Urban Studies

This public information is part of VUB’s quality assurance system and was ratified by the Academic Council on 02/09/2024.

Strenghts of the programme

• Comprehensive and research-based curriculum: urban issues are approached from differentdisciplines. To keep the programme up to date, the topics studied change according tocurrent research in the field.
• Committed group of staff and students: the lecturers and other staff members are veryapproachable and open to feedback from students, who act as cocreators of the programme.
• The programme is focused on Europe, but always with a global perspective.
• Excursions: as a city has to be experienced to be understood, excursions are an importantpart of the programme and highly appreciated by the students.

Opportunities

• Following the curriculum reform, the programme could more explicitly formulate a clearprofile that distinguishes it from other urban studies programmes.
• With an increasing number of students undertaking an internship, the programme couldmonitor these more closely, in addition to the guidance currently in place.
• Although the programme has many contacts with alumni and the professional world, feedbackon the programme could be sought in a more structured way.

Current developments

• The programme has recently been revised. The reformed curriculum is now beingimplemented, consolidated and refined.
• The programme highly values interaction with alumni and the professional field and willcontinue to invest in these relationships. In addition, the contact between students and theprofessional field will be intensified. In a newly developed course, students will work on aproject or research question commissioned by and in interaction with a public or privateorganisation.

Where do we get this information from? 

As institution we routinely ask our students to give their honest opinion about the study programme during their academic career. We also consult our professors and assistants and gauge the expectations in the future field of work. We receive structured feedback from our former students and compare our programmes with others at home and abroad. Through a Peer Review every six years an expert panel endorses the programme’s assets and can recommend some actions. Lastly, the Education Quality Council takes a formal decision about the quality and functioning of a programme.

Quality cycle

Each programme follows a six-year quality cycle. The timeline below shows the schedule for this particular programme.