STARTING IN OCTOBER 2024 

The international research-based Master of Arts (MA) “Urban Cultures” (UC) 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 the arts and culture 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 as well as its religious, economic and industrial heritage, and situated in two further European World Heritage cities, namely Santiago de Compostela (USC) and Coimbra (UCB), and including two multicultural Latin American metropolises, i.e. Buenos Aires (USAL) and São Paulo (USP), the UC consortium promotes a transatlantic perspective on the complexity of urban cultures and their legacies and multi-layered dynamics.

In difference 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 merely from a geographic and social point of view, but by also considering its specific cultural dynamics of productivity and creativity, UC promotes not only a determined interdisciplinary urban studies approach, but also a transprofessional formation of future 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 not only in Europe but also in Latin America, the students are able to reflect the cultural dimensions of local, regional and (trans)national urban dynamics, in order to (inter)act as competent intercultural 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

• 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.

#Admission Requirements

• General Higher Education Entrance Qualification

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

• Language Requirements:

  • English C1 and
  • Spanish C1 or Portuguese C1

#Study Tracks

In total, there are nine UC Study Tracks where students can decide whether they want to accomplish their master’s thesis (T) with placement (P) at Augsburg, Santiago de Compostela, or Coimbra (tracks 1-3); or if they opt for a Latin American study experience (E) between the third and last semester (tracks 4-9).

#Modules

First Semester [30 ECTS]

• 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 concepts of urbanity. [15 ECTS]

Second Semester [30 ECTS]

• 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]

• 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]

• 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 (U del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina / U 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, Argentina)
    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, Brazil)
    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]