Course overview

Description

This course is offered by the School of Design and delivered by the Australian Urban Design Research Centre. Students develop in-depth understanding of urban design theories and issues; techniques of urban analysis; and skills for the design and development of cities and urban places. Through their research by dissertation and/or design they design and implement a process to resolve a complex urban problem.

Course title
Master of Urban Design (coursework or coursework and dissertation)
Award abbreviation
MUrbDes
Course code
25530
Course type
Master's degree by coursework or by coursework and dissertation
Status
Current / 2024
Administered by
UWA Design School
CRICOS code
074757J

Course details

Intake periods
Beginning of year and mid-year
Attendance type
Full- or part-time (Student visa holders should read Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 for more information.)
Credit points required
96
A standard full-time load is 24 points per semester.
Standard course duration
2 years
Time limit
5 years
Delivery mode
Internal
Locations offered
UWA (Perth)
Domestic fee type
Commonwealth supported and/or HECS-HELP
Available to international students
Yes. For information on international student fees see 'Student Procedures: Fees'. (Enquiries: https://www.uwa.edu.au/askuwa)
Course Coordinator(s)
Jill Penter
Fees
Visit the fees calculator.

Enquiries and course advice

Note

Students in the Urban and Regional Planning specialisation: for 2023, students should take ENVT5600 instead of GEOG5006, and SVLG5001 or WILG5001 instead of PLNG5410.

Prospective students should see the Future Students website for details on admission requirements, intake periods, fees, availability to international students, careers information etc.

Example Study Plan

See study plans for more information.

Specialisations

FA-GISYS Geographic Information Systems
FA-LDARC Landscape Design

Course structure

Key to availability of units:
S1
Semester 1
S2
Semester 2

All units have a value of six points unless otherwise stated.

Students can choose from three pathways to complete this course:
-Coursework Only (Geographic Information Systems Focus Area)
-Coursework Only (Landscape Design Focus Area)
-Coursework and Dissertation

Students should take units according to the sequence notes below for their selected pathway. Contact your Student Advising Office and the Course Coordinator for assistance selecting a pathway and units.

Students in all pathways, take all units (36 points):

All Students- Core Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2ARLA4506Research Strategies in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Architecture
Incompatibility
ARCT4470 Architectural Research Seminar.
LACH4506 Research Methodologies: New Directions in Landscape Architecture.
URBD5820 Urban Design Research Methods
1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial
S2URBD5802Urban Design Studio 2 (12 points)None6 hours studio per week
S1URBD5804Urban Design Studio 1 (12 points)None6 hours studio per week
S2URBD5805Contemporary UrbanismNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial per week

Students in all pathways, take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:

All Students- Option Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1URBD5803Sustainability and CitiesNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial per week
S1URBD5807The Forces that Shape Cities
Incompatibility
URBD8807 Evolution of the City
1 hour lecture and 2 hour tutorial per week
S1URBD5810Healthy by DesignNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial

Dissertation: Students by Coursework and Dissertation, take unit(s) to the value of 48 points:

Dissertation Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1, S2URBD5821Urban Design Dissertation (full-time) (48 points)
Prerequisites
A weighted average mark in the first year (48 points) Master of Urban Design of at least 60% or equivalent as recognised by the School on the recommendation of the Urban Design Program (UDP) Academic Committee
up to 3 hours per week consultation
S1, S2URBD5822Urban Design Dissertation (part-time) (48 points)
Prerequisites
A weighted average mark in the first year (48 points) Master of Urban Design of at least 60% or equivalent as recognised by the School on the recommendation of the Urban Design Program (UDP) Academic Committee
up to 3 hours per week consultation

Geographic Information Systems (focus area)

Students by Coursework Only (Geographic Information Systems Focus Area), take all units (36 points):

Geographic Information Systems Core Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2ENVT4408GIS Programming
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
Or Enrolment in
Unit(s) ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
Or Unit(s) GEOG2201 Geographic Information Systems
42 hours
S1, S2ENVT4411Geographic Information Systems Applications
Incompatibility
Unit(s) GEOG2201 Geographic Information Systems (ID 1384)
The total workload for the unit is 150 hours. This includes podcasts for viewing and reading to be undertaken prior to attending one compulsory 3-hour workshop per week where students will be contributing to interactive discussions together with practical lab work using GIS software. Completion of the practical workshop labs is necessary to enable skills for completing written unit assessment. Independent learning is required throughout the unit.
S1ENVT5561GIS and Spatial Analysis: Multifunctional Landscapes
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
one Unit(s) ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
or GEOG2201 Geographic Information Systems
Incompatibility
Unit(s) ENVT5508 Advanced Spatial Analytics
and Unit(s) ENVT5563 GIS and Spatial Analysis: Waterway Restoration
and Unit(s) ENVT5562 GIS and Spatial Analysis: Coastal Resilience
and Unit(s) ENVT5565 GIS and Spatial Analysis: Sensor Networks
and Unit(s) ENVT5564 GIS and Spatial Analysis: Contaminated Sites
150
S1, S2SCIE4401Data Use in Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72520 Master of Biological Science
or 72530 Master of Environmental Science
or 72550 Master of Geoscience
or 72540 Master of Hydrogeology
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71570 Master of Geographic Information Science
or 73530 Master of Agricultural Economics
or 73550 Master of Business Psychology
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
or 71590 Master of Oceanography
or 74540 Master of Marine Biology
Incompatibility
STAT1400 Statistics for Science
or STAX1400 Statistics for Science
and
STAT1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or STAX1520 Economic and Business Statistics
and SCIE1104 Science, Society and Data Analysis
24 hours. The total workload for this unit is 150 hours.
S2URBD5806Urban Design Capstone Studio (12 points)
Prerequisites
URBD5804 Urban Design Studio 1
and URBD5802 Urban Design Studio 2
and URBD5805 Contemporary Urbanism
6 hours studio per week

Students by Coursework Only (Geographic Information Systems Focus Area), take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:

Geographic Information Systems Option Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2ARCT5528Delivering Good DesignNoneup to 3 hours per week for up to 12 weeks
S1, S2URBD5801Urban Design Industry Placement
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5805 Contemporary Urbanism
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5804 Urban Design Studio 1
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5802 Urban Design Studio 2
105 hours depending on type and location of placement institution
S1URBD5803Sustainability and CitiesNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial per week
S1URBD5807The Forces that Shape Cities
Incompatibility
URBD8807 Evolution of the City
1 hour lecture and 2 hour tutorial per week
S1URBD5810Healthy by DesignNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial

Landscape Design (focus area)

Students by Coursework Only (Landscape Design Focus Area), take all units (36 points):

Landscape Design Core Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2LACH4421Australian LandscapesNoneseminars: 3–4 hours per week
S1LACH4423Landscape and Urban EcologyNoneseminar (lectures: 1 hour per week and seminars: 3 hours per week)
S1LACH5424Design Studio—Complexity (12 points)
Incompatibility
LACH4424 Design Studio—Complexity
studio: up to 9 hours per week
S2URBD5806Urban Design Capstone Studio (12 points)
Prerequisites
URBD5804 Urban Design Studio 1
and URBD5802 Urban Design Studio 2
and URBD5805 Contemporary Urbanism
6 hours studio per week

Students by Coursework Only (Landscape Design Focus Area), take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:

Landscape Design Option Units

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2ARCT5528Delivering Good DesignNoneup to 3 hours per week for up to 12 weeks
S1, S2URBD5801Urban Design Industry Placement
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5805 Contemporary Urbanism
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5804 Urban Design Studio 1
Successful completion of
Unit(s) URBD5802 Urban Design Studio 2
105 hours depending on type and location of placement institution
S1URBD5803Sustainability and CitiesNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial per week
S1URBD5807The Forces that Shape Cities
Incompatibility
URBD8807 Evolution of the City
1 hour lecture and 2 hour tutorial per week
S1URBD5810Healthy by DesignNone1 hour lecture; 2 hours tutorial

See also the rules for the course and the Student Rules.

Rules

Applicability of the Student Rules, policies and procedures

1.(1) The Student Rules apply to students in this course.

(2) The policy, policy statements and guidance documents and student procedures apply, except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course.

Academic Conduct Essentials and Communication and Research Skills modules

2.(1) Except as stated in (2), a student who enrols in this course for the first time irrespective of whether they have previously been enrolled in another course of the University, must undertake the Academic Conduct Essentials module (the ACE module) and the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module).

(2) A student who has previously achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the CARS module is not required to repeat the module.

(3) A student must successfully complete the ACE module within the first teaching period of their enrolment. Failure to complete the module within this timeframe will result in the student's unit results from this teaching period being withheld. These results will continue to be withheld until students avail themselves of a subsequent opportunity to achieve a passing grade in the ACE module. In the event that students complete units in subsequent teaching periods without completing the ACE module, these results will similarly be withheld. Students will not be permitted to submit late review or appeal applications regarding results which have been withheld for this reason and which they were unable to access in the normally permitted review period.

English Language competency requirements

3. To be considered eligible for consideration for admission to this course an applicant must satisfy the University's English language competence requirement as set out in the University Policy on Admission: Coursework.

Admission requirements

4.(1) To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have—

(a) a Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by UWA;

and

(b) the equivalent of a UWA weighted average mark of at least 50 per cent;

and

(c) successfully completed prior study in a field relevant to Urban Design; or

(2) completed a Graduate Certificate in Urban Design or Graduate Diploma in Urban Design at UWA.

Admission ranking and selection

5. Where relevant, admission will be awarded to the highest ranked applicants or applicants selected based on the relevant requirements.

Articulations and exit awards

6.(1) The following courses form part of an articulated sequence:

  • 25210 Graduate Certificate in Urban Design (24 points)
  • 25310 Graduate Diploma in Urban Design (48 points)
  • 25530 Master of Urban Design (96 points)

(2) A student who withdraws from the Master of Urban Design course before completing it, but after fulfilling the requirements of a lesser award in the above sequence, may apply for the relevant award.

Course structure

7.(1) The course consists of units to a total value of 96 points which must include course core units and focus area units. The course comprises the following focus areas:

  • FA-GISYS Geographic Information Systems
  • FA-LDARC Landscape Design

(2) Units must be selected in accordance with the course structure, as set out in these rules.

Satisfactory progress

8. To make satisfactory progress a student must pass units to a point value greater than half the total value of units in which they remain enrolled after the final date for withdrawal without academic penalty.

9. A student who has not achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module) when their progress status is assessed will not have made satisfactory progress even if they have met the other requirements for satisfactory progress in Rule 8.

Progress status

10.(1) A student who makes satisfactory progress is assigned the status of 'Good Standing'.

(2) Unless the relevant board determines otherwise because of exceptional circumstances—

(a) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the first time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'On Probation';

(b) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the second time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Suspended';

(c) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the third time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Excluded'

11. A student who does not make satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 9 is assigned the progress status of 'On Probation', unless they have been assigned a progress status of 'Suspended' or 'Excluded' for failure to meet other satisfactory progress requirements in Rule 8.

Award with distinction

12. To be awarded the degree with distinction a student must achieve a course weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 80 per cent which is calculated based on—

(a) all units above Level 3 attempted as part of the course that are awarded a final percentage mark;

(b) all relevant units above Level 3 undertaken in articulating courses of this University that are awarded a final percentage mark;

and

(c) all units above Level 3 completed at this University that are credited to the master's degree course.

Deferrals

13. Applicants awarded admission to the course are entitled to a deferral of up to 12 months, as per the University Policy on: Admissions (Coursework).

Additional rules
Restriction on enrolment

14. A student must not enrol in URBD5804 Urban Design Studio 1 and URBD5802 Urban Design Studio 2 in the same semester.