Master of Urban Planning/Master of Urban Design

The Master of Urban Design combined with the Master of Urban Planning produces professionals who can simultaneously express their creativity whilst channelling their social conscience to improve our cities, towns and regions.

The program aims to provide you with:

• an understanding of Australian and international policy and planning affecting human settlement;
• skills to design towns and cities for contemporary challenges such as mass urbanisation, urban informality and changing climate demands;
• the ability to adapt and respond through planning and design to the global changes impacting our cities including climate change, deepening inequality, concerns for community health and safety, and the emergence of city-regions.

By working in interdisciplinary teams that encourage interaction, collaboration and collegiate working environments, our students benefit by being taught within a faculty of over thirty full-time academics and a broad range of leading built environment practitioners who come with a depth and breadth of teaching and research performance unmatched within the Southeast-Asian and Australasian regions.

By combining the Master of Urban Planning and Master of Urban Design as a double degree, our students complete two professionally accredited graduate programs in a reduced timeframe. This gives them a true competitive advantage and broader career options. Dual accreditation also offers a distinctive signal to employers and industry and enhances our existing graduate reputation for strong leadership and strategic thinking skills, embedded in our expertise in providing a world-class built environment education influencing Melbourne and cities globally for over 150 years.

If you’re looking for networks to help with internships and job opportunities, or the funds to help you get to Melbourne, we have scholarships and bursaries to get you connected overseas and get you to Melbourne when you can. Find out what you may be eligible for.

Accreditation

The Master of Urban Planning / Master of Urban Design is accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA)

Completing an accredited degree means you enter the workforce with a stamp of quality on your CV. In a competitive market, an accredited degree is an assurance of excellence to employers and an advantage for you. It also means we continually strive to improve the standard of the degree to retain accreditation, ensuring you receive the most relevant and innovative educational experience.

Career outcomes

Many graduates with urban planning and design qualifications enter the public sector and work in government departments and agencies, or for local councils and regions.

The private and public sectors in Australia and internationally employ our graduates in an increasing range of areas, including urban planning and design, environmental and transport planning consultancy, property development, and housing and community advocacy. There are also opportunities in tertiary education and research.

Urban design skills are in great demand throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region and your expertise in the design of urban public spaces and strategic planning will provide the opportunity to work locally and globally.

Urban planners work with teams of related professionals such as architects, landscape architects, engineers, environmental scientists, economists, property valuers, real estate developers, lawyers and sociologists.

Some of the organisations our graduates work for are:

• AECOM
• City of Melbourne
• City of Greater Geelong
• Darebin City Council
• David Lock Associates
• Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
• FJMT Architects
• GHD Woodhead
• Hansen Partnership
• Moreland City Council
• Toronto City Planning
• Tract Consultants
• UN-Habitat
• Urbis
• Yarra City Council
• Parks Victoria
• Victorian Planning Authority

Our graduates work as:

• Senior Planner
• Project Officer
• Town Planner Urban and Regional Planner
• Strategic Planner
• Statutory Planner
• Transport Planner
• Planning Policy Advisor
• Sustainability Coordinator
• Precinct Planner
• Policy Officer
• Urban Planning and Design Consultant
• Urban Designer
• Urban Analytics & Visualisation Manager
• Strategic Planner
• Urban and Interior Designer
• Senior Design Advisor
• Design Manager

Supporting your next step in your career:

If you’ve completed your undergraduate studies at an Australian university, you’ll be automatically considered for a Melbourne Graduate Scholarship to support you starting the next chapter in your career.  There’s no need to apply, because we’ll assess your application and you could be eligible for A$5,000.

If you’re an international student, whether you're a new or current student, you could be eligible for a merit-based scholarships of A$10,000 or more, wherever you are in the world. Learn more about undergraduate study options or graduate study options.

For students coming from an Urban Design, Landscape Architecture or Architecture undergraduate degree:

• A three-year undergraduate degree in Urban Design, Landscape Architecture or Architecture with a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 65% (University of Melbourne equivalent); and
• A Design Portfolio; and
• A Personal Statement of up to 500 words outlining relevant prior study and work experience, and motivation to undertake the program; and
• Satisfy the University of Melbourne's English Language Requirement.

Design portfolio requirements

Refer to the MSD Design Portfolio Requirements webpage for detailed information.

Kindly note, meeting the minimum entry requirements is not a guarantee of entry

IELTS: Score: 6.5, with no band less than 6.0.

TOEFL: Score: 79+, with writing 21; speaking 18; reading 13; listening 13.

PEARSON: Score: 64+, with no communicative skill below 60.

CAMBRIDGE: Score: 176+, with no skill less than 169.