Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) University of Stuttgart

The MSc Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) trains and prepares a new generation of urban practitioners to face the tremendous environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and governance challenges resulting from the dynamic urban transformation around the globe.
It is open to graduates and young professionals from the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, and regional planning as well as graduates with other Bachelor's degrees and with relevant professional experience.

Our philosophy is based on a transnational learning exchange between students with different regional backgrounds applied to a specific urban reality.

Students work in interdisciplinary teams on site-specific projects in cooperation with local communities and with different stakeholders, organisations, and institutions locally and internationally.

IUSD students acquire reflective and practical skills to develop integrated and transdisciplinary solutions for planning, managing, and designing landscapes, cities, and buildings.

The MSc IUSD double degree programme is hosted and organised by the two partner universities University of Stuttgart and Ain Shams University, Cairo. For more information, please check the IUSD website.

Our teaching philosophy

The teaching philosophy is to provide students with support and guidance in expanding their individual expertise in the field of "Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design" while at the same time, they learn to work on complex, practice-based case-studies in interdisciplinary teams. Students are trained to become "generalists with a speciality". As the programme progresses, the teaching methods shift from a more theoretical approach and the study of concepts and tools to practical application of the acquired knowledge and tools to the design tasks. The teaching methodology combines the following:

1) Knowledge-based learning

Students will acquire a broad understanding of the various facets of "eco-urbanism", learning to relate environmental knowledge, technical expertise, and socio-cultural awareness (compulsory core modules) and expanding their individual expertise by specialising in aspects of "eco-urbanism" selected according to their varying pre-qualifications and personal learning goals (elective specialisation modules). Once they satisfy the core requirements, students must use their electives to pursue a specific track (specialisation modules). Students are encouraged and given guidance to develop a programme that will strengthen their analytic skills, broaden their intellectual outlook, and test their acquired insight in real-world applications. 

2) Application-based learning

Students will learn to apply their knowledge to practical tasks of varying complexity in an interdisciplinary hands-on learning environment based on the design approach (integrated research and design studios). In the second semester, they will refine the acquired skills working on small design projects of different scales in small student groups. During the first and second semesters in Germany, the students will reinforce their skills by working in small groups on design projects of different scales and complexities. In the third semester, the whole group is required to work together on a large case-study project based in the MENA region. This project will synthesise what they have learned in their first year and bring together the different specialisations within the group. The application-based learning approach is closely linked to the course's partner institutions and enables the students to develop close relationships with them. Thus, students are encouraged to be an active part of project development and decision-making processes.

3) Learning outcome and prospects/career options

Programme graduates will be equipped to work in international organisations, in national and local governments and urban agencies, non-profit agencies, non-governmental organisations, and planning/design companies. 

Ain Shams University Cairo

The application period always begins on 1 June of the year before the programme’s start.

The application deadline is 29 July for those wishing to pursue the dual Master’s degree with Ain Shams University in Cairo, and 15 October for those wishing to pursue only the Stuttgart degree, in the year before the year of the programme’s start.

• Applicants from all over the world with an internationally recognised Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, regional planning, or civil engineering
• Professionals with Bachelor's degrees in geography, sociology, environmental management, political science, economics, cultural studies, or Arabic, African, or Islamic studies with relevant professional experience will also be considered, but they should also provide proof of relevant professional experience in fields related to architecture, urban and development planning, or infrastructure design. 
• The Master's programme strongly encourages applications from young professionals working in public institutions, private sector, civil society initiatives, or NGOs all over the world who are interested in IUSD-related topics and who have a high level of interest in knowledge transfer and achieving a social benefit.
• Please note that the double degree is only applicable for EPOS scholarship holders (restrictions apply; please check our website).

Approx. 200 EUR per semester

Living expenses amount to about 1,050 EUR per month. Non-EU students will have to demonstrate that they have sufficient finances to cover living expenses for 12 months. EU citizens may apply for state-guaranteed loans during the time of enrolment. 

For more information, see the links on our website.

Please be aware that it may be very challenging to finance your whole studies by working. Non-EU citizens are allowed by law to work for a maximum of 120 days per year. Only students who are employed by the university in one of the institutes or departments (Studentische/Wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte) are exempt from this regulation, but other restrictions apply.

For more detailed information, please consult our websites:
International Students: Financing Your Studies and Working During Your Studies

Please check our website on financial aid and scholarships:

https://www.iusd.uni-stuttgart.de/costs/

https://www.iusd.uni-stuttgart.de/funding-options/

Both the campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and the campus in the centre of Stuttgart have on-site halls of residence. Dorm rooms (ranging from 320 EUR to 650 EUR per month) are furnished. Some are equipped with a sink, and all have access to a kitchen and sanitary facilities, telephone and Internet. From the campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, the city of Stuttgart can be reached by suburban railway within ten minutes.

Intelligent systems to benefit society

The University of Stuttgart is one of the leading technically oriented universities in Germany with global significance. It sees itself as a centre of university-based, non-university, and industrial research. Furthermore, it takes on a role as a guarantor of research-based teaching, focused on quality and holism. The university promotes the transfer of knowledge and technologies to society in all its areas of expertise and competence. The "Stuttgarter Weg" (Stuttgart Way) means an interdisciplinary integration of engineering, natural sciences, humanities, management, economics and social sciences based on the fundamentals of cutting-edge research at a disciplinary level. Our vision is “intelligent systems to benefit society”.

Excellent research and teaching

The University of Stuttgart implements innovative concepts in research and teaching in order to provide knowledge and strategies for a meaningful and sustainable development. It focuses on basic research that is both knowledge-oriented and application-related. To facilitate this research, the university is actively part of regional, national and international research networks.

The university is committed to the principle of unity between research and teaching. Students acquire knowledge, expertise and the power of judgement, in accordance with the guidelines of scientific research and awareness. The university fosters fascination for the sciences, supporting its students and junior researchers at all stages of their careers. It promotes independent thinking and provides an environment for responsible action. In doing so, it educates individuals into becoming exceptional experts who think in an integrative and global manner and act responsibly in the sciences, economics and society.

A powerful region

Founded in 1829, at the beginning of the Industrial Age, the University of Stuttgart continues to prepare the way for innovation within an economically and scientifically powerful region and contributes to the economic success and prosperity of our society. This process combines the requirements of a social and cultural change, which allows for an early and extensive input of social interests in research and design as well as teaching and further education.

Open-mindedness

The University of Stuttgart stands for open-mindedness, individuality and community spirit. It brings together students who are eager to learn, highly motivated employees, outstanding teachers, and excellent researchers, as well as visionary thinkers and inventors. By means of its culture of integration, the university creates and conveys knowledge for shaping the future of our society.

The University of Stuttgart is nestled in one of Europe’s most vibrant industrial regions. This fosters many forms of interdisciplinary collaboration — for instance, in numerous Collaborative Research Centres (also known as CRC or sometimes CRC/TRR) and in application-oriented research assignments. The University of Stuttgart sets up a close relationship and a successful transfer of knowledge and technology between its research institutions and business enterprises in the region and beyond. This very practical orientation benefits research and teaching. At the same time, economic players profit from rapid access to new scientific knowledge and contact to experts in their specialised fields. There are numerous possibilities of collaboration for businesses. Furthermore, the university also maintains a close relationship with non-university research institutions such as the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the German Aerospace Centre, and the German Literature Archive Marbach. Thus, the optimal prerequisites for cutting-edge research at the highest level are all to be found in Stuttgart.