Integrated Urbanism & Sustainable Design Master of Science

Mission Statement

The Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) is an International Master Program at Ain Shams University (ASU). IUSD MSc program was established in 2011 as a double degree Master program jointly hosted by Ain Shams University and the University of Stuttgart, funded by the Egyptian and German Governments. It trains and prepares a new generation of urban practitioners to face the tremendous environmental, cultural, socio-economic and governance challenges resulting from the dynamic urban transformation around the globe.

It is open to graduates and young professionals from the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture and regional planning as well as to graduates with other Bachelor degrees and with relevant professional experience. Our philosophy is based on a transnational learning exchange between students with different regional backgrounds applied to a specific urban reality. Our joint IUSD Lab´s experiential learning hubs are based in Egypt (IUSD Lab Cairo) and Germany (IUSD Lab Stuttgart) and embedded into a network of international partner institutions and universities around the world.

Teaching at both universities is based on interdisciplinary teamwork and on site-specific projects in cooperation with local communities and with different stakeholders, organizations, and institutions, locally and internationally. IUSD students acquire reflective and practical skills to develop integrated and transdisciplinary solutions for planning, managing and designing landscapes, cities, and buildings.

The IUSD program has been jointly developed and established since 2011 by the two partner universities University of Stuttgart and Ain Shams University, Cairo. The double-degree program with the first year in Stuttgart University and the second year at Ain Shams University in Cairo serves as its backbone and is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through the program “Development-Related Postgraduate Courses”. The double-degree program is supported by a high-profile advisory board and by various German, Egyptian and international organizations, including UNHabitat, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH), and CEDARE (Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe). These partnerships offer IUSD students numerous opportunities to test and develop skills in challenging and complex applied contexts.

Starting in 2016, both universities also offer the IUSD as a single degree program in both locations, with different study and exchange opportunities.

IUSD Cairo Program

The 4-semester MSc is hosted by Ain Shams University. In the second year of study, students will have the possibility to study abroad at international partner universities (Cooperation partners of IUSD- Ain Shams University). There are opportunities funded semester exchange with the University of Stuttgart through Erasmus+ Student Exchange program.

In order to apply for the MSc IUSD Cairo program at Ain Shams University, please submit the documents detailed below only online to the application portal no later than February 15th, 2019, 11:59 pm (Cairo Local Time: GMT+2).

Degree

The participants receive a degree Master of Science »Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design«, issued by Ain Shams University.

Language of instruction

English

Start of the program

Mid-September, the introductory program starting September 1st

Application

In order to apply for the MSc IUSD Cairo program at Ain Shams University, please submit the following documents online to the application portal no later than February 15th.

1 Application forms

• Application form Ain Shams University (download through the portal)

>> Complete the form, sign it personally, scan and save as PDF

2 Copies of qualification

a. University transcript (English)

b. University degree (English)

c. English proficiency (English)

Please Note: With the exception of proof of English proficiency the copies of these documents need to be officially authenticated/certified and translated into English.

Only IELTS (general or academic, min. band 6) or TOEFL (min. score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, 79 internet-based) are accepted.

d. Scanned copy of your National Passport.

>> Kindly scan the documents and save them as PDFs

3 Motivation, professional and academic experiences

a. Portfolio (English, no longer than 6 pages in A4 Format)

Please Note: your portfolio should feature a list of projects or a sample of work (student or professional projects) relevant for the IUSD course content with a written description and (if available) graphic illustration of selected projects in terms of their content and your contribution/role in the respective project. To ensure equal treatment of all applicants, portfolios of more than 6 pages will not be considered.

b. Letter of motivation (English, no longer than 350 words)

Please Note: Recommended content for your motivation letter are; Why are you interested in this specific program – its content and its focus? What special qualifications and skills did you gain through your previous academic career that are relevant to this program and that you can build on? What specific professional experience do you have that will contribute to the aims of this program? How do you hope to develop your career after receiving the masters degree?

(In case you also apply for the IUSD Double Degree program, please indicate why you are interested in the programs contents and its focus on Germany and Arab countries in the MENA region).

c. Two letters of recommendation (English, no longer than 350 words each)

Your letters of recommendation can be academic, professional or, if possible, from a current employer. Letters need to be signed and dated.

d. Curriculum Vitae (please use the Europass Specimen Form for the CV)

>> Kindly save documents as PDF, max. 2 MB file size. The portfolio may be up to 5 MB

Submission

Please upload a complete set of these files to the Ain Shams online application portal. The Application Portal Manual will guide you through the application process. Please do not send any hard copies until you receive an offer. Offers are conditional on the timely submission of all hardcopy documents required for admission to Ain Shams University. We advise candidates to start preparing their documents in advance.

Study fees

For International Students:

The Study fees of IUSD-Cairo are set at 5000 Euros for each academic year*.

These Fees incl. administration fees, course offerings, access to lab equipment, computer systems & libraries, and facility upkeep.

Each student has the choice to either pay the Study fees at the beginning of the 1st and 2nd academic year in full or pay half the fees of an academic year at beginning of each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th semesters.

* The fees sums are subject to Annual Revision through the IUSD-ASU steering committee board.

Monthly living costs in Cairo

• Accommodation room rent 140,-€ – 300,-€
• Living expenses 50,-€ – 130,-€
• Mobile phone 10€
• Public health insurance 65€
• Public transportation 15€
• Taxi transportation 110€

For Egyptian Students:

The Study fees of IUSD-Cairo for Egyptian students are calculated based on the number of Credit Hours (CH) the student register in the beginning of each semester. For the academic year 2017-2018, the value of one CH is set to 950 EGP. These fees cover administration fees, excursion fees, course offerings, access to lab equipment, computer systems & libraries, and facility upkeep.

The value of the CH is subjected to Annual Revision through the IUSD-ASU steering committee board.

The average fees per semester is 14,000 EGP. (varies based on the number of CH for each semester.)