Key information
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time
- Degree qualification
- MSc
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Start date
- September
MSc Urban Strategies and Design will develop your consideration of strategies and engagement with urban spaces from a contemporary, socio-political, and economic context, with an emphasis on design. The programme is delivered jointly by Heriot-Watt University and the Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh allowing you to benefit from teaching, research, and policy liaison expertise offered by two major institutions. Applications are processed by the University of Edinburgh and details on how to apply can be found on the University of Edinburgh’s programme page.
The programme is open to graduates from a range of disciplines, including geography, architecture, urban planning, and economics. You’ll experience a comprehensive teaching approach towards the delivery of socially sustainable urban transformations. You’ll study a wide and diverse range of social, economic, and political processes that determine the contemporary urban environment, and acquire the tools and skills to propose urban projects of diverse scales and specificities.
This career-focused master’s programme will be of interest to you if you wish to pursue a career in urban design and development planning or other allied professions, and opportunities exist locally and internationally, in the formal, public and private voluntary, and international development sectors.
As a graduate you’ll be able to:
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Comprehend the multi-disciplinary nature of urban strategy and design
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Have insight into the role of the built environment and other disciplines in the establishment of effective urban strategies and design
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Gain knowledge of the social, economic, and legislative forces that drive contemporary urban agendas
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Acquire expertise in the intelligent use of quantitative and qualitative data in formulating strategic urban interventions
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Appreciate the contribution of imaginative and intelligent building proposals that respond proactively to sustainable agendas in urban design
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active academics from The Urban Institute and the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) which sit within the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University. EGIS is one of the United Kingdom’s leading institutions for multidisciplinary research and teaching in areas critical to economic development and societal equity. Our teams work closely and have links with industry, and practitioners are regularly invited as guest lecturers in most courses.
Delivered jointly by Heriot-Watt University and the Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh, you’ll additionally benefit from teaching, facilities, research, and policy liaison expertise offered by two major institutions.
You'll also benefit from contact with the Global Urban Research Collaborative, who are a growing community of researchers working with communities, non-governmental organisations, government agencies, and other stakeholders to produce knowledge that seeks to improve living conditions in vulnerable settlements in the rapidly urbanising world.
Go Global
With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.
Inter-Campus Transfer
Course content
September Intake - Edinburgh
Mandatory September
- Spatial Planning
- Strategic Spatial Vision Project
- Urban Design Theory
- Urban Design for Health and Wellbeing
Mandatory January
- Urban Project
Optional January
- Urban Project A
- Urban Project B
- College of Humanities and Social Science Option
Mandatory May
- USD Dissertation
Fees and funding
Fee information
Fees for this course can be found through the University of Edinburgh website.
Scholarships and bursaries
There is a scholarship opportunity for this course open to students who (1) qualify for UK Home Fees, and (2) are domiciled or working in the South-East of Scotland, more specifically the councils areas of East Lothian, Mid Lothian, West Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Fife and Scottish Borders at least during their studies. Please visit the University of Edinburgh website to find out more.
Scholarships and bursaries
Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
Applications to this programme are managed by the University of Edinburgh.
Get more information on entry requirements.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Student life
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