Urban Planning and Sustainable Transformation (UPST) OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Create the world of tomorrow with creative solutions for the complex landscape of our cities and spaces. Our innovative Urban Planning and Sustainable Transformation Master’s programme is tailor-made for visionaries who are ready to tackle contemporary challenges in the field of spatial design. Become part of it and shape the future!

In the first semester, you will acquire basic skills in research tools and methods and become familiar with key approaches in science, technology, and design. You will begin with an interdisciplinary conference, then conduct independent studies on contemporary urban challenges, deepened through critiques, presentations, and discussions in the Master’s Studio. Step by step, you will develop and refine your Master’s thesis topic through explorations, field trips, self‑study, and feedback phases, concluding with a presentation and colloquium on your thesis exposé.

In the second semester, you will focus on your Master’s thesis, exploring your chosen topic while reflecting on current research, societal and ecological challenges, urban development, and your professional profile. You will also develop an individual exhibition concept for “Telling the Story” and present your work in a public presentation and colloquium, while shaping your specialisation through freely chosen core and advanced courses.

The Urban Planning and Sustainable Transformation Master's programme

• guides students in the development of new creative and scientific skills through individual professional and personal growth as competent advocates of the global, regional, and local environment,

• supports students in developing analytically sound attitudes and scientifically based strategies for selected tasks in spatial planning,

• supports students in developing an individual profile that enables them to work independently in various professional fields of planning sciences, and

• qualifies students not only for traditional professional fields in private offices and public administration, but also for research and doctoral studies at the national and international levels.

If you'd like to get a sense of what studying urban planning in Detmold is like, check out this link.

A semester overview with the course organisation can be found here.

TH OWL students have the option to complete an international internship during or even after their studies. Information on international internships can be found on our website under International Internships.

Information on admission requirements is listed on the programme website. Please click here for admission requirements. Please read the section titled "Admission".

All students must contribute to the semester fee. The semester fee is established prior to the start of the semester. Information regarding the current semester fee can be found on the website:

Semester fee

Accommodation is available through the Student Services Office or on the private market. Information can be found on the Internet at www.th-owl.de/en/studies/starting-your-degree/housing-during-your-degree/.

As registered students at OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, non-EU students are permitted to work up to 140 full days or 280 half days per year without an additional work permit.

You may work when the university is in session as well as during semester breaks. Only those days on which work is carried out are considered to be work days. Traditional jobs of an academic character such as student tutoring can be carried out in addition to the above-mentioned 140 full days or 280 half days. Such jobs are not subject to time restrictions.

First-year students are strongly advised to focus primarily on their studies and to begin learning German as the vast majority of off-campus jobs will require at least basic proficiency in German. This will open up many more opportunities in later semesters. Free German courses are available for students through our International Office.

The Deutschlandstipendium programme was created in 2011. As part of this programme, the federal government subsidises private donation funds raised by colleges to finance scholarships for talented and academically strong students. The programme was modelled after other programmes, including Studienfonds OWL, which has been granting privately funded scholarships on behalf of five colleges in Ostwestfalen-Lippe, North Rhine-Westphalia. More information and details are available at the following link: www.studienfonds-owl.de/en/scholarships/deutschlandstipendium/.

Additional offers: www.th-owl.de/en/international-office-th-owl/international-campus-th-owl/scholarships/

Career Services of the OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts: https://www.th-owl.de/en/career-service/

A list of accommodation possibilities at OWL can be found here: https://www.th-owl.de/en/studies/starting-your-degree/housing-during-your-degree/ and in our accommodation list.

• Housing cost estimate: average 300 EUR to 400 EUR per month
• Housing application deadline: 1 June for the winter semester, 1 December for the summer semester