Master Urbanism
- 4 year(s)
- English
- Master
- Part-time
Get to know us
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Are you concerned about how our surroundings and buildings are designed?
Are you eager to reflect on design and how to use it for upcoming generations? Are you interested in urbanism? If you’re looking for a unique learning experience, then this dynamic, creative, and practical programme might be for you. After the course, you will master connecting social, cultural, political, economic, and technological parameters through design.
About
Our society, climate, technology, and the way we humans use our cities are facing immense changes. The purpose of urbanism is to respond to these changes and create futureproof, climate resilient, and inclusive cities through our research, design, and practical processes. In this master’s program, you’ll learn how to effectively combine design intelligence with a reflective attitude and practical skills. The competence-based curriculum is geared towards mastering seven crucial competences: design, research, collaboration, communication, entrepreneurial skills, organization, and professional practice. You’ll gain experience and education beyond the school curriculum by combining your study with employment in a professional environment. Additionally, the academy itself is a laboratory for spatial assignments from real stakeholders, and the studio is the perfect place to apply new skills and methods to create design proposals for complex spatial problems.
Why this master?
- Our programme is designed in such a way that you’ll work and study at the same time. You gain creative research and design skills at our academy, while developing practical skills at your workplace. On top of this, you have the possibility to earn a salary.
- You’ll be part of Fontys Academy of the Arts, a creative learning community.
- Our tutors are professionals from a variety of disciplines with a strong relation to practice.
- Our international environment gives you a broad view of real-world problems and hands-on solutions to tackle these challenges.
- As you’ll work in our design studio, your tutors will emphasize personal attention to guide you through the design and research process.
- After graduation, you’ll be eligible to register immediately in the Dutch Architecture Register and start working as an (independent) urbanist.
What will you be learning?
The programme focusses on skills, design and theory. Due to the nature of our profession, a theoretical basis is important. Our theory classes will help you to broaden your mind and understand the underlying process of our society. So naturally, these classes include the history of urbanism. Philosophy, Economy and Entrepreneurship are other theory classes that provide you with a different perspective to your possible role as an urbanist. Project-based learning lies at the core of the study programme. Your assignments will tackle a particular challenge or issue that you'll work on individually or in teams. For example, you may want to create a more inclusive city or develop a vision on the relationship between the city and surrounding landscape. The studio work will be combined with various research courses to provide a strong foundation. The philisophy of the academy is based on study combined with working in an architect's firm. This concurrent, practical structure offers you experience and education beyond the school curriculum, which is essential to your growth as a professional urbanist. In addition, it allows you to unleash the pioneer within by learning about the importance of design for current and upcoming issues.
- You’ll learn to take different methods to approach a challenge: sometimes, a top-down approach is the best way to work, while at other times, a bottom-up participatory design process will be more successful
- There will be emphasis on integrating different scales and developing holistic designs. Each design has an influence on multiple scales; you’ll learn how a decision at the regional scale affects the design of a public space in a neighbourhood, and vice versa
- Mastering how to position yourself is important and will be taken on too. The role of an urbanist is broad. You could be facilitator of a spatial process, an intermediary between different actors, or you may want to focus more on urban design. We’ll open you up to the possibilities and enable you to become the urbanist that you envision yourself to be
Dorisa Kooshki, student"Studying in this multidisciplinary environment needs beeing open minded about all kinds of subjects."
What does your week look like?
The course is carried out in a 40-week intensive program. You’ll work in the Design studio at Fontys in Tilburg one day per week. Alongside this, self-study comprises 10 hours and practical work 20 hours per week. You’ll follow theory classes once a week.
Kenny Vink, student“the symbiosis between practice and the educational program is amazing”
English language proficiency
FAA English language proficiencyAdmission requirements for the master’s degree programme
- Bachelor (B/BSc) Architecture
- Bachelor (B) Art Academy (Architectural design/Interior design)
Is your study not mentioned? Contact us and we can talk about possibilities.
Applicants are required to:
Work a minimum of 20 hours a week in a relevant practice (Architect’s firm or related). The academy offers alternative practice studios for students who are temporarily unable to find a regular job. In these alternative practice studio’s students will work on assignments by real stakeholders and will be supervised by practitioners. There is usually no remuneration for participating students.
English language proficiency
FAA English language proficiencyAdmission requirements for the master’s degree programme
- Bachelor (B/BSc) Architecture
- Bachelor (B) Art Academy (Architectural design/Interior design)
Is your study not mentioned? Contact us and we can talk about possibilities.
Applicants are required to:
Work a minimum of 20 hours a week in a relevant practice (Architect’s firm or related). The academy offers alternative practice studios for students who are temporarily unable to find a regular job. In these alternative practice studios students will work on assignments by real stakeholders and will be supervised by practitioners. There is usually no remuneration for participating students.
Visa
As a non-EU/EEA student, the Netherlands will require an Entry Visa* (MVV) and a Residence Permit. Fontys will apply on behalf of its students for these documents. We recommend you start the process early, i.e. approximately three months before you plan to enter the Netherlands.
More information about Visa*except nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, the USA and Vatican City State.
Language requirements
For the English-taught programmes, the minimum English language proficiency is required. As an applicant with a Dutch MBO-4, HAVO- or VWO-diploma you can be exempted from submitting the language proficiency test.
Admission requirements for the master’s degree programme
- Bachelor (B BSc) Architecture
- Bachelor (B) Art Academy (Architectural design/Interior design)
Is your study not mentioned? Contact us and we can talk about possibilities.
Applicants are required to:
Work a minimum of 20 hours a week in a relevant practice (Architect’s firm or related). The academy offers alternative practice studios for students who are temporarily unable to find a regular job. In these alternative practice studios, students will work on assignments by real stakeholders and will be supervised by practitioners. There is usually no remuneration for participating students.
Costs
The tuition fees indicator helps you to determine the tuition rate for your situation. The information and tuition rates from this indicator are without engagement.
go to tuition fees indicator 2025-2026 go to tuition fees indicator 2024-2025
Statutory tuition fees and institutional tuition fees
A distinction is made between statutory tuition fees and institutional tuition fees. Only if you satisfy all statutory requirements regarding your nationality and if you have not yet been awarded a degree, will you be eligible for statutory tuition fees. Via the tuition fees indicator, you can secure an indication of the type of tuition fees that will be applicable in your situation. To do so, please make use of the indicator above.
Distinctions are made between the following types of Institutional Tuition Fees:
- Low institutional tuition fees
- High institutional tuition fees
Different types of tuition fees and Exemption Regulations
These different types of tuition fees and the Exemption Regulations are fully detailed in the:
The amount to be paid may vary in accordance with the following situations:
- If you have enrolled in more than one course programme (at Fontys and/or elsewhere), it is possible that you may only be obliged to pay one set of statutory tuition fees.
- If you believe that you may be eligible to pay only the statutory tuition fees on the basis of information that may be unknown to us, please report this to your Course Department.
- If it later transpires that you do not meet the requirements for statutory tuition fees, you will be obliged to pay the (higher) institutional tuition fees and if this is the case, you will be notified accordingly.
Some Fontys study programmes offer the NL scholarship to their students. Check out the link to see if this study programme participates and for more information.
Information about NL scholarshipYou might also be eligible for other scholarships not provided by Fontys. These can be found on the Study in NL website.
Go to StudyinNLNL Scholarship
Masters Architecture and Urbanism offers two NL Scholarships to talented and motivated candidates for our MSc in Architecture and MSc in Urbanism programmes. The NL Scholarship is only available to non-EU students in the form of a €5,000 grant to be received during the second semester of the first year.
The NL Scholarship provides a partial scholarship for the first year of your studies within our Master of Architecture/Master of Urbanism programme. The scholarship of €5,000 is financed by Fontys University of Applied Sciences and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
General application criteria NL Scholarship
• Non-EU/non-EEA nationality
• You’re applying for a full-time bachelor’s or master’s programme at one of the participating Dutch higher education institutions
• This is your first time studying at an educational institution in the Netherlands
• You have read the general conditions of the NL Scholarship Programme*
• You agree that your application details may be shared with EP Nuffic and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
Additional programme criteria of NL Scholarship
• You’re registered for the Fontys Master of Architecture or Urbanism at www.studielink.nl
• You meet the general admission requirements of the programme of your choice (to be determined by the admission office).
• Students have to address two topics and elaborate on the urgency that should be taken into account in the contemporary Architecture and Urban Design field. Please send your essay to faa-mau@fontys.nl before May 1st.
• To be eligible for the NL Scholarship Programme, you need to fill in the application form after 1 November and before 1 June.
Applying for the scholarship is a different procedure than the application for a study programme, which has to be processed via studielink.nl.
Paying in instalments
Collection will occur in a maximum of ten equal instalments on or around the 26th of the month. Depending upon the processing time required after your enrolment, the direct debit may need to be moved to the following month. If so, the amount outstanding will then be divided and added to the remaining instalments to be executed until and including the June instalment.
If paying the full sum in a single payment
If you commence your studies on 1 September, the direct debit pertaining to your Tuition Fees will be executed on or around 25 September. If you commence your studies after 1 September, the direct debit will be executed on or around the 26th of the month in which you commence your studies.
Non-EU students
Incoming non-EU students will receive a payment letter from their study department, which must be paid before the deadline. In the following academic years, payment can be made by direct debit.
Non-SEPA
If you have a Bank account number of which the bank is not situated in one of the SEPA countries, and you are a national of a country outside the EEA without an address in The Netherlands, then you will receive a payment letter from Fontys via your course department.
The Dutch currency unit is the Euro (i.e. abbreviated to ‘EUR’ or ‘€’).
The average living expenses per month for a foreign student living and studying in Holland are between EUR 1,100 and EUR 1,500 per month. These living expenses cover rent, insurance, food, public transportation, books, clothing and other general costs.
Dutch Immigration Service (IND) requires non-EEA students to proof they have access to € 13,140 per year (€ 6,570 per semester)
Costs within the first months upon arrival will be higher than all other months due to a housing deposit, intro week and books. Study books are usually bought at the start of the semester and therefore it is wise to reserve and have direct access to an amount at the start of the semester which can cover the price of all study books and the living expenses for the first two months.
Before starting your study at Fontys, you must find suitable housing. Unfortunately, it is not easy for international students to find accommodation in the Netherlands due to the housing crisis. Start your accommodation search early. Please be aware that finding a place to live is your own responsibility. However, we are happy to assist in any way we can.
More information about accommodationCareer opportunities
After graduation
Graduates from this programme will be able to take an integrated, design-led approach in tackling complex issues of their environment in a national and/or international context. This gives them a variety of career prospects in urbanism and other related fields.
Title
All graduated architects and urban designers will receive the title Msc.
Graduate projects
Click here (external webpage)
Previous nominees for Archiprix NL
- 2020 ‘From The Rural Ashes’ by Paula Cores Barral
- 2020 ‘A New Layer Of Icelandic Identity’ by Jeroen Thijssen
- 2021 'Architecture Of Synergy' by Mohammad Khalili Nejad
- 2021 'Towards The Inclusive Village' by Ron van den Heuvel
- 2022 'Architecture On Demand' by Koen Huijs
- 2022 'Dyamic Thresholds' by Nick van Dijke
Previous nominees for Archiprix International
- 2019 'Foreshore+' by Nicky Kouwenberg, Niek van de Calseijde, Sidney van Well
- 2021 ‘Gardens in the Sea’ by Piotr Kalbarczyk
Jolijn van den BergThe academic level of thinking and, especially, the broadening and deepening that I experience by working together with people of different backgrounds and with different perspectives, is very inspiring.
Deadline application EU students: July 1.
Deadline application Non- EU students: April 1.
For the preselection we ask you to upload
After the preselection selected candidates are invited for an online intake interview
How to apply
For all Fontys Academy of the Arts courses you must first apply for admission. Your application therefore consists of three steps.
1. Add new enrolment via Studielink
Your enrolment for a Fontys Academy of the Arts bachelor or master begins at www.studielink.nl. If you officially live in the Netherlands, you need a DigiD to login. If you don’t have a DigiD because you have a foreign address, you create your own account in Studielink (if you don't already have one).
• Once logged in to Studielink, complete or make sure your personal details are entered correctly (i.e. capital letters where required, according to your passport/ID card), and check or add your previous education. Always confirm your details.
• Choose the study programme you wish to apply for (or select the option "Add new enrolment application" in your dashboard). You can enter one or more search queries and select Fontys University of Applied Sciences to select your programme.
• Choose the correct start date: September 1, 2025, answer the institutional questions and confirm.
Two important notes
1. Did you receive a message via Studielink about sending in your passport? faa-sa@fontys.nl will send you a request.
2. Did you receive a message via Studielink about sending in proof of language requirements and/or previous education? You don’t have to send these documents yet! We will inform you about this when you passed the admission test.
2. Apply for an admission online
After one day, you will receive an e-mail from no-reply@fontys.nl containing your PCN number and password to log in to the Fontys portal. Keep this e-mail for future use, you will need it if you take classes as a student at Fontys!
Two working days after you have added a request for enrolment in Studielink, you will receive an e-mail from faa-admission@fontys.nl containing a link to your personal admission page. Attention! You log in here with your e-mail address known in Studielink and your date of birth (so not with the previously received login details for the Fontys portal). After this you will create your own password.
As soon as you have completed and confirmed the application form on your personal admission page, you will receive confirmation of receipt.
3. Complete your assignments
In addition, you will receive another e-mail with a link to the assignments in your personal admission page. Once you have completed all assignments, you will receive an e-mail with the subject line ‘Confirmation preselection finished’ and only then you will take part in the audition!
Didn't receive any e-mail(s)? Then check your junk mail (spam ) and add us to your address book as a safe sender.
Sign up for one of our events. There's no better way to find out if this study programme is right for you! Visit a webinar from the comfort of your home or meet us live on campus. Whichever you choose, we hope to meet you soon.
There are currently no activities planned for this study programme. Please contact us if you have any further questions.
