University College Dublin

MSc Urban Environment
The MSc Urban Environment focuses on how we might progress towards global sustainability by focusing on the development of more resource efficient, smart and liveable cities. The programme integrates the perspectives of human and physical geography to explore urban environments as complex physical and social systems. The vibrant, dynamic city of Dublin is an ideal urban laboratory within which we can develop and engage in collaborative projects. We value holistic approaches to learning and active, sustained engagement with issues of societal importance. We challenge our students to develop as spatially-sensitive global citizens and encourage them to be reflective and critical thinkers. In this programme, we particularly value the application of academic learning to the urban environment of Dublin in particular through collaborative engagement with external stakeholders. The School of Geography provides a high quality learning and research environment for graduate students and has pioneered innovative teaching and learning methodologies in the online and face-to-face environment. As well as small-group seminars, project-based learning and teamwork, fieldwork is a core element of the MSc Urban Environment programme. 

Focussed on integrating technical skills (e.g. GIS) with fieldwork and lectures to provide a comprehensive understanding of dynamic urban environments.
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International perspective on global cities but uses Dublin (a multi-cultural city that is undergoing transformation) as a testbed for exploring urban environments.
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Draws upon expertise at UCD across a range of disciplines. Provides freedom to specialise in areas of interest.

Course Description
In 2010 the UN estimated that more than half of the planet’s population live in cities and projected that this will increase to 66% by the middle of the century. Cities have become the nodes of a global economic network and are the foci for flows of people, goods, energy, food etc. In addition, although occupying less than 1% of the Earth’s surface they transform the natural environment radically and are the main geographical drivers of environmental change at local, regional and global scales. At the same time, cities are social constructions that can be changed and managed through human intervention to enhance well-being and livability.

This MSc looks at urban environments holistically by integrating the perspectives of human and physical geography to explore urban environments. Exploration is complemented by developing fieldwork and geospatial skills. The key objective of the course is to address the challenge of achieving global sustainability by making resource efficient, smart and livable cities.

The use of the vibrant, dynamic city of Dublin as an urban laboratory will provide an opportunity for collaboration on external projects with a range of urban stakeholder groups, developing professional networks and skillsets accordingly. This is complemented within the School of Geography, a top-100 department in QS subject rankings, by dedicated geospatial facilities for research students.