Personal study program
For the Urban Systems & Real Estate master’s track, you design your own study program. The master’s track has a duration of two years, with a total of 120 EC. In the first year, you take five mandatory core courses (25 EC) and most of the specialization courses and projects (30 EC) and possibly an elective.The second year is mostly dedicated to your graduation project (45 EC), but you also take electives and do other projects. This can include an internship. The planning of your degree in this master’s track is largely dependent on your personal study program, which you have designed yourself. In the Education Guide you will find the necessary information on the structure of your degree.
Basic courses
The basic courses are aligned with the three main areas mentioned above. You take as many of these core courses as possible during the first year. These include:
- Process Modeling and Information Management;
- Managing Place and Property;
- Urban Planning ll;
- Built Environment and Smart Mobility;
- Urban Research Methods.
Specialization courses
You can design your personal study program by adding specialization courses and projects to your core courses. You can choose from an existing range of courses and projects offered by the USRE unit that corresponds with your master’s track. You can choose to specialize in one of the main areas by taking these courses, but you are also free to design a broader study program.
Electives and internship
You can select electives and projects from the entire range of courses offered by TU/e, but also by other Dutch universities or universities abroad. An internship is not mandatory in this master’s track, although it could be a good supplement to your degree. If you wish to do an internship, you can opt for a short job-shadowing internship or a longer scientific internship. In both cases, you are tasked with finding an appropriate internship placement. You also need to write an internship plan: this enables you to shape and customize your internship.
Graduation project
The graduation project, designed to complement your degree, is usually completed individually. You conduct scientific research in a relevant field of your interest within the track of Urban Systems & Real Estate. During the project, your progress is monitored by three thesis supervisors. At least two of these supervisors are USRE lecturers. The third supervisor could be a teacher lecturing within another track or even another master’s degree. This third reviewer could also be a researcher working for a company whose employees can also be added to the supervisory team as an advisor. Together with your chief supervisor, a USRE lecturer, you develop a graduation plan, including your research question, exploratory literature review and a research plan. The plan is evaluated to ascertain its scientific and practical relevance, and on feasibility. Once your plan is approved, you can start executing your graduation project. At this point, the other supervisors become involved in the project. Students often choose to partner with a company or a governmental organization. In that case, your graduation project can take place at the relevant company or organization. At the end of your graduation project, you write a thesis and present at the final colloquium. This is evaluated on:
- The product (the academic quality of the research and the practical relevance of the results);
- The presentation (verbal and in writing);
- The process of the project (independence, time management, etc.)
TU/e offers two types of education: courses requiring active student contribution and projects in which students, supervised by specialized lecturers, solve practical issues. For more information on the courses, please consult the Education Guide. We encourage Dutch students to complete part of their degree in an international setting. International work experience proves to be very valuable for this degree. For more information on this master’s track, view our Education Guide.
Premaster
Doesn’t your academic bachelor’s degree tick all the boxes? Under certain conditions, you can receive a conditional offer for the USRE premaster program. This is a six-month program of 30 credits that prepares you for the master’s track in Urban Systems & Real Estate. Please consult the Education Guide for more information.