Master of Philosophy

Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Writing the City Built Environment Research Degree

Never Stand Still

Built Environment

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Writing the City at UNSW Built Environment is an innovative new post-professional masters degree. It is a research degree that includes a coursework component designed to help you develop research techniques in your chosen area. This MPhil stream is designed to create leaders in architectural writing and critical thinking.

Architectural writing has traditionally been marginalised within the public sphere (the ‘arts page treatment’) and within the professional sphere, anodyne. This has deprived it of any real voice or influence. It is now clear, however, that high-quality, sustainable cities are crucial to species survival, and that design excellence is the seductive tool to take us there. A more educated public, and a more fruitful professional-public relationship is crucial, here, and to this relationship, media and writing hold the key.

Master of Philosophy in Writing the City The MPhil in Writing the City aims to provide students with a clear grasp of architecture as a res media, and the different genres of architectural writing – including scholarship, criticism, explanation, analysis reportage, promotion and polemic and help students analyse the role of each genre in the culture-building process.

It will also equip students to communicate with the media, as designers, and to generate publication quality text in each of these genres. Students will also learn to differentiate the roles of the players in city making (designers, politicians, funders, stakeholders, public and publishers) and to explain in broad terms how media and the publishing world works not just to transmit but also to shape cultures and cities.

The MPhil aims at developing students’ research competence, creative thinking and problem solving skills. The largest component within the MPhil is the research project. This offers students the opportunity for self-directed learning with the benefits of individual supervision and the cognate development of research skills through directed learning.

Program Structure Master of Philosophy (2222) Writing the City 3 semesters, 1.5 years full time A total of 72 units of credit (UOC) is required.

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) is a research degree that has a coursework component and a major research project.

Coursework component (18 UOC) Research seminar (6 UOC) Specified MPhil course: Writing the City (6 UOC) Elective from Built Environment postgraduate coursework program (6 UOC) Major Research Project (54 UOC) The thesis is a written dissertation typically 40,000 words maximum or a combined submission, comprising a design component and a written dissertation.

Core Courses

How to Apply

Research Seminar This course provides a basic understanding of designing a research project, with a focus on research design and an introduction to a range of research methods used in built environment disciplines.

The course is taught in intense-block mode with concentrated periods of instruction.

The minimum requirement for the Master of Philosophy is an appropriate undergraduate degree, usually at honours level, in a field represented within UNSW Built Environment, or another appropriate discipline.

Writing the City This course will teach the understanding, analysis and generation of high quality architectural and urban communications; writing for the page, for radio and for video about architecture, urbanism and planning.

Writing the City will look at types and genres of writing and media, at the roles and responsibilities of media, at the relationship between designing, thinking and writing, touching on truth and knowledge (epistemology, ontology), beauty (aesthetics) and the basis of both spatial and textual meaning in our world. Is the pen really mightier than the sword? If so, how can it best be wielded in a world teetering on the brink? The course is constructed around a series of lectures, readings, site visits and research assignments.

Career Outcomes Graduates may work in careers such as curator, media commentator, writer, critic, columnist, public relations, Global citizen.

To apply for the MPhil visit be.unsw.edu.au and complete the research degree expression of interest form. Completed forms should be sent to Christine Steinmetz, Director of Postgraduate Reseach, at c.steinmetz@unsw.edu.au or call +61 2 9385-7417.

Application close dates: Semester 1, 2014: 28 November 2013 Semester 2, 2014: 30 May 2014 Late applications may be accepted.

Scholarships

AGSU Scholarships, valued at $20,000 each, have been established to encourage high achieving domestic applicants to undertake studies in the new Master of Urban Policy and Strategy program and the new Master of Philosophy steams of Housing Policy and Finance, Writing the City, Infrastructure Planning, Procurement and Finance, and Design Research.

Visit be.unsw.edu.au for more information on the MPhil including eligibility, how to apply, and AGSU scholarships.

Writing the City is led by Dr Elizabeth Farrelly Dr Elizabeth Farrelly is a Sydney-based columnist, author and consultant who trained in architecture and philosophy, practiced in Auckland, London and Bristol and holds a PhD in urbanism.

Elizabeth holds a number of national and international writing awards including the Paris-based CICA award for architectural criticism (1992), the Pascall Prize, the Walter Burley Griffin Award, the Adrian Ashton Award and the Marion Mahony Griffin Award. Her books include Three Houses, a monograph on 2003 Pritzker prizewinner Glenn Murcutt (1993); Blubberland; the dangers of happiness (2007), which was shortlisted for the Walkley Non-Fiction Book award, and Potential Difference (2011), a collection of essays. Her current book is Talking of Michelangelo; a life in rooms.

Before establishing her writing and consulting practice, Elizabeth was Assistant Editor of the Architectural Review in London (1983-87), an independent Sydney City Councilor (1991-95) and inaugural chair of Paul Keating’s Australia Award for Urban Design (1998). She was Planning Manager at UTS (1995-98) and manager Special Projects at the City of Sydney during the Olympic preparations (1998-2000).

Elizabeth also sat, until its demise, on the Integrated Design Advisory Board, advising the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Jay Weatherill. In NSW her urban design clients have included ANSTO, Landcom and Parramatta City Council.

AGSU As cities grow more complex there is a gap in the number of leading thinkers on urban issues. With the establishment of AGSU, the Australian Graduate School of Urbanism, this gap is closing. With more research capacity in urban issues than anyone else, AGSU is an Australian leader in this area.

Professor Alan Peters AGSU Director, Deputy Dean UNSW Built Environment

Our research degrees offer specialised streams including Housing Policy and Finance, Writing the City, Infrastructure Planning, Procurement and Finance, and Design Research. We also offer a range of specialised post-professional degrees in Sustainable Development, Urban Development and Design, and Urban Policy and Strategy.

Our interdisciplinary research ensures that our graduates will have the intellectual capacity to see the whole picture, drawing from multiple points of view to make confident and informed decisions. It is this broad knowledge base that means our students are unafraid of risk taking, because they know that this is where creative solutions thrive. The end result is a new era of graduates who are drivers of change, analytical thinkers and future leaders.

As we evolve, AGSU will continue to be flexible, practical and adaptable, offering educational and research solutions that speak to the major issues facing cities and development, both in Australia and the world.

AGSU is the research engine of the Faculty of Built Environment at UNSW, engaging in rigorous research that is connected in every way, from public conversation and links with industry and community, to the way we conduct our research.

CRICOS: 00098G