In the last decade, urban informatics has gained recognition as a new approach to the study of cities and urban life. This is partly due to the harnessing of big and open data relating to urban infrastructure, socio-economic profiles and activities that take place in cities; and in part a result of developments in urban science, computational social science and complexity theory.
This course will enable you to understand and promote the theory and science of smart cities and to analyse city-scale data. You’ll also gain the skills to transform this data into knowledge, capitalising on emerging developments in big data and interdisciplinary methods to tackle the world’s urban challenges. Unlike most existing courses that have a disciplinary focus, this course offers a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to urban studies that combines training in theoretical approaches with knowledge of practice-based methodological skills. This means you’ll develop the skills to understand, support, and manage urban systems, and harness the opportunities that sensor, mobile and internet technologies offer within smart cities.
This course, a collaboration between the Centre for Interdisciplinary methodologies (CIM) and the Warwick Institute for the Science of Cities (WISC), also provides a pathway to the PhD programme in Urban Science at WISC, if you intend to undertake further postgraduate research at doctoral level. WISC has ties with CUSP (Center for the Urban Science and Progress) at New York University and the recently established CUSP London.
Core modules:
- Spatial Methods and Practice in Urban Science
- Urban Data: Theory and Methodology
- Dissertation
Masters Optional Modules:
Visualisation; Social Informatics; Big Data Research: Hype or Revolution?; Complexity in the Social Sciences; Media and Social Theory; Digital Sociology; Post Digital Books; User Interface Cultures: Design, Method and Critique; Playful Media: Ludification in the Digital Age.
Optional modules from other departments may be considered as part of your degree programme. Should you wish to undertake an outside option, you will need to discuss this with the Masters Convenor.
Please note: not all optional modules may be available each year; you should therefore check with the Centre. New modules or modules named may be amended or advertised for the next academic year.
Assessment: A combination of essays, reports, design projects, technical report writing, practice assessments, group work and presentations and an individual research project.
Course Laptops: All students on CIM degrees are given a laptop to be used in seminars and workshops.
Who should apply?
This course is aimed at students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds who want to learn more about the emerging field of urban science and about the ways to think and research independently in relation to urban and social-media data using new interdisciplinary methods and methodologies relevant to urban science. Although no specific background is required, your application must demonstrate an ability to work creatively and independently as well as an interest in urban science and data analytics in general. For further information, contact the Course Convenor, Dr Joao Porto de Albuquerque: J.Porto@warwick.ac.uk or the Director of Postgraduate Taught Courses, Dr. Michael Dieter: M.J.Dieter@warwick.ac.uk.
- Find out more about the MSc in Urban Informatics and Analytics
