Master's degree in urban planning and development

The aim of the Master's degree in Urban Planning and Development at the IUAR is to train urban planning and development professionals in the issues and developments involved in building the cities, towns and territories of the future. The course provides access to the culture, methods and tools needed for professional practice. It is characterised by the multi-disciplinary nature of its teaching, the emphasis placed on teamwork and partnerships with the professional world. Recognised by professional organisations (OPQU, SFU) and a member of the APERAU and AESOP academic networks, its graduates are employed by public and private bodies at regional, national and international levels. They work in a wide variety of fields, including project management and assistance, territorial analysis and forecasting, the design and management of urban planning operations, and the coordination and management of urban and territorial projects.

Putting interdisciplinarity into practice, the master's programme recruits students from a wide range of backgrounds who demonstrate an open-minded approach to thinking about spatial dynamics and the challenges of sustainable development.

Most of the students enrolled in the M1 programme come from generalist bachelor's degrees, in particular bachelor's degrees in planning, management and economics.

Most of the students enrolled in the M1 programme come from generalist bachelor's degrees, in particular planning, law, political science, geography, history, sociology, economics, environment or any other similar BAC+3 degree.

Validation of higher education qualifications (L3 for entry into M1; M1 for entry into M2) or prior experience (for entry into continuing education).

The two years of the master's programme comply with the charter of the Association pour la Promotion de l'Enseignement et de la Recherche en Aménagement et Urbanisme, which brings together the main urban planning institutes in France and French-speaking countries. As such, the master's degree is regularly recognised. It is made up of two years of training:

One year of Master 1, which is geared towards acquiring a foundation of knowledge and skills specific to the field of urban planning and development. It includes the theoretical courses that are essential for the acquisition of a multidisciplinary culture in the field, as well as language courses and the use of cartographic software specific to urban planning and development. The strong point of this first level is the acquisition of the skills needed to draw up a territorial diagnosis with a practical exercise carried out in accordance with professional expectations.

In the 2nd year, the master's programme is divided into 5 pathways based on a common objective: to deepen and enrich theoretical knowledge and to put students in real-life professional situations through project workshops, supplemented by an internship or work-study placement. These courses are Transitions and Planning: Sustainable Territorial Projects (TP - PTS) ; Transitions and Planning: Landscape, Urban Development and Ecological Urbanism (TP - PAUE) ; Transitions and Planning: Habitat et projets de renouvellement (TP - HAPRU) » ; Parcours « Transitions urbaines et coopération en Méditerranée (TUC- MED) » en alternance; Parcours « Transitions, planification stratégique et projet de territoire » en formation continue uniquement.

In terms of teaching organisation, the two years of study place a great deal of emphasis on professional practice, thanks to the involvement of a large number of professionals and the commissioning of workshop work on behalf of project owners. A great deal of emphasis is placed on the use of cartographic and project representation software (QGis). Students have access to a dedicated computer room. In 2023, the IUAR joined the Institut Méditerranéen de la Ville et des Territoires (IMVT), to provide training alongside the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Marseille (ENSA•M) and the École Nationale Supérieure de Paysage de Versailles;École nationale supérieure de paysage de Versailles-Marseille (ENSP), a higher education and research centre that is unique in France, offering shared spaces (library) and opening up unprecedented partnership opportunities.

As part of their studies, students take part in the scientific and cultural activities in which the Institut is involved, in particular the Image de Ville festival.

The scientific knowledge acquired concerns the way in which we learn about cities and territories, their dynamics and issues, the planning of their development, their construction and their management. Students learn about town and country planning primarily through a spatial approach, the interplay of players and the cross-disciplinary nature of the issues. The aim is to acquire a cross-disciplinary perspective, at the crossroads of several disciplines (sociology, geography, political science, history, landscape, law, economics, etc.), on the city, territories, urban projects and spatial planning. The aim is also to acquire the tools needed to carry out urban and territorial diagnoses, and to develop operational and project-based approaches. The skills acquired in territorial diagnostics are put to good use in the project by means of situational exercises.

The reference framework drawn up by the OPQU (Office Professionnel de Qualification des Urbanistes) refers to the urban planner's fields of activity. These fields fall into two types, depending on whether they are specific to town planners or shared with other professions.

The first type of field forms the core of the profession and gives it its specificity. It is made up of four areas of activity specific to the urban planner, which form the basis of his or her professional responsibility; they require knowledge and skills specific to the profession of urban planner:

- spatialization of territorial projects,

- urban design,

- production of urban improvements

- urban management.

The second type of field brings together activities that urban planners share with other professions, particularly those concerned with the living environment and management. This knowledge and skills shared with other professions are nonetheless essential to characterise their work as town planners:

- implementing territorial and urban projects,

- animation

- knowledge production.

The 3-6 month work placement is compulsory for all Master 2 students in the three initial training courses in the Urban Planning and Development major. Placement offers are made by the IUAR and circulated to students, in addition to the research undertaken on their behalf. Each placement is the subject of an agreement between the University and the company and gives rise to the production of a report.

In addition to the compulsory internship set out in the teaching and creative mock-ups, an optional internship may be arranged at the end of the second semester examinations in M1.

All work placements, validated in advance by the diploma's academic supervisor, are designed to contribute to the student's professional development and to facilitate their integration into the world of work as part of their career plan.

Supervised work of various kinds (territorial diagnosis in M1, project workshop in M2, project workshop in M1 and M2...) punctuates the whole of the two years and trains students in group work, managing schedules and multiple tasks, relations with partners and professional expectations.

The person in charge of each level / pathway regularly monitors the students and offers interviews to those who are experiencing difficulties (identification of problems, referral for further reading, methodological advice, etc.). Depending on the difficulties encountered, the teaching team and management are informed and approached.

Integrating students into the world of work is one of the main concerns of the teaching team, which maintains close links with a range of partners (professional contributors, workshop sponsors and the alumni network) in order to organise special events;It has close links with a range of partners (professional contributors, workshop sponsors) and with the alumni network, which organises exchange programmes and puts students in touch with one another.

There are two types of study opportunities abroad: ERASMUS exchanges (Germany, Italy, Canada) and partnerships set up as part of the M2 Mediterranean (workshops conducted internationally: Morocco, Lebanon, Tunisia).