Dual Master's Degree in Global and Comparative Urban Planning and Governance with UCLA

The Urban School of Sciences Po (Paris) and the Urban Planning Department at UCLA (Los Angeles) --  two of the most highly rated programs in urbanism, policies, governance and urban planning in the world, launched a new dual master’s degree program, began in September 2021.  This is a cutting-edge program that builds on the core strengths of both programs and offers the specialized training offered by each.

The Urban School of Sciences Po is renowned for its comparative approach to metropolitan governance around the world.  Its interdisciplinary social science approach to urbanism draws on political economy, the political sociology of urban policies and their implementation, emphasizing political protest and participation, planning and the social/ ethnic transformations of cities. At the forefront of the program are the climate crisis, urban policies, digital cities, and citizen participation.

The Urban Planning Department at UCLA offers rigorous training in a wide array of areas of concentration, including community development, housing, transportation, urban design and development, regional and international development and environmental analysis and policy. A hallmark of UCLA’s program is its deep commitment to social, environmental and racial justice, democratized planning, inclusivity, and the integration of practice and research.

Objectives

This is the only program that grants a dual degree in urban planning in the USA and Europe, in the time normally required to achieve just one degree. It offers the extraordinary opportunity to be trained in two of the world’s most dynamic metropolitan areas.  Both Greater Paris and metropolitan Southern California are vast living laboratories for urbanism, urban policies and politics, sharing many of the key challenges of metropolitan areas today. But since Greater Paris and Los Angeles have radically different spatial forms, geographies and histories, they offer a comparative setting  for acquiring skills in global comparative urbanism, governance and urban planning, and understanding how to practice planning and shape urban collective action and policies in different political and institutional contexts.

Students spend:

• Year 1 in Los Angeles in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP), at the Luskin School of Public Affairs
• Year 2 in Paris in the Master Governing the Large Metropolis (GLM), at the Urban School:
  • Programme, semester 3
  • Programme, semester 4

During their internship and their “capstone” projects, students will be given individual and shared opportunities to engage with real professional situations in fields including urban planning, urban services, mobility, real estate, housing, the ecological transition, local and community development, and smart cities, among others.

Provided that all course requirements are met, students will graduate after two years with two master’s degrees, one granted by UCLA and the other by Sciences Po. The year at UCLA will also be accredited professionally in the United States.

Careers

The UCLA – Sciences Po Dual Degree provides access to stimulating career paths in the US and France but also, thanks to a strong comparative and critical approach, in America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Graduates will be prepared to take on jobs in the public sector, nonprofits and NGOs, research organizations, and private planning, consulting, and development firms.

Validation and degree

Students are registered for two full years at both universities and have access to the student services of both Sciences Po and UCLA. Students must validate their course work under the requirements of the university at which they are studying.

• 48 US credits (= 96 ECTS) during the year at UCLA
• 60 ECTS credits during the year at Sciences Po

Access in the second year is conditional on the validation of the first year at UCLA.

To earn the dual degree, students must successfully complete and have validated both of the two years of study in both universities.

N.B. It is not possible to do a gap year during a double master.

Admissions

Candidates apply directly on the UCLA website.

The deadline is 15 January, 2023.

Applicants are selected on the strength of their applications only. The final admissions decision is made by a jury with members from both universities.

Find out more about the Sciences Po admissions.

Tuition and fees

Students pay their fees:

• to UCLA for Year 1
• to Sciences Po for Year 2 + an "In Absentia Fee" for UCLA for the spring quarter of Year 2

To find out about possible funding, consult the grants offered by Sciences Po.