Master in Urban Studies
Tallinn, Estonia
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
02 Mar 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
24 Aug 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,200 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Admissions start: 1st of February. Application deadline: 2nd of March.
** 2200 euros per year
Key Summary
Urban Studies MSc - online info session on January 12. More info and registration here.
The Urban Studies MSc at the Estonian Academy of Arts is a two-year Master’s programme focused on rethinking urban change.
Ever asked why some cities grow while others decline? What makes urban wastelands so interesting? Why is it still not common sense that everyone has a right to good housing?
Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary programme committed to rethinking the role of cities marked by global capitalism and socio-environmental change. Key themes addressed in the programme include urban nature, housing and infrastructure.
Urban Studies classes stand out for small-group teaching and student-led learning activities. They comprise collaborative research, site visits, field work, and project-based creation. The programme centers reading and writing practice in order to cultivate curiosity and critical thinking. Through installations, interventions and other initiatives students engage with communities of humans and non-humans, all the while rethinking the urban mainstream.
Urbanism is a fluid concept encompassing an academic field of study, the urban everyday, and a professional arena. Urban Studies is therefore a collaborative place for students with diverse interests, including architects curious to understand the bigger picture, social scientists seeking to ground theory in actual neighbourhoods, and artists interested in engaging the urban environment. What unites them is a shared concern for social equity spanning the built and natural environments. A critical study of urban change opens up pathways to truly transformative change and careers in policy, planning, academia and beyond.
"In Urban Studies I learned to ask 'why' before 'how'." (Kalina Trajanovska, 2025 graduate)
Join us in rethinking urbanization and building more equal cities.
The core of the Urban Studies curriculum is our signature urban research studio, in which you will analyze and participate in actual urban situations through a combination of desk research, field work, and multi-sited interventions. It differs from an architecture/urban design studio in that we approach design as a practice that is inextricable from and determined by social, political and economic fields. The research studio allows for different outcome formats, such as essays/written reports, installations and happenings.
Additionally the curriculum consists of lecture courses, seminars, a design studio, thematic workshops and skill-based training sessions. Occassionally we organize a master class, and we do not shy from experimental teaching methods, such as reading retreats.
The curriculum combines individual and group study. You will be studying in a small group of no more than twelve students and will be supported by regular consultations with the faculty.
The program consists of 120 ECTS divided in four semesters.
Semester 1
- Studio 1: Urbanization (8 ECTS)
- Urban History and Theory (6 ECTS)
- Art and The City (4 ECTS)
- Debates in Planning (2 ECTS)
- Drawing (1 ECTS)
- Urban Geography (2 ECTS)
- Model Making (1 ECTS)
- Computer Software (1 ECTS)
Semester 2
- Studio 2: Urban Futures (8 ECTS)
- Urban Ethnography (4 ECTS)
- Urban Models (4 ECTS)
- Housing: Design and Politics (3 ECTS)
- Urban Tourism and Consumption (2 ECTS)
Semester 3
- Urban Design Studio (8 ECTS)
- Studio 3: Production of Urban Space (8 ECTS)
- Urban History and Theory 2 (3 ECTS)
- Master’s Thesis Seminar (5 ECTS)
- Contesting the City (2 ECTS)
- Observing the City (1 ECTS)
- Practice (1 ECTS)
Semester 4
- Master’s Thesis Studio (30 ECTS)
Additionally, you will collect 15 ECTS in general subjects.
Estonian Academy of Arts is listed among the Top 150 Art and Design Universities in the World by QS World University Rankings (2024).
Urban Studies prepares you for a career in planning, public policy, and community advocacy. Our alumni work as urban designers in the private sector, as planners in public administration (municipal, regional, and state-level), and as consultants in the NGO sector. They have founded advocacy organizations, and many are active as urban activists. The program provides a good basis for postgraduate study.