At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

More information:

Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

1. With its academic and professional focus our Master’s programme aims at delivering well-educated academic professionals, who are at once able to keep abreast of topical and state-of-the-art developments in the field, participate in the current debate, and put new developments into practice. Our graduates are visionary area developers with the ability to explain spatial structures’ underlying (social) processes, and to identify opportunities to turn these processes into more sustainable and more resilient developments.
2. Our students receive an inter- and transdisciplinary training with a broad orientation on spatial governance and actor-oriented project development. By means of spatial concept formation various social insights are integrated into the analysis of socio-economic, cultural, physical-morphological and innovative traffic data. In addition, the presence of fellow-students from diverse education backgrounds in our programme literally broadens our students’ perspectives.
3. The Horizontal Metropolis within a Delta Perspective: special attention is paid to the uniqueness of Flemish space as a part of the ‘horizontal metropolis’, in which urban and more rural elements are closely linked and therefore prone to create specific conflicts. The programme puts this typically Flemish characteristic into international perspective by referring to other (Delta) regions across the globe, and relating to current global challenges such as climate change, resilient water management, circular and sharing economies, self-organisation, migration and sustainable food production.
4. A direct link between our lecturers’ ongoing state-of-the-art research and the Master’s curriculum reveals itself in the form of four consecutive and related course units, i.e. the Research Paper, Advanced Topics, the Research Trip, and the Master’s dissertation. These and other course units are continuously kept up to par with recent developments, and in so doing, they confirm the programme’s dynamic character.
5. Specific and solid Erasmus agreements, the research trip (see above) and periodically organized research-related international exchange seminars and conferences give our students the opportunity for a broad international orientation. Whereas the first-year curriculum is mainly Dutch-taught, the second-year curriculum is English-taught in order to further stimulate international exchange.

1. Our lecturers periodically exchange their course contents amongst each other. Not only does this habit prevent overlap, it also allows for a timely detection of, and solution to, potential gaps in the programme’s broad orientation. Ultimately this also results in a permanently up-to-date and structured curriculum.
2. Our programme boasts a highly committed team of lecturers from various disciplines. Our academic teaching staff combine their research expertise with a passion for teaching, and a ceaseless commitment towards creating dynamic learning environments in their classes. Our visiting professors are highly valued on account of their academic and/or professional input.
3. The curriculum consists of two large studios, which guarantees the link between education and practice. Case and practice-oriented learning contents are linked to specific professional assignments (sometimes carried out by our lecturers). Our studio work is another opportunity to verify the quality of our education, and our students with the professional world (both in terms of spatial planning and of design practice). The link with professional practice is further guaranteed by a constant flow of comparisons with, and references to example cases.
4. Assessment:  via their representatives in the Programme Committee, first- and second-year students have a direct way of voicing their concerns and expectations. In addition to the institutionally organized feedback surveys, we hold our own brief feedback moments after the conclusion of each course unit to gather students’ opinions directly.
5. Approachability: we invest in direct and intensive personal contact between our lecturers and our students. The role of Programme Committee Secretary is usually taken on by one of our PhD-students, giving our Master’s students a clearly identifiable single point of contact in case of practical problems

1. Student intake has fluctuated strongly over the years, a possible explanation being the recent integration of university college programmes into university. A more constant and high-quality student intake is a precondition for realizing the programme’s academic and education-related ambitions. We try to take this matter into our own hands by organizing a summer course.
2. Fluctuating student intake has led to certain course units with smaller student numbers. This sometimes results in an increased workload for students wanting to maintain a broad orientation. Continued study time estimates are necessary.
3. We aim for a well-structured Master’s programme, in which each course unit naturally builds on the next. A periodical exchange of course contents among our lecturers (see above) is helpful in that respect. To further enhance integration and harmonization we are considering appointing pairs of lecturers to specific course units.

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.

This information was last updated on 14/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.