Spatial Planning for Regions in Growing Economies (SPRING) TU Dortmund University

• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
• Ardhi University (ARU), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• University of the Philippines (UP), Manila, Philippines
• Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), Valdivia, Chile
• Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Paulo, Brazil

All courses are taught in English (100%). Participants have to write all assignments, reports and their Master's theses in English.

(At UACh [Chile], the lan­guage of instruction is Spanish.)

SPRING combines intensive training in development theories and strategies, planning concepts and methods, and implementation and monitoring tools with practice-oriented field studies aimed at elaborating regional development plans and programmes in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The programme focuses on the specific cultural and socio-economic contexts in the developing world.
SPRING places its emphasis on development management at the level between macro-regional and community-based planning.
Development planning is seen as a problem-oriented management tool with the following objectives:

• to identify development problems, trends, resources, constraints and potentials
• to formulate development objectives, policies and strategies
• to design plans and programmes
• to assess environmental impacts of plans and programmes
• to organise target group participation and decision making processes
• to apply instruments for programme implementation and management
• to evaluate and monitor plans and programmes

The lecture period for the SPRING programme at TU Dortmund University starts in general at the beginning of October with the SPRING opening ceremony and a two-day orientation phase. Students are requested to arrive in Dortmund a week in advance to take care of administrative matters.

The start of the second year will be announced by each partner university well in advance.

All courses will be held in person.

• 1 October including the DAAD scholarship application for intake in the following year
• 1 May for intake in the same year for
  • students with their own funds or confirmed scholarships
  • German or European applicants

• TU Dortmund: no tuition fees, but charges a service fee of 550 EUR
• Universidade Federal do ABC: no tuition fees
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: 3,355 EUR
• Ardhi University: 3,150 USD
• University of the Philippines: 1,622 EUR
• Universidad Austral de Chile: no tuition fees, but charges a service fee of 2,500 EUR

SPRING is a two-year Master's programme. The first year of the pro­gramme takes place at TU Dort­mund University, followed by a second year at one of the five partner universities in Ghana, Tanzania, the Philippines, Brazil or Chile.

The SPRING curriculum consists of 10 modules. The corresponding courses of the modules are offered as lectures, seminars, exercises, workshops and excursions.

The first year of the SPRING programme at TU Dortmund University consists of the modules one to six. Modules seven to 10 are offered by the SPRING partner universities.

First year
Module 1 Planning Approaches and Key Skills for Planning (8 CP)
Module 2 Master's project (12 CP)
Module 3 Land, Housing and Infrastructure in a Global Perspective (20 CP)
Module 4 Planning Tools (6 CP)
Module 5 Planning Theory and Governance (7 CP)
Module 6 Socio-Economic Dimensions of Urban and Regional Planning (7 CP)

Second year (total 60 CP)
Module 7 Planning and Research Methods
Module 8a) Policy Planning and Implementation in Ghana
Module 8b) Policy Planning and Implementation in the Philippines
Module 8c) Urban Planning and Management in Tanzania
Module 8d) Planning, Governance and Public Policies for Sustainability in Brazil
Module 8e) Policy Planning and Implementation in Chile
Module 9 Development Planning Workshop
Module 10 Master's thesis

Detailed information about courses and course contents can be found in the SPRING Module Handbook.

The entire second year of the programme takes place abroad at a SPRING partner university either in Ghana, Tanzania, the Philippines, Chile or Brazil where students complete their studies. Field research for planning workshops/studios and the Master's thesis are carried out in the country of the partner university.

Varied

• TU Dortmund: no tuition fees, but charges a service fee of 550 EUR
• Universidade Federal do ABC: no tuition fees
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: 3,355 EUR
• Ardhi University: 3,150 USD
• University of the Philippines: 1,622 EUR
• Universidad Austral de Chile: no tuition fees, but charges a service fee of 2,500 EUR

• TU Dortmund: 300 EUR per semester, incl. "Deutschlandticket"
• Universidade Federal do ABC: no semester contribution
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: 1,263 EUR (administrative charges)
• Ardhi University: 95 USD (registration/examination)
• University of the Philippines: 1,010 EUR (registration/examination)
• Universidad Austral de Chile: 452 EUR (matriculation/degree fee)

Include: living expenses, accommodation and health insurance

Germany: approx. 970 EUR per month
Brazil: approx. 1,035 USD per month
Ghana: approx. 650 EUR per month
Tanzania: approx. 750 USD per month
Philippines: approx. 800 EUR per month
Chile: approx. 750 EUR per month

• Bachelor's degree or its equivalent with significantly above-average grades in either spatial planning, regional planning, urban planning, or a discipline with a planning-relevant focus
• professional experience in a planning-related field
• a strong commitment to further work in regional development planning is desirable

High proficiency in English:

• TOEFL (TOEFL iBT: minimum score of 95): Please have your TOEFL certificate sent to the following institutional code: 8523.
• IELTS (6.5)

• 1 October including the DAAD scholarship application for intake in the following year
• 1 May for intake in the same year for
  • students with their own funds or confirmed scholarships
  • German or European applicants

No

Part-time employment is not advisable because the SPRING programme is a full-time study programme.

At all SPRING universities (except for Brazil and Chile), accommodation in student hostels on campus is organised by SPRING for all participants who have formally expressed their desire to stay in these facilities. This is organised well in advance in order to provide students with an affordable place to stay the very moment they arrive in Dortmund, Kumasi, Dar es Salaam, and Manila. Rent for a single room in a student residence is approx. 50 to 340 EUR per month, depending on the country. The universities in São Paulo and Valdivia provide special support to find accommodation via the private housing market.

Additional extra-curricular trainings, seminars, online seminars and events are organised on a regular basis.

SPRING is member of the AGEP Network and students therefore benefit from the various course offers of other AGEP study programmes.

A university with a unique profile:
Since its founding in 1968, TU Dort­mund Uni­ver­sity has developed a special profile encompassing 17 departments ranging from science and engineering to social sciences and cultural studies. The uni­ver­si­ty has around 30,000 students and more than 6,500 employees, in­clu­ding 330 professors. 5,800 of all students have an international background, which constitutes 19.5% of the total student body.

TU Dort­mund Uni­ver­sity has a strong focus on re­search. The uni­ver­si­ty’s departments – e.g. mechanical engineering (with its emphasis on production and logistics), physics, biochemical and chemical engineering, statistics and computer science, and education re­search – are well known for their outstanding re­search achievements both nationally and internationally.

Students at TU Dort­mund Uni­ver­sity can choose from classical subjects and in­no­va­ti­ve courses of study such as medical physics or degree programmes in spatial planning, statistics, and journalism. A particular focus is on teacher train­ing. TU Dort­mund Uni­ver­sity is one of only a few universities in Germany that offers professional teaching qualifications for all types of schools.

TU Dortmund University is part of the Uni­ver­sity Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr). Together with its partner universities, Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen, the UA Ruhr is one of the largest and most powerful university alliances in Germany. The alliance is strong in international research and offers students the opportunity to participate in courses offered by all three universities and earn credits with minimal bureaucratic effort.

With more than 6,500 employees, TU Dort­mund Uni­ver­sity is one of Dort­mund’s largest employers and has helped drive the transformation of the city and the Ruhr region from Europe’s largest coal mining and steel production area into a high-tech and service location as well as a cultural metropolis.

Dortmund is located in the heart of Europe. It is the largest city in the Ruhr region and is home to the Borussia Dortmund (BVB) soccer club. All of this contributes to the many advantages that will make studying in Dort­mund an unforgettable experience. Apart from destinations for football fans, there are many other places of interest to discover in Dort­mund and the Ruhr region.