Urban Design PG Dip and MSc
Architecture & Urban Design PG Dip

The Urban Design programme at Edinburgh College of Art is aimed at graduates and practising professionals from a wide range of disciplines. It reflects the thinking from the Scottish Government, and others, that planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers and surveyors should all be encouraged to study urban design at postgraduate level.

By developing and carefully directing individual skills, the programme gives students an overview of a range of urban design outcomes, how they are arrived at and who is likely to be involved. It is designed to develop participants' understanding of the urban design process and the context within which it operates. It aims to improve and refine the abilities needed to successfully take part in that process.

Participants come from a variety of backgrounds and countries. In recent years they have included architects, landscape architects, planners, interior designers, engineers and economists from Colombia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Egypt, Israel, India, Spain, Canada, Ireland and Britain. Many of these are recent graduates, others are professionals with many years experience.

The programme can be undertaken on a part-time basis, and part-time students who are in current practice bring particular benefits to the programme.

An increasing number of postgraduate taught programmes are delivered jointly with Architecture at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the School of Built Environment at Heriot-Watt University. Staff in the school also participate in joint research projects and supervision of research students with both partner institutions.

The staff on the programme are drawn from various Schools and Departments within the College and our partner institutions as well as from practice. These links are extremely important to the richness and inter-disciplinary structure which the programme strives towards.

download print version of programme info