About Sustainable Urban Development
Urban challenges need more than one discipline.
SUD is a Vietnamese-German Joint Degree Master of Science for students who want to understand cities as interconnected social, environmental, spatial and infrastructural systems.
Who we are
One Joint Degree. Two universities. Two urban regions.
The Joint Degree Master “Sustainable Urban Development” is a full-time, four-semester programme offered by Vietnamese-German University and TU Darmstadt.
Students learn within an international and interdisciplinary academic environment spanning Ho Chi Minh City and FrankfurtRheinMain. The programme is delivered in English and brings together perspectives from planning, engineering, environmental fields, social sciences and related disciplines.
Official programme information at TU Darmstadt ↗Programme facts
SUD at a glance
Why SUD
Learn to connect the systems that shape cities
Sustainable urban development cannot be understood through a single professional lens. SUD is intentionally interdisciplinary.
Interdisciplinary
Explore urban questions through multiple disciplinary perspectives and work with students from different academic backgrounds.
International
Study across Vietnam and Germany, comparing urban challenges and institutional contexts in two metropolitan regions.
Applied
Use practical examples, field observation, workshops and project-based activities to connect concepts with urban reality.
Research-oriented
Develop analytical, empirical and communication skills that culminate in an independent Master’s thesis.
The SUD journey
A Master’s programme in two countries
The programme alternates between VGU and TU Darmstadt, bringing the full cohort together in both Germany and Vietnam during the study journey.
Students begin at VGU or TU Darmstadt, depending on the assigned study location.
All students study together at TU Darmstadt.
The full cohort studies together at VGU.
Complete the Master’s thesis in Germany or Vietnam.
International partnership
Built through Vietnamese-German academic cooperation
SUD is jointly supported by Vietnamese-German University and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at TU Darmstadt.
Vietnam
Vietnamese-German University
VGU provides the programme’s academic base in Vietnam and connects SUD with Ho Chi Minh City and the wider urban context of southern Vietnam.
Visit VGU ↗
Germany
TU Darmstadt
TU Darmstadt is the programme’s German partner and an integral part of the Joint Degree structure, teaching environment and academic regulations.
Visit SUD at TU Darmstadt ↗After graduation
Work across the urban development field
The interdisciplinary profile of SUD is relevant to organisations working across planning, infrastructure, public administration, development cooperation, research and urban transformation.
Planning offices and consulting firms
Public authorities in cities and metropolitan regions
Programme and project development organisations
Development banks, aid organisations and NGOs
Universities and research institutions
Professional experience
Opportunities beyond the formal curriculum
Internships are not a compulsory component of the SUD curriculum. Students may independently pursue internships or working-student experience, and the programme may support applications with recommendation letters where appropriate.
See the official SUD FAQ ↗Discover SUD