MSc in Urban Analytics

Around the world, city governments are realising the growing importance of harnessing the power of urban big data.

This programme will provide you with the knowledge and skills to design and conduct appropriate analyses, and experience of working with cutting-edge datasets.

  • The programme will provide you with a critical appreciation of the potential for big data and urban analytics to inform urban planning and policy making, as well as an understanding of practical and ethical limitations.
  • It offers hands-on experience of a range of statistical and GIS software, and of the use of programming tools to capture, process and analyse data.
  • You will be exposed to a range of cutting-edge datasets typically encountered by urban analysts and the various challenges they present.
  • You will benefit from the programme’s strong connection with the Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC), Glasgow’s world-leading urban analytics centre of expertise.
  • The programme will develop your ability to convey the results of complex data analyses in ways which have an impact on policy makers and public debates.
  • A wide range of optional courses will provide you with the opportunity to pursue personal interests, enhancing particular skills or domain-specific knowledge such as transport studies or urban design.

In the video below, Dr Qunshan Zhao explains how the masters programme connects to the Urban Big Data Centre, the importance of urban research and why urban data scientists are in great demand in both the public and private sectors.

Data Lab Masters Scholarships

The MSc Urban Analytics has been awarded the Data Lab Masters Scholarship in 2022-23 to support 3 postgraduate taught places for eligible students resident in Scotland. These places are awarded on a competitive basis. The Data Lab funding covers the full tuition fees of the MSc programme and also offers career development opportunities including the Data Lab scholarship placement program (paid internship opportunities during the summer). You may also wish to investigate additional living costs funding options which are available to students undertaking postgraduate taught study.

There is no separate application form. All eligible applicants who are holding an offer of a place for September 2022, by 31st July 2022, will be considered. Decisions will be communicated to applicants by mid-August. Please apply using the University of Glasgow’s online application system.

Full details are available on the University of Glasgow website.

What our students say

We asked students of the MSc in Urban Analytics what they thought of the programme and how it has helped them with their career. Here's what they said...

 

View the transcript of Réka's video.


Samuel Hönle - who received the University of Glasgow International Leadership Scholarship to study our Urban Analytics MSc programme – combined his knowledge of software engineering and political science to complete a collaborative project with Bike Citizens in Vienna, Austria. 

He developed a tool that enabled user surveys to be carried out within Bike Citizens’ app which could then be incorporated with other data to produce richer, more detailed, analysis. 

The survey tool was used for the first time in the construction of a new cycle path on the Linke Wienzeile road in Vienna. The challenge was to analyse how exactly people used their bikes, and whether using the new cycle path on the Linke Wienzeile would encourage more people to travel by bike. Samuel’s research showed that the new cycle path had multiple positive impacts, including increasing overall bike usage.  

Read more on Samuel’s project with Bike Citizens. 

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