Master of Urban Planning
The Master of Urban Planning within the Melbourne School of Design is a professional program for graduates who want to practice as urban planners.
Urban planners manage the development of cities and regions. They anticipate the impact of the development and use this knowledge to develop and implement urban and regional management strategies.
Urban Planning is of increasing importance as cities and regions grapple with the challenges associated with sustainability, social equity and economic development. These challenges are leading community groups, environmentalists and economic policy makers to re-think established approaches to planning. Developing new responses requires recognition of the interrelated aspects of most planning problems, which calls for an interdisciplinary skill set, along with capacity to address the tension created by the intersection of global, national and local interests at particular locations, through specialised skills. These elements are captured in the core specialisation and elective structure of the Master of Urban Planning.
The program's focus is on sustainability, levels of equity and participatory democracy in the way the planning system shapes the evolution and growth of the built environment. These concerns are incorporated into each subject, and are central to the research activity of the teaching staff.
The Master of Urban Planning recognises a sequence in the urban planning process that begins with the definition of an issue, moves through its analysis and interpretation to express a resolution or decision that can deal with that issue. It also acknowledges that urban planning problems do not stand alone, and the program will include an inter-disciplinary studio where urban planning students work alongside students of architecture, landscape architecture, property and construction. The subjects built upon this foundation will equip students to make major changes in the way cities are planned. All stages in this process require skills in research, negotiation and oral and written expression.
The program will foster a strong identity among a new group of urban planners that have well developed research, critical skills that can be applied across a broad horizon. Though this is an accredited professional degree, it sees that one of its responsibilities is to contribute to change in the planning profession. Master of Urban Planning is organised around a core, at least one specialisation and a range of electives. The specialisations reflect the research strengths of the teaching staff. Electives can be selected from these specialisations or can be enriched from approved subjects available from across the University. This can allow you to focus a personal study plan in one part of urban planning practice, or alternatively review an array of urban planning issues and concerns. Students may also take research subjects which may enable progression to further studies as a PhD candidate.
Why Choose the Master of Urban Planning at Melbourne?
- The Master of Urban Planning is an accredited program which addresses the exciting, but challenging, new context of environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development in the 21st century.
- The subjects studied draw upon global and local examples and cover the major dimensions of current debate on the theory and practice of urban planning. Elective subjects enrich the understanding of the multiple dimensions of urban planning through a social, economic and environmental focus.
- The Master of Urban Planning will introduce students to the operation and debate of the planning system and will explore the implications of different perspectives on urban planning and practice.
- Students will be given research opportunities that enable a supervised and self-directed learning path on a planning issue.
Fields of Study
The Master of Urban Planning's strength lies in its focus on metropolitan strategic planning, urban sustainability, planning law and managing change. It provides graduates with:
- a critical understanding of how to manage the development of cities and regions across the globe with a focus on social, cultural, environmental, economic and historical concerns; and
- a grounding in the lessons of urban history and theory so that students can develop urban and regional management strategies with relevance to their time and place, their people and culture.
- specialisations in the areas of social and community planning, economic planning, urban design, environmental planning, transport planning enabling a greater focus on contemporary urban planningissues.
Career Outcomes
Many Master of Urban Planning graduates enter the public sector and work in government departments and agencies, or for local councils in cities and regions. The private sector offers an increasing range of employment opportunities, including urban planning and design consultancies, major development and investment companies, large corporations, and utility companies.
There are also international opportunities in tertiary education and research. Urban planners work with teams of related professionals such as architects, landscape architects, engineers, environmental scientists, economists, property valuers, real estate developers, lawyers and sociologists.
Further Information
- Master of Urban Planning course structure and specific application requirements
- How to Apply page for how to submit an application and application forms
Contact
Graduate Course Administrator
Architecture Building & Planning
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010 Australia
T: (+61 3) 8344 8742
F: (+61 3) 8344 5532
E: abp-graduateschool@unimelb.edu.au