Program Brochure [Click Here]
ADMISSION PROCESS TIMELINE:
Application Submission: 16th June- 30th July,2024
Entrance Exam:  4th August, 2024
Interview: 6th/ 7th August, 2024
Result Announcement: 7th August, 2024
Admission Period: 7th – 17th August, 2024
Semester Commencement: 25nd August, 2024

Transforming Cities for Sustainability
The dynamism in cities’ development represents a major opportunity for sustainability in the 21st century

PROGRAM

The Master in Urban Studies is a unique inter-disciplinary program. It blends courses from engineering, natural and social sciences to offer a robust understanding of cities, the processes of urbanization, and urban life, society and governance. It addresses the historical gaps in producing comprehensive skilled human resources for urban development as the urban development and its studies, so far, has been a relatively neglected area, except in silos, perhaps peripherally, as parts of architecture or civil engineering without having sound understanding of society, social realities, governance and inputs from social sciences to grapple and examine big picture issues of urbanization, contextualizing infrastructural, social, economic, demographic and institutional processes. In the era rapid but haphazard urbanization, over 6.5 billion people from approximately 4 billion today, will be urbanites by 2050, there is a need to make cities sustainably resilient particularly in developing countries. In this context, the program is to produce academics, researchers and professionals with robust theoretical, and research-informed practical understanding to contribute in building/transforming sustainable cities. The Program offers opportunities to learn theories, methodologies, and practices of sustainable urban development, and social and infrastructural planning, and urban policy analysis.

AIMS OF THE PROGRAM
• Integrate national development needs of urbanization and global development needs and SDGs into effective learning platform.
• Address the specific challenges of urban poverty and access to infrastructure and future opportunities.
• Ensure urban resilience to climate change and disaster risk reduction.
• Promote integrated land use planning, innovative infrastructure, efficient service delivery and efficient spatial concentration.
• Offer unique learning, practice and research opportunities to explore best possible urbanism to make a contribution to a brighter future of cities and nation-states.
• Meet the emerging needs of high-quality professionals for sustainable development of urban regions.
• Produce theoretically trained and practically skilled professionals for sustainable urban transformation.

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES
• Build solid understanding about the historical evolution of cities and the future cities.
• Develop skills, knowledge and professional capacities needed for sustainable development leadership.
• Acquire expertise in innovative urban sustainability practices through theory, practice and research trainings.
• Develop interactive and trans-disciplinary learning aptitudes and be able to offer workable sustainable solutions against burgeoning urban problems.
• Build unique academic, research, critical thinking, problem solving and practical skills to work effectively in many careers in diverse settings.
• Life-long learning; cross-cultural and inter/ trans-disciplinary understanding; exposure to local-global connections and overall enhanced intellectual rigor development.

CAREER PROSPECTS
• Urban Development Officers/Workers
• Urban Governance and Policy Expert
• Program and Project Managers
• City/Urban Planners
• Community Developer
• International Development Worker
• Public Policy Analyst
• Researcher
• Urban Disaster Analyst
• Cultural Consultant
• Emergency Response Planner
• International Aid Director

List of courses: 

First Year: First Semester: 15 Credits
USPH 501 Urbanization and Planning History
USRM 511 Analytical Research Methods I
USCS 501 Urban Culture and Social Systems
USGS 501 Urban Institutions and Governance System
USUD 501 Urban Demography

First Year: Second Semester: 15 Credits
USRM 522 Analytical Research Methods II
USPS 511 Planning Studio I
USGI 521 Urban GIS and Visual Tools
USRC 521 Resilient Cities and Settlements
USUF 521 Urban Finance

Second Year: First Semester: 15 Credits
(Any 5 courses will be offered from Electives below)
USUP 601 Urban Poverty
USHS 631 Urban Health System
USTS 631 Urban Transport System
USWM 611 Urban Waste Management and Sanitation
USWJ 631 Ethics, Welfare and Justice
USHM 621 Landscape & Heritage Management
USLP 601 Land Use Planning
USPS 631 Private Sector and Urban Development
USSR 631 Public Space and Recreation
USPS 621 Planning Studio II

Second Year: Second Semester: 9 Credits only
(Any 1 of the two below)
USUI 671 Urban Internship 3
USIR 681 Independent Research 3
OR
URMD 699 Dissertation 9

OTHER OPTIONAL COURSES:
USEC 531: Urban Economics
USED 531: Urban Education
USMU 531: Migration and Urbanization
URBS 631: Rural Urban Linkages
USPO 631: Politics of Urbanization
USCD 631: Climate Change and Development
USHO 631: Urban Housing

Fee Structure for Master in Urban Studies [2023]

The total amount of fees per student, excluding the costs of books, stationeries, accommodation, and individual dissertation research, for the entire duration of two years is NRs. 400,000. This amount is payable in five installments. Students from SAARC (excluding Nepal) and outside SAARC countries have to pay 1.5 and 2 times the above amount of charges, respectively. The various charges set by the program are subject to change according to KU rules.

ELIGIBILITY
Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with a minimum CGPA of 2 or 45%.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The candidates must fulfil eligibility criteria and must also successfully complete the written test and the interview conducted by the Program/Department.

EVALUATION METHODS
We employ innovative course evaluation methods inclusive of required reading based class interactions; long and short writing assignments; research-based presentations; field works; internships; quizzes; and exams.

TEACHING & LEARNING MODE
Predominantly face-to-face but we also use online mode as appropriate.

GRADUATION
Students must successfully complete 54 credit courses. Project works are an integral component of most of the courses.

CLASS TIME
7:00 AM to 10 AM

Apply Now

 

CONTACT
Kathmandu University School of Arts,
Master in Urban Studies Program,
Balkumari, Lalitpur, Nepal
Phone: +977-1-5911307
Email: devs@kusoa.edu.np
www.kusoa.edu.np/admission

For further information about the program contact:
Chandra Lal Pandey, PhD
Email: chandra.pandey@ku.edu.np
Mobile: +977 9820108001 | 9820108002