Program Overview

Introduction to the Master's Degree in Critical Urbanisms

The Master's Degree in Critical Urbanisms at the University of Basel is a four-semester English-taught program designed to train a new generation of graduates to think and act beyond divisions of urban versus rural, and North versus South, in order to address the complexity of urban lifeworlds in the twenty-first century.

Program Overview

The program is supported by an internationally recognized faculty who work on and with cities and territories from a global perspective. The curriculum trains students to develop theoretical and practical competencies, oriented toward both scholarly and public platforms. This combination is essential in addressing the extraordinarily complex challenges of urbanization in the twenty-first century.

Key Features of the Program

Two trademark elements of the program are:

1. Interdisciplinary research practice that combines methods from the humanities and social sciences with creative practice and visual representation.
2. Immersive learning in dynamic urban settings: Participants can choose between a semester of study and research on urbanism from the Global South, which takes place at the African Centre for Cities of the University of Cape Town, or a semester of study and multi-sited research exploring urban processes that work across North/South geographies.

Focal Areas of Teaching and Research

The program is administered by faculty members within Urban Studies and the Department of Social Sciences. Students also benefit from a close collaboration between the University of Basel and the University of Cape Town's African Centre for Cities.

Study Structure

The Master's degree program in Critical Urbanisms is a single major degree, which is studied without further subjects for 120 credit points (CP), earned within four semesters. One ECTS credit point corresponds to approximately 30 hours of work.

Subject Combination

The master's degree program in Critical Urbanisms is interdisciplinary in nature and is studied without further subjects.

Language of Instruction

The program is taught in English.

Admission Requirements

Admission to master's programs is regulated by the university student regulations and the stipulations of the individual degree program descriptions. For students to be admitted with no additional requirements, they must hold a bachelor's degree worth 180 CP from a higher education institution recognized by the University of Basel.

Career Opportunities

The program prepares students for careers in a variety of national and international settings, from research institutions to local, regional, and national government planning offices, development aid organizations, NGOs, architecture and design firms, museums, urban planning and policy offices, international organizations, universities, and consultancy firms.

Further Studies and Career Opportunities

Students will be equipped and are also encouraged to continue their studies at the PhD level to pursue an academic career.

Degree Profile

• Degree: MA in Critical Urbanisms
• Type: Degree program
• Start date: September
• Credit points: 120
• Study structure: The Master's degree is the second degree after the Bachelor's degree.
• Subject combination: The master's degree program in Critical Urbanisms is interdisciplinary in nature and is studied without further subjects.
• Language of instruction: English
• Fachbereich: Urban Studies

Master's Thesis

The study program concludes with the master's thesis, an independent, academically rigorous project in which students identify a research problem in a given area of urban studies. Although the thesis is submitted in writing, students are encouraged to supplement their written work with a practice-based and/or visual component to present their findings to a broader audience.

Master's Examinations

The program includes master's examinations, with application deadlines and examination sessions scheduled throughout the year.

Graduation

The program concludes with a master's graduation ceremony, with application deadlines and ceremony dates scheduled throughout the year.