Spatial Planning

Entry requirements

A completed Bachelor's degree from a spatially-oriented discipline

In order to get admission to this Master's you will need a completed Bachelor’s degree from a spatially-oriented discipline, such as spatial planning, human geography or environment studies.

Proficiency in English

In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.

A background in research methodology

Because of the academic nature of this programme, we require all our students to have basic training in research processes, e.g. research design and data analysis.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Spatial planners are fascinated by on-going and future changes in cities and regions and take on the role as managers of those spatial transformations - think of: regenerating shopping districts or old industrial sites; designating water retention areas; shaping urban mobility concepts for the future. Related challenges vary in scale, from individual property to European policy making.

The Master's Programme in Spatial Planning bears the sub-title ‘managing smart cities and regions’, reflecting the challenges of current and coming urban societies, at a time that ambitions for a ‘New Urban Agenda’ for the 21st century are formulated, with policies and strategies to create more sustainable and equitable urban spaces.

Upon completion students will have knowledge of:

• interfaces between different planning concepts, sectors, specializations and interests;
• synergies that are found and trade-offs that are made along these interfaces;
• paths through which integrative planning is manifested in policy formulation, decision-making and projects at different geographical and institutional levels.

Master's specialisations

You can choose a specialisation that best reflects your passion for spatial planning:

Cities, Water and Climate Change

Gain all necessary knowledge and skills for working on the nexus between urban planning, water and environmental management.

Planning, Land and Real Estate Development

Discover new perspectives on urban development which you can use in a future role as city developer, either in the public or private sector.

Urban and Regional Mobility

Look into different integrated mobility systems or transport modes at different spatial scales. Discover new practices and strategies to provide innovative mobility solutions.

Flexible specialisation

We also offer you the opportunity to make your own combination of courses from a list of relevant electives, next to completing the core courses of the programme.

Career prospects

Our Spatial Planning graduates are greatly valued by their employers for their analytical skills, critical perspective and sound academic understanding of the relationship between human activities, their spatial environment, and relevant spatial interventions enhancing their living environment.

Spatial planners from Radboud University work as a policy maker, consultant or project manager for the government, consulting firms, project developers, housing corporations or research institutes. Also, more and more of our alumni are working in international projects.

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Information for international students

Application deadlines

Non-EU/EEA students

• The deadline for non-EU/EEA students who wish to apply for a scholarship is 31 January prior to the September intake. For the requirements and selection procedure for scholarships, please check our scholarship overview.
• The deadline for those not applying for a scholarship is 1 April for non-EU/EEA nationals for the September 2026 intake. You can apply for the September 2026 intake from 1 October 2025.

EU/EEA students

• The application deadline for EU/EEA students with housing assistance for the September 2026 intake is 1 May, and the deadline without housing assistance is 1 July. You can apply from 1 October onward for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The application deadlines for Master’s starting in February are 1 November for non-EU/EEA citizens and 1 December for EU/EEA citizens.

Fees and funding

Radboud University offers 3 different scholarships that are open to prospective Master's students from non-EU/EEA countries and who want to follow an English-taught Master's programme.

Radboud Scholarship Programme

The Radboud Scholarship Programme offers talented, highly motivated, non-EU/EEA students with outstanding study results the opportunity to be awarded a partial scholarship for an English-taught Master’s programme.

NL Scholarship (for prospective students)

The NL Scholarship (formerly known as Holland Scholarship) is a partial scholarship for non-EU/EEA students who want to do their Master’s in the Netherlands.

Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships

The Fulbright Commission, sponsored by Radboud University, is offering scholarships for talented American students to study at Radboud University.