UD5628 CRITIQUES OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN DESIGN

This course aims to help students develop a critical understanding of emerging urban challenges through assessing a series of contemporary urban design projects. In the face of accelerating technological advancement, exacerbating environmental degradation, and in particular unexpected threats such as the Covid-19 pandemic, our cities are confronted with many emerging challenges. This requires us to reflect on and reconceptualise urban design practice. By examining the latest debates and discussions, and through conversations with experts from practices, government agencies, and academia, this course will provide students with a multi-perspective platform for them to develop their own critical views and convictions of urban design.

UD5641 Dissertation is a research-intensive course for MAUD students that enables conducting an independent research project during their study under the supervision of a research-active faculty member with expertise in a related domain.

The key objectives of the dissertation course are to provide an opportunity to the student to understand how to conduct scientific research and to deepen their expertise in a particular topic of interest. The course is flexible, it allows freedom in exploring own interests, and it is predominantly individual. The main deliverable is a research report to be submitted at the end of their studies. The dissertation course is conducted primarily between the student and supervisor, with sporadic contact with the coordinator, other academic staff, and other students. It is important to highlight that the dissertation is an independent study, thus, a student will undertake a higher degree of independence than usual.

The key components of this course are:

• Literature review: getting familiar with the state of the art of a relevant topic.

• Conceptusalisation of research: defining a research question/topic/objective.

• Exploration (performing preliminary experiments to assess the feasibility of the topic).

• Designing a sound research methodology.

• Conducting research/experiments.

• Presentation of the work (in-class presentation and writing a report).

• Understanding potential for future work and further applications.

The results of this course may serve as a foundation for further research or for publication in an external outlet, e.g. conference or journal.

The dissertation is not a course during doctoral studies, so cutting edge research or advanced originality is not expected as it is at the PhD level, but a degree of novelty and quality at the graduate level of a research university is required. This course is also for those who are interested in pursuing PhDs to better prepare themselves.

Besides the student, the dissertation includes the supervisor, co-reader, and coordinator.

Supervisor

Each dissertation must have a supervisor. The supervisor is responsible for the overall project from early discussions to the final submission, and he/she is involved in all the steps of the process. A supervisor may be a faculty member who is domain expert in a particular topic.

Co-reader

The co-reader serves as the second examiner of the dissertation (besides the supervisor) at the final stage of the course. The co-reader may not be involved in the research to ensure the objectivity of assessment. A co-reader is arranged by the coordinator, but input from the student and supervisor may be considered in certain circumstances.

Coordinator

The coordinator manages the organisation and execution of the course, and administrative matters. Students are welcome to contact the coordinator for queries before and during this course

Most of the contact is directly between the student and supervisor (and optionally, co-supervisor) through periodic progress meetings. The schedule will be discussed between the student and supervisor. Weekly contact (if not meetings, then at least a brief status update) is encouraged, but no more than two weeks should pass between consecutive discussions.

During the semester, we will meet twice as a cohort: Introduction to the course with some tips (in the first few weeks); Midterm review (This session is to solicit feedback, check on the progress, and have an opportunity to consolidate thoughts and writing. It plays no role in the marking. The presence of the supervisor is necessary).

There is no final thesis defense. The only final deliverable is the report.

Fieldtrips

The MAUD programme aims to enhance students’ learning by broadening their exposure to different urban environments and professional practices. The field trip takes students to cities within or beyond the region for 7 to 10 days, learning about urban design practice in the local contexts. Students will be able to interact with scholars, practitioners, and government officers to gain insights on the practice, and to explore the cities to observe and experience the urban spaces.

Assessment And Graduation Requirements

Grade Points

Each student receives a letter grade for each course taken, depending on his/her academic performance. Each grade corresponds to a grade point as shown below:

An online GPA calculator is available at: https://inetapps.nus.edu.sg/capcalc/cap_calculat or.aspx

Continuation and Graduation Requirements

For continuation to the Semester 2, a student must achieve a minimum grade B- for UD5601 and a minimum GPA of 2.5.

For any semester in which the student’s GPA falls below 3.0 (but ≥2.5), that student will be issued an academic warning. For any semester in which the student’s GPA falls below 2.5, that student will be issued an academic Probation.

To be eligible for graduation, a student must complete all essential courses and 40 Units, and achieve:

Students are allowed to request a review to a grade within 3 days after the release of the grade. Please refer to: https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/administrativepolicies-procedures/graduate/grading-policyexamination-process

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Academic progress is tracked by the GPA, which is the weighted average grade point of all courses taken by a student. Therefore, a student's GPA is the sum of the course grade points multiplied by the number of Units for the corresponding course, divided by the total number of Units. This is represented as follows:

GPA = SUM (COURSE GRADE POINT X UNITS ASSIGNED TO COURSE) / SUM (UNITS ASSIGNED TO ALL COURSES

• A minimum GPA of 3.0, and

• Minimum grade B- for both UD5601 and UD5602

The above requirements are subject to the university’s policy change. For more information, please refer to:

• Continuation and Graduation Requirements, NUS Registrar’s Office: https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academicinformation-policies/graduate/graduatecontinuation-and-graduation-requirements

• Modular System, NUS Registrar’s Office: https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academicinformation-policies/graduate/modular-system

• Continuation and Graduation Requirements, College of Design and Engineering: https://cde.nus.edu.sg/graduate/graduateprogrammes-by-coursework/graduationrequirements/