BSc in Urban Planning and Architectural Design
About the Programme
The quality of urban life is not measured by the scale of monuments, shopping malls, highways or top-down regulated activities, but by creating an environment, which is liveable, vibrant and sustainable.
In our Bachelor programme, Urban Planning and Architecture are taught equally. The programme alternates between large scale and detail, between abstract and concrete, between theory and practice.
Both disciplines, Urban Planning and Architecture, are contextual. Not only the use of a structure, but its context (e.g. landscape, infrastructure, social needs) determine the design. The question of the house of the future is closely connected with the question of the city of the future. Both questions need to be addressed from a social, spatial, ecological, and economic view.
Career Opportunities
The Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Architectural Design provides an application-orientated education that qualifies graduates for various professions in the private and public sector. Urban planners and architects work in many different fields, and play a major role in shaping our social lives with regards to the built environment.
The focus of later professional work is on all scales of tasks of planning and building: in administrative and institutional sections of municipal, administrative and government organisations as well as in private sector design and construction consultancies.
Graduates are well prepared to work in the local industry, mainly because of the many practice-relevant courses and the mandatory six-week internship in the last study year. In seminars, they learn academic research methods, and excellent students are participating in research projects in the department, e.g. the Eco House project in which two graduates worked full time for two years.
Opportunities for further studies
Students are well prepared to pursue an academic career and a number of graduates have gone on to MSc programmes in Germany, UK and the US.
Skills and attributes gained on graduation
The generic attributes and skills that graduates are expected to develop during their undergraduate studies are:
- Ethics – The graduates have developed awareness and holistic understanding of their role as responsible citizens in an increasingly globalised context.
- Critical thinking and problem solving – The graduates are able to engage real-world problems in a theoretically informed, rigorous, and questioning manner. They are able to devise solutions, select the most appropriate one, implement it, and reflect on its performance.
- Creative thinking – The graduates are able to think laterally and develop creative ideas.
- Individual and team work – The graduates have the capability to work effectively alone or in a team, to be self-directed, and to show independent judgment.
- Communication – The graduates are effective communicators, using oral, written, and electronic communication skills. They can interact confidently in a variety of settings, with a range of people from both genders, individually and in team situations, from peers to the wider community.
- Life-long-learning – The graduates appreciate that learning is continuous and have the ability to continue learning throughout life. They have developed a variety of approaches to learning, including self-directed, collaborative and self-reflective processes.
Graduates from the BSc in International Business & Service Management will also have developed the following programme-specific attributes and skills:
- Scientific-theoretical and analytical skills. Graduates have developed scientific and analytical skills especially through the modules of history and theory, sociology, economy, law, planning and construction. The students need to acquire these skills in order to analyse specific situations.
- Method-based and problem-solving approach. Design exercises within the modules enable graduates to take a targeted approach to problem solving in their work. Depending on the exercise the students learn different methodologies that can be applied to various design tasks.
- Interdisciplinary and integral thinking. Graduates have learned to think in an interdisciplinary way in order to tackle diverse problem solving. The approach of integral thinking is taught especially in project-based courses where many topics and influences come together.
- Creative experience. Graduates have gained creative experience throughout the entire programme particularly in project-based assignments. This safeguards their own creative development in various contexts.
- Practical experience. Graduates are expected to gain practical experience by completing their internship during their time of study. This experience helps the students to understand a real-world application of their acquired skills.
- Communication skills. Graduates have developed communication skills during their work with other students and teachers as well as during the oral presentations of their project based courses.
- Computer literacy. Graduates have experience using computers as well as a good understanding of essential software used in urban design and urban planning (AutoCAD, GIS, Adobe CS, etc.)
The UPAD programme is taught as a full-time programme. The duration of the programme is eight semesters/four years. The programme is aligned with the programme structures introduced in Europe after the Bologna reform.
The courses are differentiated in three categories: design, knowledge, and communication. The design studios focus on training a design-based approach to problem-solving in urban and architectural fields. Students are assisted to develop their own ideas for given tasks and thus experience how with growing complexity over the years – a design project is produced from analysis all the way to presentation.
In the first year courses concentrate on basic knowledge in urban planning and architecture, and introduction to project design. Courses in visual communication are taught over the first two years, providing the students with the necessary tools to learn to express themselves graphically.
In the second year students are introduced to courses in building technology that have a higher level of technical difficulty. Core urban design courses run parallel to building technology courses and provide the foundation for integrated projects in ‘City + Landscape’ and ‘Building + Construction’ respectively.
The third year focuses on application of specific knowledge (e.g. economics, planning law). A greater importance is given to the design work of the integrated projects that are rewarded with 9 credit points. The knowledge that was acquired in recent courses is then implemented, especially in the project work.
In the fourth year students are allowed to specialise in either Urban Planning or Architecture. This is done through elective courses; each student must complete two elective courses in either field. Furthermore the integrated project must be done with a focus on either urban planning or architecture, depending on the specialisation of the electives. An internship must be completed before the start of the Bachelor Thesis and provides practical training for the students. In the last semester students must complete their Bachelor Thesis with which they are assisted by weekly consultations by a professor.
The degree programme is taught in English, including written and oral tests seminars, exercises, papers and the Bachelor thesis
Type of Certificate | Does this apply to you? | You will be admitted to: |
---|---|---|
Omani General Education Diploma (GED) | Pass in General Education Diploma with ‘65%’ in Mathematics (Pure or Applied), AND ‘65%’ in English. | Academic Foundation Programme |
Indian Certificates | Pass in: – Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) with an average below 70%, or – Indian State Board Examinations with an average below 70%, or – High School Certificate (12 years of schooling). AND Pass in mathematics at grade 12. | Academic Foundation Programme |
Indian Certificates | Pass in CBSE or ISBE or High School Certificate with an average of 70% or above, AND Pass in at least one -relevant art related course at grade 11. AND | Bachelor Programme |
GCE Certificate (AS and A-level) | Pass in 4 subjects at AS-level and 2 subjects at A-level, AND Pass in mathematics at GCSE level. | Academic Foundation Programme |
GCE Certificate (AS and A-level) | In addition to the above: Pass in mathematics at AS-level, with at least ‘C’, AND pass in at least one subject from group A at AS or A-level. (Students not fulfilling this requirement might be requested to take a creative design bridging course prior to being enrolled into the programme). | Bachelor Programme |
International Baccalaureate | IB Certificate or Diploma, but not fulfilling the requirements for direct entry into BSc. | Academic Foundation Programme |
International Baccalaureate | Pass in IB diploma or certificate, with at least 24 points, AND At least (3) points in any type of mathematics at HL or (4) points in any type of mathematics at SL, AND at least (3) points in visual arts at HL or (4) points in visual arts at SL. (Students not fulfilling this requirement might be requested to take a creative design bridging course prior to being enrolled into the programme). | Bachelor Programme |
(Group A: Design & technology; Arts & design)
Recommended Study Plan
Term | Courses | Term | Courses |
1 | Introduction to Project Design Architecture I Perception of Space and Shapes History of Urban Development I Creative Techniques I Technical Drawing Language and Cultural Skills I | 2 | Integrated Project I Architecture II Urban Design I History of Urban Development II Creative Techniques II Computer Aided Design I Language and Cultural Skills II |
3 | Integrated Project II Urban Design II Architecture III Urban Planning History I Building Construction I Building Construction II Computer Aided Design II Language and Cultural Skills III | 4 | Integrated Project III Architecture IV Urban Design III Urban Planning History II Building Construction III Building Construction IV CAD III Language and Cultural Skills IV |
5 | Integrated Project IV Urban Preservation and Renewal Economics I Planning Law I Building Construction V Urban Infrastructure and Technologies Language and Cultural Skills V | 6 | Integrated Project V International Urban Design Economics II Planning Law II Urban Planning Theory General Elective |
7 | Integrated Project VI Excursion Elective I Elective II Internship | 8 | Bachelor Thesis Colloquium Thesis Preparation Brief Design |
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