Urban Planning

M.Sc. Urban Planning (spec. Urban Redefinition Based Studies (URBS))

Faculty of Architecture

Duration: 2 years

Starts in: October

As the world continues to urbanize and globalize, cities are becoming the predominant form of human settlement that is simultaneously locally unique and globally networked. The cities define the scale at which most of the pressing societal issues are engaged.

Urban studies, in which the city is both object and context, are an interdisciplinary field but it is glocalization – the ways in which dynamic global forces interact with local conditions – that is a key part of the program’s multiscalar perspective. It is seen as essential for new approaches in important fields of urban policy such as planning approaches to culture, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change and the economy.

URBS was developed to provide an immersive, experiential urban studies program that overcomes geographic and disciplinary boundaries to embrace the diversity of forces that are shaping the 21st-century city.

The four-semester program is profiled in such a way that it puts the latest digital technologies in the foreground with the use of advanced databases, at the same time drawing on the tradition and rich experience of the Polish School of Urban Planning, created at Warsaw University of Technology a hundred years ago. Innovative learning methods will be used, including those based on the Project-Based Learning method, Design Thinking, using digital platforms and programs enabling distance learning and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Examples of modules:

  • Redefining urban structure
  • Placemaking for resilience
  • Evolution of functional urban areas
  • Urban Design in Transforming Landscapes
  • Changing societies
  • Environmental Economics
  • Digital modeling
  • Visual Communication
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Big Data

Graduate profile:

The Master’s Programme in Urban Redefinition Based Studies prepares students to excel as professionals capable of understanding and addressing complex urban development challenges resulting from global change. The programme balances theoretical, historical, and conceptual knowledge with the acquisition of methods, skills, and experience. Students will thus gain a broad understanding of urban phenomena as well as practical experience in collaborative and practical situations. This is the programme's foundation and the curriculum's elements.

Career opportunities:  

You will gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to fulfill both traditional and emerging planning roles (such as urban planning and design, strategic planning, environmental planning, landscape architecture, policy, and service design). To these established or emerging roles, you will bring an integrated understanding of and training in applying more interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to urban development. As a graduate, you will be prepared to compete for local and international positions within public, private, and non-profit organizations, planning, architectural, and policy consultancy firms, research institutes and NGOs.