The Master's track History of Architecture and Town Planning explores the evolution of cities, villages and park- and landscape design in Europe within the changing global setting.

Cities, buildings, parks and landscapes define the setting of our everyday life. Some are fascinating works of art, and no other man made artifacts document the evolution of social relations, economic trends, technological innovations, philosophical views on man and nature, politics and culture more eloquently than architecture and urbanism. Cities and buildings impact our everyday lives. They define where and how we live, how far we have to travel to reach our working places, our daily rhythms of our movements, the things we see when we are on our way. Their impact on health is self-evident – urban planners gave us our sewage systems, architects decent public housing and healthcare buildings. This master track provides students a rich and varied introduction in the history and theory of architecture and urban planning. Since healthcare architecture requires a thorough understanding of the history and theory of architecture, and the world of healthy cities can only be analysed against the background of urbanism, the Expertise Centre Architecture, Urbanism and Health is embedded in a classical approach of architectural and urban history and theory. It allows students to specialize in classical history and theory, the health impacts of architecture and urbanism, or a mixture.

The opportunity for face to face encounters amongst students and between students and their professors is invaluable to build the relationships that successful studying requires. To sustain this, currently, plans are in development for each program. In other words: it is worth your effort to come to Groningen for your program, but if your presence is impeded, you can also participate online from your destination.

Job prospects

The master's track opens a myriad of career opportunities, in the Netherlands and abroad, as has been proved over the years. For instance:

• jobs in the field of urban history and consultancy for municipal agencies and scientific institutions
• jobs for private or public architectural and urban platforms
• jobs in the field of journalism and public relations
• the master prepares students for a scientific career
• jobs as advisors for healthcare institutions