Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies

Pursue your PhD in Urban Development & Governance at IHS!

Take the next big step in your academic journey and conduct research that drives impactful local solutions to global urban challenges.

IHS offers higher education in urban management, development and governance.

Tackle urban challenges and identify capacity gaps in the urban context with our research services.

Work with IHS staff to find innovative solutions, embedded in and relevant for your local context.

Rethinking resilience in vulnerable communities
Shaira, a Master's student in the Urban Management and Development programme at IHS, conducted fieldwork for her thesis in Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya.
- Friday 28 Aug 2026
- General
Social comparison and recovery from economic shocks
Can higher incomes make us happier? New research explores how social comparison influences wellbeing after economic change.
- Friday 7 Aug 2026
- Blogpost
The role of city-to-city learning in fostering policy innovation
Elena Marie Enseñado’s PhD explores how cities learn from one another and how ideas and practices travel between them.
- Wednesday 5 Aug 2026
- Blogpost

RePIC CityLab Rotterdam
CityLab Rotterdam invites students to go beyond the appearances of city materiality & urban transformations and, perceive the urban beyond the visible instead.
- Monday 7 Sep 2026, 09:00 - Friday 11 Sep 2026, 17:00
- Workshop
Onboarding session for PhD candidates (Edition 1)
In our onboarding sessions we like to welcome all new PhD candidates to the Erasmus Graduate School of Social Sciences and the Humanities (EGSH).
- Tuesday 29 Sep 2026, 13:00 - 14:00
- Introduction
IHS Urban Research Day 2026
Join the IHS Urban Research Day on 8 October 2026 to explore local solutions to the global polycrisis. Submit your abstract by 14 August.
- Thursday 8 Oct 2026, 13:00 - 18:00
- Conference