Masters in Southern Urbanism at African Centre for Cities

MPhil in Urban Studies — Southern Urbanism - African Centre for Cities

It is well known that the world is transitioning to an irrevocable urban future whose epicentre has moved into the cities of Asia and Africa, which together will account for 86% of all growth in the world’s urban population over the next four decades.

These shifts also highlight a profound crisis of knowledge production, one that forces us to question taken-for-granted assumptions of the field of Urban Studies. What is needed is critical engagement with the dominant Global North theories, bold methodological experimentation, plural perspectives brought into conversation through co-production and critical inquiry from a Global South perspective that resists easy generalisations.

If you are interested in taking up this challenge, the MPhil in Southern Urbanism is your learning platform. Through a combination of guided learning in small-group seminars, experimentation in various spaces of urban practice and independent thesis research, the programme provides a truly unique opportunity to ground yourself in the realities, theories and practise of cities of the Global South.The MPhil curriculum combines course work (50%) and a minor dissertation (50%), a full-time load completed over a period of 18 – 24 months. The language of instruction is English.