Recently, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council announced the latest list of newly approved degree authorization programs. The College of Economics and Social Development at Nankai University has been officially approved to establish a master’s degree program in Urban Economics and Management.

The Urban Economics and Management program is scheduled to begin student enrollment in 2026. Detailed application and admission information will be released in the Nankai University 2026 Master’s Degree Admissions Guide. The program plans to offer several specialization tracks, including Smart Cities, Urban Economics, and Urban Management.

The Smart Cities track focuses on cultivating professionals who are proficient in applying technologies such as machine learning, big data analytics, and geographic information systems (GIS) within the context of smart urban economic and management systems.

The Urban Economics track emphasizes talent development in areas such as urban economic growth, new-type urbanization and urban–rural integration, urban industrial analysis, land and real estate economics, urban sustainable development, metropolitan areas and urban agglomerations, as well as interregional division of labor and connectivity.

The Urban Management track targets training in urban development strategy and management, theories and methodologies of urban public policy, urban public finance, urban sustainability, urban big data governance, and the design and evaluation of urban public policies.

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, there is a growing demand for high-level professional talent with systematic thinking and comprehensive management capabilities in urban economics and management. In response to this emerging trend, the CESD leveraging the distinctive strengths of Nankai University and its own disciplinary foundations—has moved swiftly to establish the Urban Economics and Management program following expert peer review and extensive disciplinary research. The program aims to cultivate interdisciplinary and top-tier professionals who possess advanced knowledge in urban economics, regional economics, and public administration, and who are capable of engaging in management practice in government agencies, enterprises, financial institutions, research institutes, and digital and intelligent industries.

Since its establishment, the College of Economics and Social Development has continuously explored and fostered new areas of disciplinary growth, remained committed to training high-quality interdisciplinary talent, and strengthened the social service functions of application-oriented disciplines.