Program Overview

Introduction to the Master of Urban Design Programme

The Master of Urban Design (MUD) Programme at the University of Hong Kong is a pioneering Taught Post-graduate programme established in 1988. The curriculum focuses on the design of the built environment amidst climate disruptions and inequalities in wealth and health. It is the first programme of its kind in Asia, reflecting the increasing interest in urban design issues in line with Hong Kong’s prominence as a leading Asian city and global financial centre. Serving as a gateway to a career in shaping the world’s rapidly urbanizing regions and dynamic metropolises, the MUD program attracts a diverse mix of local and international students, many of whom have backgrounds in fields such as architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, and urban studies.

Curriculum

The MUD curriculum is spread across three semesters within a period of one calendar year. Its delivery follows a two-layered approach.

• First, students master essential knowledge through core courses in design theories, urban morphologies, socio-economic and policies;
  • they acquire cutting-edge digital skills in data analytics, performance simulation, and design optimization tools,
  • they also cultivate analytical and design thinking through trainings in research methods.
• Second, students sharpen skills in innovative problem-solving through design studios, in which they tackle site-specific challenges in Hong Kong and in the overseas context of varying size and complexity.
  • Their learning experiences are reinforced by a mandatory, self-paid fieldtrip to local or overseas destinations,
    • where students engage with stakeholders and collect first-hand information.
• The curriculum culminates in the capstone, in which students complete a research dissertation or a design thesis.

Course Structure

The programme is structured as follows:

• Fall Semester:
  • MUDP1001 Hong Kong urban design studio
  • MUDP1020 Urban design technologies & innovations
  • MUDP1010 Introduction to urban development and planning
  • MUDP1030 Morphologies & urban design theories
• Spring Semester:
  • MUDP2010 Urban design research methods
  • MUDP1002 International Urban design studio
  • MUDP2020 Values of urban design: urban, social, environmental economics
  • Elective course
• Summer Semester:
  • MUDP1004 Dissertation/Design Thesis

Accreditation and Career Prospects

The MUD programme is accredited by the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design (HKIUD) and the UK’s Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) under its specialism scheme. Graduates of the MUD programme pursue careers in design practices, real estate, and the public sectors, many have become industrial thought leaders and prominent intellectual figures in the built environment discipline. Equipped with knowledge, design and research skills, MUD graduates are highly sought after by consulting firms, development organizations, communities and authorities at local, metropolitan, regional and national levels. They have been engaging in urban design schemes, policies, strategies, frameworks, guidelines, masterplans, design appraisal, as well as in place-making initiatives. Some are in urban design research, education, and critique.