Architecture and Urban Design (MA)

In the initially joint master's studio, led by all design professors, the student's different initial competences are raised to a comparable level within the framework of the one-semester analysis phase.

During a one-week autumn excursion at the beginning of the master's programme, students acquire the competence to expand the knowledge of the city or region previously acquired in a workshop through research and investigation on site. For this purpose, all participants analyse the respective European city or region under aspects of its history, morphology and architectural-urban specifics, record these in drawings and texts and document their results in an excursion reader/city guide.

Based on this research, a comprehensive overview of relevant topics, specifics and localities is created in the joint studio at the end of the 1st master's semester, which is compiled into a typological city atlas. This forms the professional basis for formulating the students' individual theses at the end of the semester as a working hypothesis.

The tradition of the European city in its different cultural and regional manifestations forms the basis for independent analysis and research and thus for the individual design.

Intermediate critique (mid-term) with all participating professors

Final critique with several professors / with guests

Grade conference among all participating professors

With the research and hypothesis completed, the design work begins in the second master's semester in individual master's studios, which is gradually concretised and methodically refined. Here, too, the combination of a common location and a self-selected design topic applies, creating discourse and synergies within the master's group, but at the same time each master's thesis is independent in itself. The joint final presentation across all groups, usually with guests from the cities covered, forms the conclusion of the Master's thesis.

The lecture series "History of the European City" (all professors in the master's programme) provides a broad overview of selected examples of european urban developments, master planning and transformations.
The project is organised in studios so that the two semesters build on each other. The Master's project is carried out in cooperation with international universities.

Intermediate critique (mid-term) with all professors involved

Final critique with several professors / with guests

Grade conference among all professors involved

Professor: Kleihues

For external students admitted to the next master's project, a special pre-master's draft is offered by a professor in the 7th semester B. A.

Intermediate critique (mid-term) with several professors / with guests.

Final critique with several professors / with guests

If one sees the bachelor's programme at the course as a kind of "school of urban architecture" in the rather traditional context of the European city, the master's programme represents a significantly different dimension, both in terms of the complexity of the projects and their architectural-theoretical dimension. This already results from the fact that the really pressing potentials for conflict or crisis in the coming years lie not only in the area of inner urban redevelopment, but complementarily also in the peripheral areas of cities that were planned according to the principles of post-war modernism.

The didactic concept provides for the following steps:

1. Identify and present urban conflict situations in a spatially as well as socially complex environment, in a regional, national or international context (examples: Post-war settlements in the periphery of Naples or large housing estates in Berlin; neglected and dilapidated urban and building fabric in European cities or the conflictual coexistence of changing building systems in the cities of Brandenburg).
2. Spatial analysis, history of development, social objectives, architectural-theoretical presentation of essential development factors that become visible in the narrower and wider surroundings of the conflict area
3. Accompanying seminar on architectural theory and building history (archive and - literature work on the state of research / documentation, damage analysis and concepts for measures in the area of monuments) in the 1st semester MA for in-depth study and as a discussion forum on different urban models from history and the present day
4. Development and definition of design goals and strategies for the respective planning area
5. Development and discussion of alternative design concepts and strategies.
6. Design elaboration and presentation.

In summary, it is about recognising and analysing in both a concrete and theoretical sense and about developing strategic thinking in the context of urban development on the basis of complex problems. Furthermore, especially in the 2nd semester, the aim is to enable students to elaborate their concepts sustainably and effectively in all dimensions of presentation and depiction.

Depending on the respective topics, cooperation with other departments and degree programmes at the university is sought. Cooperation with partner universities in Germany and abroad has been practised for years, as has project-related cooperation with external institutions, city administrations or project developers. These external cooperations also serve to acquire third-party funding.

The aim is to continue the project series of the Stadt. Bau. Strategie. project series in the context of internal and external cooperations as well, since it can be assumed that these projects will not only qualify the master's students involved in them, but that the conflict situations worked on are representative of the urban construction problems of our time in numerous places at home and abroad. The project "Stadt.Bau.Strategie" is not only a study model, but a model for action in the context of increasing complexity and growing conflict potentials of the city in Europe. The graduates of the Master's programme actively contribute to the publication and thus present themselves on the labour market, which certainly improves their competences and chances significantly. The booklet series will be continued annually with changing topics, but a uniform format and layout, the general aim being that of a compact and concise presentation in the sense of a sequence of topics and theses that presents the Potsdam School of Architecture to the outside world.

The application for the winter semester takes place from 15 May to 15 June online in the MyCampus university portal of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Documents to be submitted

When applying online, the following documents must be submitted as PDF files in the application portal:

• University degree certificate or current transcript of records with the ECTS credit points earned to date and the grade earned to date, if the degree programme has not yet been completed.
• Curriculum vitae in table form
• Letter of motivation (max. three pages)
• If applicable, hardship application or application for compensation for disadvantages

Notes on the letter of motivation

The letter of motivation should provide information about your motivation and your identification with the special profile of the degree programme, the chosen degree programme and the intended profession. Your motivation for studying should be differentiated in relation to the urban planning focus of the degree programme and, in particular, to the current year's topic and its place in the context of the "European City", and it should be placed in the context of your career to date and your professional prospects. The year's topic will be published in good time and in an appropriate manner.

The evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

• comprehensible justification of the motivation to study in the context of previous studies, professional activity as well as professional perspectives
• Reflection on expectations of the degree programme against the background of the modules and competence goals of the degree programme
• Formal aspects such as internal structuring of the text, clarity of language, grammar.

Checklist

After completing your online application in the MyCampus university portal, you will receive a personal checklist with the following information:

• List of all supporting documents that you have uploaded as PDF files according to your specifications in the online application.
• Notes on the further course of the procedure

The selection interview consists of the presentation of work samples with at least two projects from the field of design and construction, which should be related to the urban planning focus of the degree programme in the context of the "European City", and a subsequent expert discussion.

Assessment criteria

The submission of work samples will be evaluated in an interview in equal parts according to:

• urban planning concept
• architectural quality
• operational qualities
• qualities of the constructive structure of the project
• legibility and information content of the presentation
• Presentation of the work, handling of queries etc.
• Preparation of content for the master's topic is desired.
• Examination result

The decision of the committee on the results of the admission procedure will be communicated to the applicants by the department of student affairs in the MyCampus University Portal (if necessary, the deadline will be extended). Please refrain from enquiring about the evaluation.

Selection procedure

Applicants who fulfil the admission requirements take part in the procedure for awarding places.

In the allocation procedure, the following are deducted in advance from the number of study places to be allocated:

• all applicants who were unable to accept an earlier admission due to service and all applicants who belong to the national squad of a national sports federation of the German Olympic Sports Confederation
• 11% for applicants with a foreign university entrance qualification
• 3% for applicants who are to be considered on the basis of hardship.

The remaining study places are allocated 90 % according to the result of a university selection procedure and 10 % according to waiting time.

The result of the university selection procedure is determined on the basis of the following criteria (weighting in brackets):

• Grade of the vocationally qualifying university degree (40 %).
• Letter of motivation (25 %)
• Selection interview (35 %)

Participants in the university selection procedure will be informed about the procedure by the selection committee by e-mail.

Admission

Following the university selection procedure, the award procedure is carried out. Applicants with a correspondingly high ranking will receive a time-limited offer of admission in the MyCampus university portal, which you must actively accept. Once you have accepted the offer of admission, you will find your notification of admission in the MyCampus university portal. If you do not accept the offer of admission by the deadline, the ranking list will continue to be processed and the place will be reallocated.

You have accepted the offer of admission and received your letter of admission? Then you have the option of submitting an enrolment application for the winter semester in the MyCampus university portal of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Once you have submitted your online application for enrolment, please submit the printed and signed application together with all required documents (according to the enrolment application) in paper form by the deadline. The day of the enrolment deadline is decisive for the submission of the documents, whereby the date of receipt by post at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam is decisive.

After admission and matriculation, the examination board of the CITY | BUILDING | CULTURE departement decides on the type and extent of additional study and examination achievements to be taken in the case of a degree with less than 240 ECTS credit points.

Do you have questions about the enrolment procedure at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam? We have compiled frequently asked questions and answers about enrolment and admission.