The 21st century will be an urban century. It is expected that the largest cities and metropolitan regions of Europe, North America and Japan will keep growing, even though the population of especially Europe and Japan as a whole will decline. Contrary to the earlier ideas about the global economy becoming increasingly ‘footloose’, large cities and metropolitan areas will remain the most important economic hubs of this part of the world. In other parts of the world like China, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, cities are still growing very fast because of migration from the rural areas to the cities. Some of the largest cities of ‘the global South’ are becoming serious competitors in the global economy too. Both in the North and South, cities are more and more international and interconnected.

• What are the consequences of this urban growth and change for urban societies?
• Are integration, segregation and polarisation increasingly problematic?
• How can we plan and manage this urban growth and change locally and regionally?
• What does the shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’ mean for the urban and regional planning process?
• Which cities are competitive, which are not, and why?

These are some of the many questions and challenges we discuss in our Research Master Urban Studies.

Our programme combines the disciplines of urban geography, economic geography, urban and regional planning, and urban sociology, providing a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to urban change. An important theme throughout the programme is the international comparison of urban phenomena. Thematic courses are combined with advanced research methodology courses, a stay abroad and research projects under supervision of leading experts in urban studies. Students will acquire sound theoretical and methodological knowledge and the research skills to start a career in the social sciences, or to work in relevant policy fields like housing, planning or social policy, or in related commercial sectors like real estate or property development.

Studying Urban Studies at the University of Amsterdam

The programme makes full use of its location in the thriving metropolis of Amsterdam through organising excursions to projects and neighbourhoods in the city and other Dutch urban centres, which are intended to acquaint students with urban praxis in the Netherlands. Student exchange agreements with foreign universities offer students the opportunity to study in cities such as New York, London and Berlin and to become familiar with other university cultures and city life in other countries. The programme has strong ties with the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research: the leading professors of four of AISSR's research groups are responsible for the core courses of the MSc; students will work together with these professors in a research apprenticeship and a research article; and students are invited to attend academic activities at AISSR.