The program is designed to prepare its graduates for taking on tasks in environmental management and infrastructure planning in metropolitan areas while being guided by their analysis of ongoing transformations in urban structures and the engineering and planning challenges that result from them. With the contents, methods and reflection of professional practice included in the program, students learn how to make use of scientific theories for implementations in their professional practice.

By choosing a concentration and studying electives of their choice, students can obtain a specialized qualification without diminishing the overall breadth of their education. For the area of landscape architecture in particular, this structure allows graduates with a prior degree in landscape architecture to bear the title of landscape architect and be registered with chambers of architects.

The program aims at training students with a prior degree (which will usually a bachelor's degree from an engineering program) so that they leave the program as generalists with the ability of taking competent decisions. Thus, successful graduates will prove leadership competence by understanding the languages of participants from multiple fields recognizing their contributions to solution finding. To ensure the aimed at generalist competence, students are meant to study the program offerings across their entire breadth. This all-rounder competence is complemented by the more specialized knowledge students have acquired in their prior bachelor's program. Focused optional course offerings allow students to build individual emphases of study. At the same time, the existing mentoring systems prevents the negative effects of excessive specialization. In addition, to support students in designing their study plans, in the short term a model study plan and in the medium term a set of model study plans will be on offer.

Educational goal of the program is to provide an interdisciplinary qualification in the areas infrastructure, environmental planning and management that train graduates for positions in industry, administration, consulting offices, plant operators, non-profit institutions and organizations or research institutions. Students learn to analyze problems in their complexity and to independently work out solutions for them by familiarizing themselves with new fields and methods. In particular, students are trained to master the following tasks within the field:

• quantitative and qualitative evaluation of diverse infrastructure demands
• designing plans for the further development of infrastructural systems
• identification and analysis of the interdependence of ecological requirements, social contexts and economic constraints in relations to the planned projects
• use of planning- and project-related management tools and methods
• economic and environmental impact assessment of the planned infrastructural projects
• utilization of legal and procedural knowledge in order to be able to control and implement projects successfully and in a goal-oriented way

Career Opportunities for Graduates

The master's program in environmental management and urban planning in metropolitan areas is geared to prepare its graduates in particular for the following professionals fields:

• infrastructure operators in metropolitan areas
• regional authorities and planning association
• service providers
• bodies of public administration
• engineering offices in consulting and planning roles
• European and international project developers

In all these professional fields, generalist skills and abilities for use in a variety of contexts are required. Next to a sound engineering foundation acquired in a first degree program, positions in these fields also call for the ability to manage projects in environmental management and technical infrastructure development that cut across the disciplines. This requires specialized know-how in planning and management as well as a solid knowledge of methodological, economic and legal issues.

Graduates of the master's program are most likely to encounter a variety of diverse tasks in their professional practice. Building on the foundational knowledge of their first degree, the master's program provides them with the additional requisite strategic expert skills for analyzing and evaluating technologies and with management competences such as for instance flexibility that are necessary to meet the requirements of the field of environmental and urban management. The development of the scientific foundations of the field is rapidly accelerating. In the next five to ten years, a sweeping transformation of the science underlying today's technological applications is to be expected. This underlines the increasing significance of the university's instruction in strategic specialized skills and knowledges that allow for the analysis and evaluation of technological developments, shifts in public demand and ways of using technology efficiently while taking socio-economic contexts into account as well.

Practice-Orientation and Related Professional Fields

Program Structure & Degree Awarded

The program is interdisciplinary and structured in modules. Besides the above-mentioned disciplines, the course offerings include courses on business administration and on project and environmental management and is complemented by modules from architecture, engineering physics and environmental engineering. Students can choose emphases in landscape architecture, water & infrastructure management, transportation engineering, resource management or urban planning. The fourth semester is designated for writing a master's thesis. On successful completion of the program, students are awarded a master of engineering degree. Landscape architects who have studied the program with an emphasis in landscape architecture, may be registered in a chamber of architects in future.