Urban Design (MA)
- Duration: 1 year
- Mode: Full time
Open day
Find out more about studying here as a postgraduate at our next Open Day.
Why study this course
Run in conjunction with the Welsh School of Architecture, this course enables students to learn by deploying design, theory, and development and design control practices, which inform urban design processes.
Professionally recognised
Accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Design-studio teaching
Develop critically-informed, creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary design and urbanism issues.
Highly-ranked
Delivered by two Schools which are ranked among the top 50 in the world.
Expert-led
Learn from and engage with academic staff who are at the forefront of their fields alongside leading practitioners.
Our MA Urban Design programme is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. The goal of this programme is to enable practitioners and scholars to transform the field of urban design through critical thinking and creative practice.
Urban design is transdisciplinary, straddling professional fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public policy, and also disciplines such as politics, economics, sociology and cultural studies. The programme fully embraces this transdisciplinarity through the theory, research training and design teaching it offers.
You will learn from academic staff from both schools who are highly accomplished and locally engaged in Cardiff, nationally in the UK, and internationally across the world. In the context of the design studios, you will also be able to benefit from the input and expertise of leading practitioners.
Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.
Accreditations
My time in the Urban Design (MA) programme at Cardiff University has been both academically rewarding and personally enriching. With a curriculum designed for diverse academic backgrounds, the programme is enriched by resourceful, supportive faculty and small-group studio sessions. What sets this programme apart was its unique interdisciplinary approach, enabled by a collaboration between the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography & Planning, which made the MAUD programme a truly enriching experience.
Where you'll study
Welsh School of Architecture
We aim to make the world a better place through contextually sensitive, sustainable and beautiful architecture.
School of Geography and Planning
Join us as we explore and tackle the social, political, economic, development and environmental challenges which affect where and how we live.
Admissions criteria
In order to be considered for an offer for this programme you will need to meet all of the entry requirements. Your application will not be progressed if the information and evidence listed is not provided.
With your online application you will need to provide:
- A copy of your degree certificate and transcripts which show you have achieved a 2:2 honours degree in a relevant subject area such as architecture, environmental design, human geography, landscape architecture, landscape design, urban design, and urban planning, or an equivalent international degree. If your degree certificate or result is pending, please upload any interim transcripts or provisional certificates.
- A copy of your IELTS certificate with an overall score of 6.5 with 6.0 in all subskills, or evidence of an accepted equivalent. Please include the date of your expected test if this qualification is pending. If you have alternative acceptable evidence, such as an undergraduate degree studied in the UK, please supply this in place of an IELTS.
If you do not have a degree in a relevant area, your application may be considered on the basis of your professional experience. A reference must be provided by your employer to evidence that you currently work in an area relevant to the programme. This should be signed, dated and less than six months old at the time you submit your application.
Application Deadline
We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications normally close at the end of August but may close sooner if all places are filled.
Selection process
We will review your application and if you meet all of the entry requirements, we will make you an offer.
Find out more about English language requirements.
Applicants who require a Student visa to study in the UK must present an acceptable English language qualification in order to meet UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) requirements.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Course structure
This is a one-year full-time degree.
The course is structured to provide a set of three lecture-based modules and three studio-based design modules, followed by a dissertation in the form of a research-based design project. The three lecture-based modules run in parallel with studio-based design projects which enable you to continually relate theory and practice.
Your research-based design project represents the culmination of your studies. You will be required to develop proposals relating to a chosen site, demonstrating an understanding of all aspects of urban design drawings and a written, reflective commentary.
You will have between 2-3 days of contact time each week, working between the design studio and your module lectures/seminars.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2024/25 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2024.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Urban Design Thinkers | CPT771 | 20 credits |
| Urban Design Foundation | CPT852 | 10 credits |
| Autumn Studio | CPT910 | 30 credits |
| Spring Studio | CPT911 | 30 credits |
| Urban Development Debates | CPT924 | 20 credits |
| Urban Design Research Methods | CPT927 | 10 credits |
| Urban Design Dissertation | CPT928 | 60 credits |
The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.
Learning and assessment
How will I be taught?
Teaching takes place in new light-filled studio spaces in the centre of the City. You will also have access to the latest modelling and workshop facilities in the Architecture School.
This MA is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by lecturers who are all experts in their fields – in geography, urban planning, urbanism, urban design and architecture. The design tutors also include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting-edge practice to the core of design studio work.
Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.
How will I be assessed?
Non-design modules provide the foundations for developing understandings of urban design. These are assessed through:
- Essays
- Reports
- Presentations
Most of these provide the opportunities for summative assessment. However, tutorials, and a number of essays provide the opportunities for formative assessment.
Summative assessment is conducted at the end of each module. Formative assessment elements include design reviews, usually one or two per design module, and weekly tutorials also provide an opportunity for this.
Other forms of assessment include:
- Drawings
- Sketchbooks
- Viva voce examination of the dissertation
- Reports
How will I be supported?
You will have one-to-one weekly tutorials and guidance sessions with your allocated design tutor, and module leaders will also be available to provide advice. Group and individual tutorials are also used extensively for the non-design modules.
For the dissertation module and the core module that informs this, you will be required to select a choice of research topic and/or a site for executing a design on. You will be supported throughout by the module leader and by the wider dissertation supervision team.
Feedback
We offer many and frequent feedback opportunities. Apart from essays and reports, there are seminars where you will be are required to present and discuss what you have learnt, and design review sessions, where design work is pinned up and presented by students, which is then discussed by guest critics, tutors and peers. Within the design modules, you will meet your design tutor every week to discuss progress, usually in one-to-one meetings.
You will also have access to an allocated personal tutor, module leaders and the Course Director. Our teaching team takes a proactive approach to monitoring student progress.
What skills will I practise and develop?
You can expect to deepen your knowledge and understanding of urban economics and politics, and the role of an urban designer, as well as develop the range of relevant skills to begin or further a career in urban design.
These skills are in the areas of: built environment design at a number of scales, graphic communication, urban research, policy research and development, property valuation and community consultation.
Generic skills include those in the areas of:
- Effective team working
- Negotiation
- Time management
Graduates from this programme will acquire a wide range of skills, described in each of the module descriptors.
Tuition fees for 2024 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £12,200 | None |
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2024/25 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the postgraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £27,200 | £2,500 |
More information about tuition fees and deposits, including for part-time and continuing students.
Financial support
Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.
Additional costs
The School covers the cost of everything that is an essential part of the programme, this will be clearly detailed in all programme information and in any verbal instructions given by tutors.
The University considers that the following costs do not need to be covered by Schools as they are either not essential or are basic costs that a student should be expected to cover themselves:
- Laptop computers
- Calculators
- General stationery
- Text books (assumed to be available in the library)
If there are optional costs/fees to be covered by the student, these are not a requirement to pass the degree.
Will I need any specific equipment to study this course/programme?
We will provide any equipment that is essential to the course. However, we recommend that you bring a laptop computer with appropriate software (e.g. word processing), USB or a hard drive, general stationery and some basic drawing equipment.
We provide student licenses for most of the specialist simulation software we use on the course, however, we can currently only guarantee that these work on computers with a Windows operating system. Much of the software typically used is available through educational agreements at zero or reduced cost.
During the course, you will have access to the specialist Architecture Library, and other University libraries, and study spaces across campus. Within the School, you may use our computing suites and other facilities which include large-format plotters, a digital laser cutter, and a well-equipped workshop.
Living costs
We’re based in one of the UK’s most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Funding
Career prospects
Graduates move onto careers as urban designers, or in urban design related work. Most of these careers are to be found within the wider areas of architecture, urban planning, property or public policy. These may be within the public, private or voluntary sectors. Some of our graduates continue to higher research degrees.
Guidance and mentoring on careers are provided during the year.
Studying Urban Design (MA) has been an interesting and enriching experience, which has enabled me to develop my design skills and knowledge of urban design debates and processes. The studio project was particularly interesting: analysing a site in Cardiff and proposing design interventions. The high level of contact hours with tutors and other students meant that we had lots of opportunity for discussion and idea sharing, which helped me to develop my reasoning and improve my final design. Overall, it has been a very positive experience!
Next steps
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Related searches: Architecture, Geography and planning, Design
HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.
