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Urban Design MArch

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2026/27 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Urban Design MArch (2025/26), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

Full-time

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£19,300

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£42,700

Duration

1 calendar year

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 27 Mar 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class UK degree in an appropriate subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants with extensive experience in the field may also be considered. A design/creative portfolio is also expected. Applicants will be asked to submit a portfolio of their design work once their completed application has been received, and should not send or upload work until it has been requested.

The English language level for this course is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Bartlett’s Urban Design MArch focuses on innovative design-led urbanism and global urbanisation challenges. It delves into the study of cities, examining their structure, form and the use of material resources, as well as the multifaceted creative challenges and opportunities presented by global urbanisation and the introduction of computational tools.

This distinctive design-led urban master's course aims to bridge the gap between architecture and urbanism, emphasising physical design and radical experimentation alongside rigorous analysis and contemporary theories and methodologies. Students investigate design decisions both strategically and in the context of urban regeneration.

The Urban Design degree unites designers and thinkers from around the globe for design-led research into the complexities of urban living. Through design experiments, students explore innovative ideas for cities, addressing urgent contemporary issues such as climate change and the impact of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

Through lectures and workshops, students collaborate with internationally renowned experts in cutting-edge design and, theory, and strategic thinking. They are encouraged to adopt an experimental approach that integrates design techniques, theoretical inquiries, and digital skills using advanced tools and technology. Students also develop an awareness of computation as a cultural condition shaping our culture, and a powerful paradigm for generating design proposals.

Who this course is for

The course is designed for both recent graduates and qualified professionals who wish to be part of an experimental design environment dealing with the future of our cities. Most candidates come from an architecture background, but a small percentage come from other disciplines including environmental design, planning, engineering and geography.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

Skills and understanding: Students will discover new design skills and techniques, and gain an understanding of the city as a place of human and non-human co-existence, and devise strategies and projects to guide its future development.

Collaboration: Work collaboratively to innovate and explore new ideas in design and theory.

Exciting and innovative studies: The Bartlett School of Architecture helps students to prepare for successful careers in a range of fields. We aim to be an exciting and innovative place to study architecture, giving students the opportunity to develop their creativity, curiosity and dynamism, and learn the skills needed to build a better future for people and the planet.

State-of-the-art facilities: Students have access to The Bartlett School of Architecture’s dedicated workshop, B-made, which provides students with access to state-of-the-art facilities and fabrication expertise.

Career Support: Studying at UCL provides students with access to a range of career services including networking events, career workshops, and internship opportunities.

The Bartlett is ranked #1 in the world for Architecture and Built Environment studies in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. We remain global #1 for the third year in a row, and #1 in the UK for the 11th year in a row. Our research is recognised as ‘World Leading' and ‘Internationally Excellent’(UK REF 2021).

London is ranked the best city for students in the UK and Europe and holds third place worldwide (QS Best Student Cities 2026).

In a typical year, the school hosts a number of exhibitions, both physically across our London locations, and digitally via our online exhibition platform bartlettarchucl.com. This includes The Bartlett Autumn Show, The Bartlett Summer Show and The Bartlett B-Pro Show. These exhibitions act as a showcase for the extraordinary work produced by our students and are visited by thousands of people from across the globe each year.

What is it like being a student with us? Explore the stories from our students and alumni as they share their experiences, insights, and advice. Plus, connect with a current Bartlett student via our Unibuddy platform to have your questions answered.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Having built up a specialist expertise in urban design, graduates from this urban design master’s degree enjoy a reputation as forward thinkers in cities around the world. Recent graduate destinations have included design agencies and architectural practices, as well as further academic research.

93.9% of Bartlett School of Architecture graduates were in work or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2017-22).

Top industry sectors for Bartlett School of Architecture graduates in work are construction, built environment and property (74.9% of graduates); academic research and higher education (6.5%); and performance and creative arts (5.6%).

Bartlett School of Architecture graduates are working in 46 countries around the world.

Example employers:

Foster and Partners
Zaha Hadid Architects
Adjaye Associates Ltd
Wilkinson Eyre Architects
ARUP

Employability

Graduates from the course will gain essential skills that will help their future careers. Some of these skills include:

mastering advanced computational tools to map, model, and design urban environments
advanced techniques for the analysis and visualisation of complex urban conditions
critical thinking by engaging with the most relevant urban theories.

The Bartlett School of Architecture is recognised as one of the world's leading schools of architecture and graduates from our master's courses are highly sought after.

Networking

In conjunction with the Architectural Design MArch and Architectural Computation MSc courses, the Urban Design course organises a dedicated lecture series which invites key national and international speakers to discuss some of the most pressing issues and novel ideas in the field of design, history and theory, and technology.

The Urban Design MArch organises the Supercrit, a special review of the work developed on the course in which national and international guests are invited to discuss the work with students. The event offers an ideal platform for both exposure and discussion of the students’ work and peer-learning.

The Bartlett School of Architecture hosts numerous events throughout the year that feature industry guests and networking opportunities. These include lecture series, seminars, conferences, symposiums, book launches, and show launch events. The school also hosts a Future Practice event each year that links students with employers.

Additionally, there are a broad range of university-wide career events to help current students and recent graduates develop their employability skills, explore different sectors, increase commercial awareness, build professional networks and more.

Teaching and learning

Over 400 staff from around the world teach at The Bartlett School of Architecture. Many of our academic staff are part-time, working at the school while also carrying out highly successful work in practice across a diverse spectrum of activities related to architecture.
Explore expert teaching.

The course is delivered through a combination of tutorials, lectures, seminars, workshops, public presentations, case-study analysis, site visits, and field trips.

At The Bartlett School of Architecture, design is central to our approach. For over 25 years, our unit structure has become a defining feature of studying design-led subjects at the school, fostering innovation and critical exploration. Design Project modules are taught within design units or research clusters, each led by distinguished tutors from academia and practice.

Explore the current design units and research clusters.

As a project-orientated course, all theoretical research work and experimental design exploration culminates in physical design propositions for specific design projects. Assessment is through design portfolio, essays, oral presentations and a written design report.

Across Terms 1, 2 and 3, full-time students can typically expect an average of 10 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, introductory workshops, crits and tutorials. During the summer period students will be completing their own final projects, keeping contact with their design tutors where necessary.

The contact hours usually include a one-week optional field trip organised by individual studios.

Outside of directed teaching full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments, approximately 27 hours.

Modules

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The Urban Design MArch consists of five modules covering three interconnected areas of research: Design (120 credits overall), Theory (45 credits), and Digital Skills (15 credits).

The Design Module is organised around the Research Clusters (RCs) which are the core element of the course. RCs ensure academic coherence and the basis around which theory and digital skill modules develop from and contribute to. Each of the RCs also provides students with the possibility to synthesise the knowledge acquired through other module by applying it to the design project.

Explore the current design units and research clusters.

Compulsory modules

Urban Design Thesis Initial Projects

Bartlett Architecture Skills Elective (B-Pro Courses)

Introduction to Urban Design Theory

Design Thesis Report

Urban Design Thesis Final Project

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MArch in Urban Design.

Fieldwork

This course includes one annual, optional field trip.

Most of the field trips take place within Europe and involve visiting key urban locations that are relevant to the agenda of the Research Cluster they are associated with. The visits offer an opportunity for students to undertake fieldwork relevant to the development of their design project, exchange with key researchers and practitioners, and visit iconic pieces of urban design. Examples of previous field trips include Helsinki, Rotterdam, Porto, Paris and Zurich. Key institutions visited during these trips have included Aalto Foundation, TU Delft, ETH, and Centre Pompidou.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Bartlett Promise UK Scholarship

Join our virtual event to explore our postgraduate courses, hear from academic staff and current students, and learn about the application process, scholarships, and career support. A live Q&A will give you the chance to get your questions answered. Take the next step toward shaping a more sustainable built environment with us.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£19,300
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£42,700

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There is an annual, optional field trip for this course, which costs students a maximum of £500 each.

We estimate that students spend between £300-£600 on specialist materials throughout the course.

All students work differently so costs incurred depend on the approach they take to the brief given. The school encourages students to use recycled materials in their models and presentations, not only is it sustainable, but also cost effective and potentially innovative. The school also offers subsidies for exhibition costs. 

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

Any additional funding available from The Bartlett School of Architecture and The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment are advertised on their respective websites.

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the UK Master's scholarship and Sub-Saharan Africa Master's scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship

Deadline: 29 March 2026

Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: Overseas

Bartlett Promise UK Master's Scholarship

Deadline: 31 May 2026

Value: Full tuition fees and an annual stipend of £17,096 for a 12 month master's or £15,864 for a 9 month (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Sparck AI Scholarship

Deadline: 1 May 2026

Value: Full tuition fees plus £22,780 stipend (1 year)

Criteria Based on academic merit

Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

UCL East London Scholarship

Deadline: 25 June 2026

Value: Tuition fees plus £17,096 stipend ()

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

why you want to study Urban Design at graduate level
why you want to study Urban Design at UCL
what particularly attracts you to the chosen course
what your intellectual ambitions are
your understanding of working practices in the field
your awareness of issues relating to the subject
how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging course
where you would like to go professionally with your degree.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is an opportunity to illustrate whether reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.