---

Level

Master's level

Entry requirements

Bachelor's degree, consisting of 180 credits. The equivalent of English 6 in Swedish secondary school.

Programme structure

The programme is offered in a collaboration between Roskilde University, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway and Malmö University. Location of courses can be seen from the table of contents below.

The objective of the master's programme in Nordic Urban Planning Studies offers Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish students as well as other international students, a research-based international interdisciplinary and scientific master's degree in urban planning with a global perspective aimed at employment in the public and especially the private sectors as well as PhD education.

The purpose of the programme is to create a holistic understanding of planning processes through theoretical insight and knowledge and understanding from concrete planning practices. This is sought through the explicit use of concrete planning cases and external actors with experience related to planning processes, in the teaching. The main focus is thus on students gaining insight into the many different dimensions of the planning process and being able to act as bridge builders between the many professional bodies involved in these processes.

The programme provides students with the knowledge and understanding, skills and competences within international urban development and urban planning. International urban development and urban planning are today constantly evolving fields and there is great need for solutions at international scales to the many challenges of cities and urbanisation. On the basis of the complementary research expertise at the three universities, the programme offers a broad and solid research-based grounding in how varying perspectives on urban planning and different planning traditions in the Nordic welfare states create frameworks and conditions for planning. The programme thus provides the students with a solid foundation to work holistically with urban development and urban planning projects on local, regional and international scales.

Students will acquire knowledge and understanding, skills and competences that enable them to engage in practical planning and offer solutions to urban challenges at the local, regional and global levels. The programme qualifies students to carry out consultancy and planning tasks around the world with a focus on innovation, development and sustainability.

Students will be equipped to study, develop and implement planning processes and strategies based on their knowledge and understanding of urban management strategies, everyday life and political, economic and social challenges and conditions. Students will be introduced to strategies and methods to effectively involve social actors and citizens in the analysis and preparation of holistic planning strategies as well as gain competences in project management. The overall aim is for graduates to be able to work with presenting solutions to develop cities and urban areas in the future and, on this basis, to be able to improve urban strategies and projects, whether for private companies or other stakeholders.

On an interdisciplinary basis, students will be able to translate knowledge and understanding into the analysis and design of planning strategies within a number of planning-related areas such as urban and regional (welfare state) planning, urban regeneration, local social work and design of different types of plans. Students will have a deep understanding of the market and the economic conditions related to planning as well as sustainability in urban regeneration projects.

Through its training in international urban development and planning outlined below, the programme prepares students to work in the nexus between project developers, advisers and project operators in urban planning. The programme is geared towards employment in the public and especially the private sector, in companies that work on all types of urban and regional development tasks on local, regional, national and international scales.

Content semester 1 (Roskilde University)

• Critical Urban Studies, 5 credits
• Liveable Cities, 5 credits
• Approaches to Urban Planning, 5 credits
• Project: Urban Planning in a Welfare Context, 15 credits

Content semester 2 (two alternatives (choose one of the alternatives))

Alternative 1 (Roskilde University)

• Cities, Culture and Politics, 5 credits
• Methods in Community Planning, 5 credits
• GIS and Visualisation, 5 credits
• Project Work: Mobilities and Globalizing Cities, 15 credits or Project-Oriented Internship 15 credits

Alternative 2 (Malmö University)

• US630E Urban Studies: Catching Urbanity, 15 credits
• US640E Making Urban Studies, 15 credits

Content semester 3 (two alternatives (choose one of the alternatives))

Alternative 1 (UiT– The Arctic University of Norway):

• Arctic Cities Field Course, 20 credits.
• Culture, Politics and Planning, 10 credits

Alternative 2 (Roskilde University):

• Urban Project Management, 5 credits
• Ethnography and Visualization for Planning Practice, 5 credits
• Project: Planning in Practice, 20 credits or
• Project-Oriented Internship, 20 credits or
• Live Case Project, 20 credits + approved elective course, 5 credits

Content semester 4 (Roskilde University, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway or Malmö University , choose one of the universities)

• Master Thesis 30 credits
• US660E Urban Studies: Master’s (Two-Year) Thesis 30 credits offered by Malmö University

Programme contents

Qualitative targets

Knowledge and understanding

For a Degree of Master (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the main field of study, including both broad knowledge of the field and a considerable degree of specialised knowledge in certain areas of the field as well as insight into current research and development work, and
• demonstrate specialised methodological knowledge in the main field of study.

Competence and skills

For a Degree of Master (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate the ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and analyse, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations even with limited information
• demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate issues critically, autonomously and creatively as well as to plan and, using appropriate methods, undertake advanced tasks within predetermined time frames and so contribute to the formation of knowledge as well as the ability to evaluate this work
• demonstrate the ability in speech and writing both nationally and internationally to clearly report and discuss his or her conclusions and the knowledge and arguments on which they are based in dialogue with different audiences, and
• demonstrate the skills required for participation in research and development work or autonomous employment in some other qualified capacity.

Judgement and approach

For a Degree of Master (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate the ability to make assessments in the main field of study informed by relevant disciplinary, social and ethical issues and also to demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work
• demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of research, its role in society and the responsibility of the individual for how it is used, and
• demonstrate the ability to identify the personal need for further knowledge and take responsibility for his or her ongoing learning.

Learning outcomes specific to obtain a master's degree in Urban Studies after completed education in the programme Nordic Urban Planning

Knowledge and understanding:

On completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Understand and have critical insight into how economic, political, social and cultural processes create the conditions and frameworks for planning and urban development
• Understand the significance of urban development economies for urban planning, including in relation to business models, profitability and investment
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of strategic planning and urban planning strategies at local, national and global scales
• Show solid knowledge and understanding of intercultural planning, everyday life and cultural diversity as basic conditions for globalizing cities and planning challenges
• Understand and know how to apply geographic information systems (GIS), mapping and visualisation as well as quantitative and qualitative analytical methods
• Show knowledge and understanding of citizen involvement, network management and participatory planning processes
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of project management, innovation and negotiation in complex urban management networks
• Show knowledge and understanding of Nordic planning traditions and welfare planning challenges, opportunities and limitations.

Skills:

On completion of the programme, students should have the skills to:

• Conduct independent, advanced research or development projects in accordance with current research ethics standards, under supervision
• Use relevant theories and methodologies from a critical perspective as well as to translate knowledge and understanding into action, advice and innovation related to challenges in planning and urban development in an international perspective
• Reflect critically on strengths and weaknesses of relevant theories and methodologies, and to use them in analysing concrete urban issues in a local and global perspective
• Analyse urban research questions from the perspectives of multiple actors and from intercultural perspectives, and propose holistic solutions and business models within urban development and planning
• Conduct economic, political, social and intercultural analyses of urban research questions and bring them together for collective analysis. That includes through economic analyses of planning and urban development projects
• Clearly communicate analyses and conclusions to different target groups as well as to engage in dialogue with relevant actors in urban planning and urban development
• Independently and creatively identify, formulate and analyse the city as a spatial field and, against this background, propose action strategies
• Collaborate on and manage defined projects dealing with urban issues and urban regeneration.

Competencies:

On completion of the programme, students should have the competences to:

• Collaborate on new ideas and solutions to complex urban issues
• Engage in negotiation-oriented urban development networks and processes, and coordinate and implement urban development and planning strategies based on a holistic understanding of urban challenges
• Lead and implement urban development projects and enter into agreements with key actors
• Engage in interdisciplinary project collaboration and be a bridge builder between different professions in urban planning and urban development, including through being able to combine design, technical, economic and wider social science knowledge
• Translate, in practice, business, technical and methodological skills into innovative and alternative solutions to urban development and planning problems
• Navigate global urban development networks based on intercultural understanding and competences
• Identify, understand and involve relevant actors in international urban development projects.

Degree

To obtain a master's degree from Malmö University a completed education is required according to the table of contents above. After a completed education the student will obtain a Degree of Master of Science (120 credits) with a Major in Urban Studies.

Additional information

Any specific entry requirements for progression within the programme are indicated in the respective course syllabus.

A decision to discontinue a programme will result in the programme syllabus ceasing to be valid. However, students will have the opportunity to complete their studies within the nominal period of study (calculated from the last admission to the programme's first semester) and during at least the following two semesters, known as the discontinuation period.

The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.