Promotion: the Norman Foster Institute is now accepting applications for its Master’s Programme on Sustainable Cities, which prompts students to address urban challenges through immersing them in both practical and academic study.
The master’s degree takes place in Madrid from January to December 2026, and applications are open until 1 July 2025.
The programme aims to equip students with the skillsets needed to address wide-ranging issues in cities and communicate the solutions.
According to the Norman Foster Institute, at the end of the degree, students will be able to critique and tackle urban challenges in cities and developments across the world.
“This master’s programme is intended for those who seek a holistic approach to the design and management of cities,” said the organisation of its master’s degree.
It welcomes graduate and postgraduate students along with professionals in various fields such as anthropology, architecture, arts, computer science, construction, data analytics, design, economics, engineering, environment, geography, history, law, mathematics, public policy, sociology, transportation, urbanism and other related disciplines.
The master’s degree takes place across 36 weeks and has three stages: Foundations, Diagnosis and Interventions. Students will divide their time between field and studio work, and learn a range of skills from presenting to leadership and mapping.
This year’s degree focuses on urban challenges across three continents: Asia, Europe and Latin America, with the specific cities being announced in the upcoming months.
The master’s degree is led by a network of global experts, including Norman Foster, the president of the Norman Foster Foundation and professor Kent Larson, director of City Science Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology‘s (MIT) Media Lab.
This year, the programme offers three new specialisations, the first of which is architecture, which will focus on the design of future-oriented buildings via sustainable methods.
This programme is led by Foster, and professor Frédéric Migayrou, former deputy director at Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou.
The second new specialisation is city science, which is led by Foster and Gareth Simons, head of city science at the Norman Foster Institute. The programme examines how data-informed analysis and spatial tools can “support compact, walkable and inclusive cities, with technical training in GIS, Python and urban modelling”.
The third and final specialisation new to the programme is urban design, which explores how public space, urban form and environmental design can strengthen community resilience and identity.
This is led by Foster again and professor Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder and creative director at Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU).
Norman Foster Institute is an education initiative of the Norman Foster Foundation that was born from its successful programme of academic workshops. The initiative aims to engage top graduates worldwide who aim to improve the quality of life in cities throughout the globe.
The Norman Foster Foundation was founded in London in 1999 and is now headquartered in Madrid. It was recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 2021, and is home to the Norman Foster Archive, which is an open online resource and contributes to exhibitions worldwide.
The foundation is accepting applications until 1 July 2025. Scholarships are available for talented students, which will be based on academic excellence or if in need of financial support.
To learn more about Norman Foster Institute’s Master’s programme or to apply, visit its website.
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This article was written by Dezeen for the Norman Foster Foundation as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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