interdisciplinary approach and integrating vocation that allows train researchers to develop substantive tasks of research in the field of regional development.... [-]