The international research-based Master of Arts (MA) “Urban Cultures” (URC) is addressed to students with an interest in urban cultural studies, striving to acquire transdisciplinary competencies regarding European and Latin American cities and urban regions. In addition to the study of respective urban theories and practices, the master’s curriculum concentrates on the importance of culture, creativity, and the arts for sustainable and inclusive urban planning and management, taking into consideration not only urban governance and policy measures but also the constituent role of urban imaginaries and aesthetics for urban identities and creation processes.

Established at Augsburg (UNIA), one of the eldest cities of Germany whose Roman founded urban cultures are influenced by its sustainable water management system and its shared religious and economic heritage, and situated in two further European World Heritage cities, namely Santiago de Compostela (USC) and Coimbra (UC), counting with two multicultural Latin American metropolises, i.e. Buenos Aires (USAL) and São Paulo (USP), the URC Consortium includes a transatlantic perspective on the cross-cultural study of urban cultures, their legacies, and multi-layered dynamics.

Complementary to classic urban studies programs, “Urban Cultures” takes into special account the relevance of the humanities for a better understanding of urban complexity these days. Dealing with urban space not only from a geographic and social point of view, but by also considering its specific cultural dynamics of productivity, mobility, and creative innovation, URC promotes a determined interdisciplinary urban studies approach and transprofessional formation of future-proof urban cultural administrators, change managers, and policy makers.

By considering structural and socio-cultural aspects of urbanism in a strong international setting and by analyzing transdisciplinarily urban discourses and diversities in Europe and Latin America, the students are able to reflect the cultural dimensions of local, regional, and (inter)national urban dynamics, in order to (inter)act as interculturally competent mediators and agents of urban cultures and urbanities and their potentials for advanced urban planning, policies, resilience, and change management.

#Fields of Activity

• City Administration/Public Management

• Urban/Regional Cultural Offices

• Municipalities & Ministries

• Cultural Management & Government Agencies

• Heritage Conservation & Renewal of the Built Environment

• Creative Industry & Small-Scale Arts and Culture Businesses

• Creative & Cultural Tourism Businesses

• City Networks

• Community Offices

• Architectural & Cultural Planning Offices

• City & Urban Regions Marketing

• Community Art & Cultural Centers

• Sustainability Departments

• Offices for Gender, Diversity & Inclusion

• International Offices

• Tourism

• Institutes & Research Centers for Urban Cultural Studies

• NGOs/NPOs & Citizen Initiatives

• Etc.

#Requirements

• General Higher Education Entrance Qualification

• Bachelor’s Degree (or higher) above average in Geography, Literary/Cultural Studies, Sociology, Applied Linguistics, Ethnology, Global & Area Studies, History, Political Science, Urbanism, Space & Urban Planning, Architecture, Design or similar

• Language Requirements:

  • English C1 and
  • Spanish C1 or Portuguese C1

#Study Tracks

• In total, there are nine URC Study Tracks (German accreditation).
• All students start in October their first URC semester in Augsburg/Germany (Humanities), then continue in the second semester in Santiago de Compostela/Spain (Geography), and in the third semester in Coimbra/Portugal (Sociology) their Urban Cultural Studies.
• For the last semester there are several options, where students can decide whether they want to accomplish their master’s thesis (T) with placement (P) in Augsburg, Santiago de Compostela, or Coimbra (tracks 1-3); or combine their thesis with a Latin American study activity (E) in Buenos Aires or São Paulo between the third and fourth semester (tracks 4-9).

#Modules

First Semester [30 ECTS] / Augsburg, Germany

• A: Basic Modules I (Compulsory): Urban Aesthetics (U Augsburg, Germany)
  The modules are dedicated to fundamental aspects regarding the creative construction and aesthetic perception of urban space. [15 ECTS]
• B: Basic Modules II (Compulsory): Urban Discourses (U Augsburg, Germany)
  The modules are dedicated to fundamental aspects regarding the discoursivity of urban space and historical concepts and forms of urbanity. [15 ECTS]

Second Semester [30 ECTS] / Santiago de Compostela, Spain

• C: Extension Modules I (Compulsory): Urban Spaces (U Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
  The modules are dedicated to central aspects of urban planning and urbanism. [15 ECTS]
• D: Extension Modules II (Compulsory): Urban Governance (U Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
  The modules are dedicated to central aspects of urban governance. [15 ECTS]

Third Semester [30 ECTS] / Coimbra, Portugal

• E: In-Depth Modules (Compulsory): Urban Transformation (U Coimbra, Portugal)
  The modules are dedicated to cultural planning and community-centered interventions in the context of urban cultural sustainability. [30 ECTS]

Fourth Semester [30 ECTS] / Europe # Latin America

• F1: Practical Module (Elective): Urban Practices (Augsburg / Santiago dC / Coimbra)
  The module is constituted by a European in-situ work experience. [10 ECTS*]
• F2: Research & Field Studies Modules (Elective): Transatlantic Urban Cultures (Buenos Aires, Argentina / São Paulo, Brazil)
  The module group consists of elective Latin American modules absolved abroad. [10 ECTS*]
  • F2.1: Research & Field Studies Modules (Elective): Urban Palimpsests (U Del Salvador, Buenos Aires)
    The modules are dedicated to the study and examination of diverse socio-cultural inscriptions in Latin American urban societies.
  • F2.2: Research & Field Studies Modules (Elective): Urban Diversities (U São Paulo)
    The modules are dedicated to the study and examination of socio-cultural diversity and interactions in Latin American urban dynamics.
• F3: Final Module (Compulsory): Urban Cultures (U Augsburg / U Santiago dC / U Coimbra)
  The module is constituted by a joint supervised master’s thesis (< 90 pp.) [20 ECTS]