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60 701 Pre-diploma for urbanism and landscape architecture
The course is mandatory for Master’s students in Landscape Architecture. Basic knowledges in architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture are required.
The course is run physically and digitally. Digital participating is required at the same rate as physically
The course aims to introduce students to scholarly research's spirit, mentality and practices. The focus is on `how' designers conduct research independently as the basis for a convincing argument (`thesis') and on `why' designers conduct research, on the role and position the designer can adopt in carrying out the research. In other words, how to acquire, organise, analyse, synthesize and communicate research findings. And on the kind of researchable and relevant problems, the designer can identify from an informed and limited perspective. Accordingly, teaching/learning activities revolve around the critical elaboration of a research experience that starts with selecting a topic valid in the broader professional context. The students are engaged in building a research 'report' as a learning process and outcome of it. The final report is the foundation and part of the diploma work.
The course is for students in the last semester before their diploma. Those who pass can enrol for the diploma. The course runs physically and digitally. Digital participation is required at the same rate as physically
Knowledge:
- Understand topic-specific systems of ideas and concepts (conceptual knowledge)
- Understand topic-specific research methods and techniques (procedural knowledge)
- Understand outlining or tracing as a means of capturing the structure of a subject matter, a text, or visual materials (metacognitive knowledge)
Skills:
- Identify and limit a research topic (Research Topic)
- Survey and evaluate pertinent works, e.g. texts and projects (Contextual Review)
- Formulate a research question (Research Question)
- Identify and interpret environmental, social, cultural, economic and technological conditions that drive urban landscapes transformations (Driver of Change)
- Understand topic´s social, institutional and historical context and systems of meanings (Discourses)
- Understand and select research position and approaches (Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques)
- Develop explicit criteria for the student's own evaluation and discussion of research outcomes that are related to the research questions and objectives of the research (Self-evaluation)
General competence:
- Planning a research and design project
- Communication of a research and design project (topic, methodology and outcomes) combining different media (verbal, written and visual) and making use of different formats (seminar, exhibition, etc.)
Teaching/learning activities include:
- Lectures (reception of selected contents)
- Individual Guidance (elaboration, clarification)
- Collective Interim Presentations (elaboration, clarification, evaluation)
- Seminar (clarification, presentation skills)
- Group work (Peer teaching/evaluating)
- Report design (as learning process and outcome)
Teaching / learning tasks include:
- Literature review
- Precedents review
- Typological and Scale studies
- Analytical mapping
- Interviews
Criteria for evaluation:
In pre-diploma, students need to define their kind of diploma, and thus criteria for evaluation. In accordance with the advisor’s approach, the diploma can be:
- Professional (solution-oriented with high design resolution, high level of technical proficiency and transferability)
- Speculative (basic visual and formal research and /or expanding positions on larger social challenges and disciplinary questions)
- Strategic and implementation-oriented, in dialogue with real-world communities
The choice of the diploma’s approach and topic should be built on personal strengths and knowledge and be situated within the institute’s field of expertise to ensure good advising. In addition, data accessibility should be considered.
| Mandatory coursework | Courseworks required | Presence required | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence required | Not required | Presentation of exercises in the group, individual supervision |
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Individual | Pass / fail | The course Submissions (Moodle/BOX) of draft presentations are mandatory. The course concludes with a presentation of the pre-diploma report. |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Written assignments |