Master Urban Design

Institution Oxford Brookes University
Method At the institution
Location Oxford
Type Masters
Course fee By request

+ Information by E-mail

Master Urban Design

Entry requirements The Joint Centre for Urban Design has around 100 students enrolled at any one time on its academic and research degrees. Over the last five years students have come each year from, on average, 22 different countries and with a wide range of backgrounds. Mid-career candidates with practice experience are encouraged to apply. Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate that their level of English is appropriate to study at postgraduate level. The course requires IELTS level 6 (preferably 6.5) in the academic test, with a minimum score of 6 in reading and writing. For TOEFL the required score is 550 or above (paper-based) or 213 or above (computer-based), with a score of 4.5 in the Test of Written English (TWE).
Academic title MA / PGDip / PGCert Urban Design
Course description Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accredited when combined with the PGDip in Spatial Planning.

The course combines students' existing strengths with focused design training to produce urban designers capable of managing the complex problems of development, urban space and form. The certificate and diploma stages introduce theoretical concepts and practical methods of urban design. They will enable you to understand processes of urban design production and consumption and to develop skills and techniques for communicating three-dimensional urban design. These initial stages also develop briefing and guidance skills needed for implementing urban design proposals. The MA stage encourages detailed exploration of a research project of your choice, allowing you to contribute to the continuing development of new urban design theory, concepts, methods and techniques. The indicative key modules you will study for the full MA are:

    * Urban Design Theory I and II
    * Urban Design Studio I and II
    * Urban Design Practice I and II
    * Urban Design Issues I and II
    * Development Seminars
    * Research Methods
    * Dissertation

The course has an international reputation and draws students from around the globe. Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas. A major strength of the course is its multidisciplinary, collegiate, team-based approach to project work and presentation.

All lectures take place at Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford.
Course content

The course is offered as a linked PGCert/PGDip/MA. The aim of the PGCert and PGDip stages is to provide a framework of current knowledge and skills in urban design.

The PGCert stage of the course focuses on the basic concepts and theory of urban design, establishing a solid grounding in the practical realisation of design qualities in a case site situation. The PGDip stage increases the emphasis placed on the application of more specific design skills in differing contexts, through projects and a more in-depth examination of design history. Theory and new research are provided through a series of history and theory lectures and seminars. The aim of the MA stage is to provide an opportunity for developing research skills through individually selected researchable topics in theoretical and practical fields of study in urban design.The MA dissertation gives students the opportunity to explore in depth a subject related to urban design, and to integrate the various elements of the course. The course is structured around nine modules. (Indicative list below)

The PGCert stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 60 master's-level credits:

    * Urban Design Studio I This is a studio project-based module in which students apply the theoretical and operational concepts of urban design to a 'live' study site. Students work in groups to produce design policy, site analysis, site proposals at appropriate scales and design rationales for the site in question. Ideas are tested through a public exhibition of work in the locality under study and through feedback from local experts. You are supported in this work by a series of tutorials with academic staff and professionals in practice.
    * Urban Design Theory I This is a lecture- and seminar-based module in which you are introduced to the theoretical concepts underpinning current urban design practice approaches. The module includes the history and theory of urban design, the introduction of design approaches such as responsive environments, and urban morphology. You are made aware of how urban form is produced and consumed and of the political and economic context of development. Subsequent lectures and seminars also cover urban movement frameworks looking at competition between different users of public space, and building typologies, density and character.
    * Urban Design Practice I and II Workshop-based modules that introduce you to the essential skills required by urban design professionals. The workshop content includes communication skills (design graphic production, design rationale production, techniques for carrying out consultation, personal presentation skills) using Space Syntax as a design tool, producing economic feasibility studies and using spreadsheets as a design tool, sun path analysis and techniques for group working.
    * Urban Design Studio II This is a studio project-based module in which you continue to apply the theoretical and operational concepts of urban design to a case study site. You work on your own to produce site proposals at appropriate scales, 3D renderings, financial feasibility studies, sun angle analysis and individual design rationales for the site in question, based on the master plan produced in Urban Design Studio I. You are supported in this work by a series of tutorials with academic staff and professionals in practice.

The PGDip stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 120 master's-level credits:

    * Urban Design Theory II This module is structured around a core compulsory lecture series and a set of optional seminars from whichyou choose to attend two. Following the module Urban Design Theory I, this lecture- and seminar-based module presents more detailed urban design theory and method. The module covers design for the sensory experience of space, problematic building types and mixed use, density issues; regeneration, guiding, and theory and practice. You are presented by staff with a generic and contemporary issue to be addressed and then work in groups to refine the issue and define their own terms of reference and methods of working. The specific topic covered varies from year to year reflecting current concerns, but could include cover coding and briefing for local identity, community design involvement, designing for distinctiveness or applying good urban design in relation to modern economic practice. The methods identified in this module are carried over for application in Urban Design Issues II.
    * Urban Design Issues II The second of a linked pair of project-based modules that addresses an issue or issues that are current in urban design theory and practice. The specific topic covered varies from year to year reflecting current concerns, but could include coding and briefing for local identity, community design involvement, designing for distinctiveness or applying good urban design in relation to modern economic practice. This module will normally involve an overseas and/or UK field visit. The issues defined and methods identified in the module Urban Design Issues I are carried over for application in this module. You will produce a group report that addresses the issue(s) and uses the methods identified in the module Urban Design Issues I. The group report will contain clearly defined and identifiable individual student inputs in the form of individual chapters or papers as an integral and co-ordinated part of the overall group report. You will receive both a group and an individual mark.
    * Urban Design Development Seminars This module consists of a set of specialist topic seminars. The topics will vary, but will normally cover such subjects as coding and briefing, issues of local identity, urban landscape design, movement and mobility, and globalisation and design.

The MA stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules:

    * Research Methods in Design This module aims to advance your knowledge and understanding of research methods available to architects and urban designers. It presents illustrations of a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods and provides a forum for debate about research as well as giving you the opportunity to gain practical research skills. General research strategies are complemented by a focus on urban design specific techniques based on current practice. Through the use of live research within the School your abilities to evaluate research and the role of research are developed.

    * Master's Dissertation This module comprises a substantial piece of individual research on a topic selected by youand which is appropriate to the field of urban design, and the production of a major dissertation. Building on work carried out during the postgraduate diploma stage, this module will encourage you to develop an enhanced awareness of the importance of an independent and rigorous approach to urban design theory and practice .

Teaching, learning and assessment

Teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design in practice. Lectures provide the framework, essential background and knowledge base for the course, while students are encouraged to probe deeper into different topics by further reading and review. Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in lectures are demonstrated through studio sessions, workshops, seminars and practical project work. The course also includes site visits and a fieldwork component that provide students with direct experience of some of the most important issues in urban design.

Modules are assessed by methods that include essays, seminar papers, project work and presentations, workshops and simulations. All the assessment is based on coursework. The assessment methods aim to test not only knowledge but also skills in, for example, research, analysis, specification and design.