Urban Design

Overview

Introduction

Within the diversity and complexity of contemporary and rapidly changing cities, there is a need to understand how spaces operate and adapt to meet social, cultural, ecological and economic needs for a plethora of users.

Aimed primarily at architects and urbanists already practicing in the profession, but open to applicants from other backgrounds, the Master of Urban Design (MUD) is currently structured as a 2-year part-time option. Graduates gain eligibility for recognition as a Professional Urban Designer from the Urban Design Institute of South Africa (UDISA).

The Urban Design Programme 

Urban design is about spaces for humans and non-humans and their co-existence on earth as a holistic system. Therefore, the comprehension and guidance of how and why space is designed considers multiple networks. Through a pluralistic approach to the teaching of urbanity and urban design, an integrated suite of theoretical courses, design studios and a culminating research report emphasises resilience and design for constant change. Dealing with fluidity requires an understanding of culture, ecological and anthropogenic systems, access to the (in)formal and multiple, the overlay of networks and power structures, negotiation between bottom-up and top-down approaches, and modes of representation beyond an abstract top-down masterplan or a typical diagrammatic spatial parameters. 

Interdisciplinary overlaps with the Master of Urban Studies allow for a broad base of contextual understanding of cities in the global South, while the MUD’s small class sizes allow for one-on-one guidance from lecturers and urbanism professionals from around the region and the School’s global partners. A set of theory courses and a series of urban design studios equip students with the skills to create an urbanity that is both an expression of dignified human values and a context for human activity and development.

Programme Structure

The MUD is structured and timetabled to be accessible to working professionals able to commit appropriate time for part-time postgraduate study.  Core theory and lecture courses, some of which may be offered in hybrid formats, follow a quarterly timetable on late afternoons/ early evenings one day per week, while core design studios and the thesis package courses are timetabled in long blocks on Fridays during the academic year. Students intending to work part-time while studying are therefore advised to plan for their total availability one afternoon/ evening and all day on Friday in order to complete the programme successfully. Substantial additional work time is expected outside of contact hours, and students must be able to manage this according to their schedules.

In addition to the regular timetable, two in-person block weeks are included as part of the Urban Dialogues events in the School.  During these two weeks, classes stray from the usual timetable, and students are expected to be available and on campus for all 5 days of the week.

The Design Studio

The design studio is paramount, emphasising the sometimes competing interrelationships between purpose, design, research, analysis, collaboration, innovation, and strategies in an environment that values experimentation. The studio is a workshop in which students can gather to present and discuss projects and proposals with fellow students, staff and visiting critics, professionals, and even (in some cases) affected stakeholders of projects amongst the general public.

The studio provides a laboratory in which the various course requirements and tasks; research methodologies; histories and theories; visual representations and studio assignments are fused together to achieve a comprehensive approach to urban design. This process of exploration offers the opportunity to conduct detailed research, develop formal design methodologies, formulate strategies and design appropriate responses to each project.

The design studio combines individual and group instruction, varying from desk critiques with the course convener and the supervisors, to presentations before a guest critics, to more formal reviews before a panel of professional experts, with the intention of fostering critical thinking and spatial form-making skills, and preparing development framework proposals.

Curriculum

The curriculum contains a mix of theory courses, core design studios,  and what may be thought of as a thesis package to be taken within the same year.

Theory Courses

• ARPL7010A Understanding Cities of the South (20 credits; Quarter 1).  This course is aimed at understanding the many forces that shape cities of the South. These include development processes (legal, formal and informal economic), governance issues, environmental issues, transport, land use, infrastructure, services, power and politics (macro economics, structural adjustment, questions of sovereignty, gender, poverty, and inequality), as well as the discourses of modernity, globalisation and post-colonialism.
• ARPL7011A Urban Design Theory & History (20 credits; Quarter 2). This course focuses on urban design paradigms and theories and urban morphologies including that of premodern, modern, colonial and post-colonial cities (focusing on cities of the south).
• ARPL7057A Urban Design Professional Practice (10 credits; Quarter 3). The course introduces candidates to tools, strategies and regulation in preparation of an urban design project: eg. town planning regulations, different forms of implementation (eg. public/private partnerships), procedural development, coding and conservation guidelines, and developmental rights. Candidates are exposed to project management and dispute resolution and issues related to running an urban design practice, such as forms of practice, concepts around professionalism, and professional bodies and ethics.

Core Design Studios

• ARPL7078A Accessible City Studio (20 credits; Quarter 2).  The course is a core design studio in the MUD programme intended to develop design thinking and skills. As the first of the required studios, it deals with standard practices in the profession and applies them to a project of moderate complexity. An understanding of the actors, processes, and design approaches in the urban design profession is emphasised. 
• ARPL7077A Transforming City Studio (20 credits; Quarter 3).  Using design to explore decolonial narratives and advance fundamental rights, this studio introduces students to processes of citizen engagement, assessments and analysis of utilitarian and socio-ecological infrastructural needs in under-resourced or environmentally challenging settlements in the African context. It asks students to develop strategic and physically-implementable interventions appropriate to city-making processes in the global South.
• ARPL7079A Global City Studio (20 credits; Quarter 4). The course intends to expose students to urban design issues in contexts which differ from those typically found within South African cities, and prepares students for regional or global practice.

Thesis Package

• ARPL7040A Research Methods (10 credits; Quarter 1).  The course familiarises candidates with research methods, articulation of research questions and identification of types of data (qualitative or quantitative), the different methods of data collection, with an additional emphasis on conducting surveys, approaches to analysing both qualitative and quantitative data. In particular, candidates will gain an applied understanding of statistics in analysis of quantitative data through the use of statistical programs.
• ARPL7075A Urban Design & Discourse (60 credits; Full year). This course synthesizes the theoretical work, design work, and research methods learned in the coursework of the degree into an individual thesis project considered to be a research report. The complete project is therefore the culmination of the degree programme.

Entry Requirements

Qualifying Degree: Candidates must currently hold, or be able to complete within the year of application, an NQF level 8 or higher degree in architecture, urbanism, urban planning, landscape architecture, or other related design or built-environment fields. Applicants with backgrounds outside of those disciplines may apply with additional justification (see below).

Academic Performance: Candidates who have obtained an overall weighted average mark of 65% or greater (C or above on a letter grade scale) across the full complement of final-year courses in their highest degree may be given preference.

Documentation: All candidates must submit with their application, via the application portal in separate pdf files:

• Proof of payment of the application fee;
• Transcripts from all degrees attended from NQF level 5 and above to date (whether completed or not), showing academic marks and statement of conduct.  If a degree is currently in progress, an interim academic record must be submitted at the time of application, and final a final academic record submitted when it becomes available. In these cases, the outcome of the application will be provisional upon receipt of a final transcript demonstrating good performance in the current programme;
• A graduation certificate from the all tertiary degrees obtained to date;
• A comprehensive CV, clearly indicating one’s educational background and all work experience;
• A portfolio of design work, graphic representation, and/or built work in the format described below.

The portfolio and letters of recommendation may be submitted after the application deadline, but by October 15.  All other documentation must be submitted by the September 30 application deadline. 

Applicants not coming from a design or urbanism background (architecture, urbanism, urban planning, landscape architecture, or other related design or built-environment fields) must also submit an additional written statement, not more than 500 words, explaining the applicant’s prior engagement with design disciplines in any way, or a specific, focused intent for how the applicant intends to engage them in their career.  This may be uploaded to the application portal as ‘Additional documentation’.

Foreign applicants must also submit:

• A certificate of foreign qualification evaluation from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), or, if the certificate is still pending, proof of submission to SAQA. See https://www.wits.ac.za/internationalstudents/requirements/foreign-qualification-evaluation/ 
• Proof of successful passing of an English proficiency test, if required. See https://www.wits.ac.za/internationalstudents/requirements/english-language-proficiency/ 

Portfolio: All candidates must submit a portfolio adhering to the following guidelines, which must be uploaded via the application portal by 23:59 (GMT+2) on October 15.

• Portfolios must be submitted as a single PDF, maximum 50MB.
• Portfolios should be predominantly comprised of graphic representation and should demonstrate an ability to think analytically using design or representation. Do not submit additional text statements with the portfolio.
• Portfolios should include a range of projects which showcase the applicant's complete skillset.
• Work undertaken as part of a team or under an employer must indicate the entire team involved and indicate the applicant's specific roles in producing the work being shown.

Applicants without a design background must still submit a portfolio demonstrating any kind of creative output. Candidates whose admission portfolios do not fully demonstrate strong design and graphic representation skills may be required to complete one or more short courses in design principles and/or graphic representation before they are allowed to enrol in the series of design studios which form a large part of the degree programme.

The above are minimum requirements; acceptance will still be subjected to a weighted evaluation of all documentation and available places. Satisfaction of all minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.

University Application Process

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to Wits postgraduate students. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.