
MSc Sustainable Urban Planning and Design
Stockholm, Sweden
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
SEK 342,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* non-EU/EEA/Swiss is 342,000 SEK.
Introduction
The master's programme in Sustainable Urban Planning and Design focuses on the correlation between the built environment and social, economic and institutional forces. Students gain a profound and broad understanding of the multiple factors in sustainable urban development. Project work provides students with strong practical skills. Graduates have the expertise to adapt planning and design practices to the environmental conditions and societal needs of the future.
Sustainable Urban Planning and Design at KTH
The programme brings together students of architecture, planning, civil engineering and natural and social sciences. You are equipped with theoretical knowledge and professional tools that position them as critical links, joining multiple perspectives in sustainable planning and design processes relevant in Sweden and worldwide. Coursework includes substantial time spent in studios and on projects that train you in practical skills and give you a deep understanding of planning and design practice.
The programme offers three specialisations pursued through recommended course combinations, representing different professional competencies in sustainable urban planning and design. You can also broaden your knowledge by making your own combinations of courses. During the programme, students interact across the specialisations in courses and projects that foster a mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas.
Specialisations
- Urban Planning and Design
- Urban and Regional Planning
- Environment and Planning
All students take part in the introduction course that presents the subject and deepens their understanding of how planning and design practices can enhance sustainable urban development. After this course, you choose one of the specialisations with recommended courses addressing different methodological, theoretical and practical aspects of urban design and planning. The spring semester includes a mandatory course that aims to develop students' research skills within the scope of the programme.
The third semester deepens the students' specialisation by integrating accumulated knowledge into applied project work. Projects are supported by several core courses highlighting conceptual and analytical approaches. The programme concludes with a degree project carried out in the fourth semester. The degree project allows you to investigate a problem in-depth under the supervision of experienced practitioners and researchers.
Throughout the programme, invited lecturers from local/regional authorities, consultancies, and other private actors will give students insights into the contemporary practice of planning and design in Sweden and abroad. In studios and on project assignments, you work with ongoing city development projects in the Stockholm region, which allow you to apply your knowledge in sustainable planning and design in a practical setting.
Admissions
Curriculum
Year 1
Mandatory courses
- Theory of Science and Research Methodology for Planning and Design (AG2126) 7.5 credits
- Sustainable Planning and Design (AG2150) 15.0 credits
Year 2
Conditionally elective courses
- Sustainable Urban Planning and Design Studio 2.1- Urban Ecologies (AD2863) 22.5 credits
- Degree Project in Urban Planning and Design, Second Cycle (AD2EXU) 30.0 credits
- Project Sustainable Urban Planning - Strategies for Urban and Regional Development (AG2129) 15.0 credits
- Degree Project in Urban and Regional Planning, Second Cycle (AG212X) 30.0 credits
- Contemporary Urban Theory, Advanced Course (AG2134) 7.5 credits
- Sustainable Urban Mobility (AG2144) 7.5 credits
- Project Sustainable Urban Planning - Assessments, Plans and Processes (AG2809) 15.0 credits
- Degree Project in Strategies for Sustainable Development, Second Cycle (AL250X) 30.0 credits
- Resilience Thinking in Sustainable Planning (AL2511) 7.5 credits
Program Outcome
Sustainable development
Graduates from KTH have the knowledge and tools for moving society in a more sustainable direction, as sustainable development is an integral part of all programmes. The three key sustainable development goals addressed by the master's programme in Sustainable Urban Planning and Design are:
- 10 Reduced Inequalities
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- 15 Life on Land
Equity and equality are core qualities of sustainable societies, involving, for example, equal access to housing, public services and transport systems. The causes and consequences of inequality are analysed in courses such as Introduction to Urban Economics and Planning Theory and Urban Governance, and students will learn to address equality issues in urban planning and design in project courses.
Cities and communities are the objects of study in the programme, with sustainability as the goal. Throughout the programme, students will be introduced to different tools, methods and concepts that will enable them to address sustainability issues in local contexts and to develop strategies and solutions that contribute to sustainable cities and communities.
To minimise the environmental impact of urban development, innovative solutions are required. Through exercises and lectures, students will be encouraged to incorporate new technologies, sustainable materials and green solutions, as well as strategies that reduce the need for urban expansion in their proposals to enhance ecosystem services and sustainable management of natural resources.
Sustainable development
Graduates from KTH have the knowledge and tools for moving society in a more sustainable direction, as sustainable development is an integral part of all programmes. The three key sustainable development goals addressed by the master's programme in Sustainable Urban Planning and Design are:
- 10 Reduced Inequalities
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- 15 Life on Land
Equity and equality are core qualities of sustainable societies, involving, for example, equal access to housing, public services and transport systems. The causes and consequences of inequality are analysed in courses such as Introduction to Urban Economics and Planning Theory and Urban Governance, and students will learn to address equality issues in urban planning and design in project courses.
Cities and communities are the objects of study in the programme, with sustainability as the goal. Throughout the programme, students will be introduced to different tools, methods and concepts that will enable them to address sustainability issues in local contexts and to develop strategies and solutions that contribute to sustainable cities and communities.
To minimise the environmental impact of urban development, innovative solutions are required. Through exercises and lectures, students will be encouraged to incorporate new technologies, sustainable materials and green solutions, as well as strategies that reduce the need for urban expansion in their proposals to enhance ecosystem services and sustainable management of natural resources.
- City architect
- urban planner
- project leader
- sustainability consultant
- architect
- traffic planner
- urban designer
- environmental planner
Scholarships and Funding
KTH offers four different scholarship opportunities for master's studies.
KTH Scholarship
The KTH Scholarship covers the tuition fee of a one or two-year master’s programme.
KTH One-Year Scholarship
The KTH One-Year Scholarship is aimed at current KTH master's programme students and covers the tuition fee for the second year of studies.
KTH Joint Programme Scholarship
The KTH Joint Programme Scholarship is aimed at students in certain joint programmes and covers the tuition fee for the study period spent at KTH.
KTH India Scholarship
The KTH India Scholarship is aimed specifically at students from India.
Several scholarship options are available. Please check the institute website for more information.
Gallery
Career Opportunities
The programme prepares students as professionals in a growing and meaningful field, building a thorough understanding of the planning and design process as well as aesthetic, social, environmental, economic and institutional factors that contribute to sustainable urban development. Graduates from this programme work with urban and regional planning, environmental planning and urban design in public organisations, private companies, research institutes and NGOs. Examples of public organisations are municipalities that are responsible for urban planning and development, regional development authorities, environmental protection authorities and national transport administrations, which employ nearly half of the graduates. The private sector, which includes architectural, planning and policy consultancy firms and project developers, employs almost half of the graduates. The remaining 5–10 per cent go on to doctoral studies at KTH and abroad or work in NGOs.
After graduation
City architect, urban planner, project leader, sustainability consultant, architect, traffic planner, urban designer, and environmental planner.
Student Testimonials
Program Tuition Fee
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.