Sustainable Urban Design - Master's Programme

The Master’s Programme in Sustainable Urban Design at the School of Architecture has a globally well-established reputation for developing humanistic urban design that promotes liveability, community building and social sustainability. Drawing on best practices and advanced research, the programme produces highly skilled professionals capable of meeting the challenges of sustainable urban design. This as productive, successful individuals who are creative, insightful and intellectually skilled in their approach to the profession and their practice.

The objectives of the Master’s programme are:

• to offer a broad education, covering the most important aspects of sustainability related to urban design
• to provide students with the skills to manifest specific social, economic, and environmental intentions in physical form through urban design

Programme structure

Theoretical learning is supported by hands-on projects aiming to find solutions to real-world issues. The programme features international collaboration, where professionals and students from architecture, landscape architecture and urban design from around the world gather to discuss and design proposals for a given sustainable urban design challenge. The final degree project can be academic in nature, or developed in cooperation with different actors within the field, and can be carried out either in Lund or abroad. 
Inventories, surveying, study trips, environmental studies etc. are integrated into the programme. Study trips are optional, students participate at own expense. Students who cannot participate will be given alternative assignments in Lund. The study trip destinations varies. Examples are Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Iceland and Czech Republic. The School of Architecture strives to primarily use sustainable means of transport when arranging study trips. Trips may be subject to cancellation/alteration due to force majeure or visa denial.

Programme modules/courses

Semester 1: Sustainable Urban Recycling studio course (15 credits), Urban Recycling - Theory and Methods (7.5), Urban Quality and Urban Form (7.5)

Semester 2: Sustainable Urban Landscape studio course (15), Sustainable Urban Landscape - Theory and Method (7.5), One elective-mandatory course; Architecture as Temporal Landscapes, Climate Smart Architecture and Urban Design or Landscape Architecture and Gardens (each 7.5)

Semester 3: Track 1 - Sustainable Urban Dynamics studio course (15) and Urban Dynamics - Theories and Tendencies (7.5) or Track 2 - Urban Shelter studio course (15) and Urban Shelter Theory (7.5). Students study track 1 or 2 together with one elective mandatory course; Urban Process or Light, Colour and Space (each 7.5)

Semester 4: Degree Project in Sustainable Urban Design (30)

More information on each course at the Faculty of Engineering website

Career prospects

Graduates will have the required skills to practice as an urban designer with particular expertise in sustainable urban design and are highly sought after on the global job market. Most find positions either in architect offices (for instance Wingårdhs, Fojab, Gehl, Henning Larsen), municipalities, government organisations (such as United Nations) or in further studies at PhD level. The programme’s close ties to professionals active in the field of urban design and architecture as a whole and students are given the opportunity to build a strong initial network that can help to kick-start and develop their careers.