Entry requirements

Holder of an L2 in Geography, initial full-time training, open to continuous training, open to VAE

Benefits of the program

After a multi-disciplinary first year (geography, history, sociology) and gradual specialisation from the second year, the L3 Urban Studies pathway provides general training in human geography and skill sets to prepare students fully for a career in teaching. The training is delivered by experts in different cultural areas in urban, rural and social geography and experts in urban planning and development.

Acquired skills

Students from the L3 Geography Urban Studies pathway are proficient in three major “core” skills:

-study (which is normally associated with preparing planning documents and urban planning projects as well as in drafting territorial development strategies);

- management (which is applied to project management such as in managing spaces and urban infrastructure/installations;

- and design (which not only concerns urban space architecture and development but also comprises a host of design approaches, including institutional, which are related to city production).

These core professional skills are required for various fields of urban action: local development, urban service, installation and event management, transports and mobility, housing, urban social policies, the environment and sustainable development. In these fields, career opportunities are generally found at Master's level. The preferred course of study is therefore a three-year course, and includes a pre-professionalisation urban studies year followed by two years of Master's in one of the Master's programmes proposed by the Paris School of Planning (EUP).

International

Under Erasmus+ partnerships, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg, the University of Granada, the 'Alma Mater Studiorum' University of Bologna, the University of Aveiro, the 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University, the University of Bucharest, the National Technical University of Athens and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague are key partners.

Furthermore, bilateral cooperation enables us to offer training programs further afield, with the Higher University of San Simón in Bolivia, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Brazil, the Cégep de Sainte-Foy in Canada, the University of Québec at Chicoutimi in Canada, the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (IMUST) in China, the Externado University of Colombia in Colombia, the National University of Colombia in Colombia, the Chonbuk National University, the Dong-Eui University and the Ewha Womans University in South Korea, the University of Costa Rica in Costa Rica, Xavier University in the United States, Rikkyo University in Japan, CETYS University in Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico, Ricardo Palma University in Peru, National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, National Tsing Hua University in Taïwan and the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela.

Capacities

16

Course venue

Your future career

Students following this pathway generally pursue their studies with the Urban Planning and Development Master's at the Paris School of Planning (EUP). It is also possible to choose another Master's degree such as those offered at Gustave Eiffel: Spaces, Societies and Territories (jointly accredited with the UPEC), Territorial Cultural Development or Culture and Web Careers. If students obtain a Master’s degree after graduating, they can apply for careers in: Urban planning and development research officer, Urban planning and development project manager, Local government attaché, Local government editor, as well as to teaching professions (see the RNCP list (National Directory of Professional Certification)).

Professional integration

The university is a founding member of PEPITE 3EF. The purpose of this scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among students and enable those with an entrepreneurial project to reconcile their project and their studies. Université Gustave Eiffel has an entrepreneurship adviser, whose mission is to meet students, support them and offer them the many services we provide: project maturation workshops, entrepreneurial speed dating, D2E (entrepreneurship setup degree), advice from professional partners, etc.

Study objectives

The 3rd year Geography-Urban Development Urban Studies pathway is intended as an introductory year to urban planning.

It offers a rich array of courses and has four objectives: transferring general urban planning knowledge; providing training in urban projects; providing training in the use of tools; opening out to “off-centre” items and topics so that urban planning is represented in all its diversity.

The course also offers a diverse range of learning styles, with a significant amount of tutorials and a focus on learning in “project mode”, especially in the 2nd semester. Thus, the workshop is a tool for active learning, where students are required to organise and conduct a group field study within the allotted time of one semester. The work placement, which is optional, is also an opportunity for a professional initiation in a real situation. On average, a quarter of students take advantage of placements every year.

The Urban Studies Pathway classes are held on two sites: in the Paris School of Planning (EUP) and in the Social and Human Sciences (SHS) building.

Major thematics of study

Geography, Urban Planning, Development, History, Sociology

Calendar

Work placement at the end of S6

Options

All information is available on the Social Science Training and Research Unit website, at shs.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr