With specialisms in economic development, coastal regeneration and climate change, our Town Planning Masters programme will provide you with the understanding, skills and experience to practise as a professional town and country planner or surveyor.
You will be equipped to critically evaluate how urban development is regulated to bring about the best social, economic and environmental outcomes through an exploration of the issues which affect the built environment.
This course is fully accredited by both the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Our delivery is made richer as a result of our direct engagement with the RTPI and the RICS, along with the Town and Country Planning Association and the Royal Geographic Society, as well as agencies, local authorities, the UK government and EU advisory bodies.
This courses mixes theory and practice so that you'll learn to think and act both locally and globally and how to apply your knowledge in the real world.
The programme promotes critical thinking, community engagement, partnership building and leadership. It is unique for its outstanding location by the sea, the nearby South Downs National Park and a 180-degree catchment area. Each year, we run an optional but recommended international study visit. In the past, this has been to the Netherlands or France.
Architecture, building and planning is in the top disciplines for student employment according to the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA 2015–2016.
In order to meet the high professional standards required by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), students are required to complete four core modules as part of the course and have the opportunity for specialist study in allied areas.
Course delivery is divided into three parts:
(i) A taught portion requiring attendance at the university for lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, laboratory classes, individual supervision sessions and team working.
(ii) An individual research programme (the masters project) where you will broaden your learning and develop research skills directed at critical appraisal, examine innovative solutions to the problem at hand, and are taught to produce and defend a written thesis on a selected town planning topic with a university-based supervisor.
(iii) An individual professional learning log using an industry-based mentor.
Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.
All students will study four core modules and select three option modules. These will allow you to specialise in the areas of the course that interest you the most.
Core modules
Options include
The programme is for:
Due to the professional nature of this course, overseas students who have already completed a postgraduate qualification can still register for this course and apply for a Tier 4 visa.
This course is an accessible and flexible route to the skills needed to work in future spatial planning environment - in the areas of planning policy, research and analysis and strategy formulation in the public, private and voluntary sectors.
The course equips graduates with the skills to manage change, think spatially, understand planning policy and law, work in partnership with others, and to continually address the fundamental principles of sustainability in all aspects of their future careers.
Graduates have successfully taken up key roles in local councils, the private sector, greenspace infrastructure, environmental agencies, harbour regeneration projects, for example at Sky, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Parker Dann, Boyer Planning, Mid Sussex District Council, Brighton and Hove City Council, Horsham District Council, Lichfield Planning, Deloittes and city planning in Luxembourg.
Our course is praised by current and former students, the RTPI Partnership Board and our external examiners for our blend of theory and practice, and use of external professional speakers.
This highly regarded programme will prepare you for a career in urban planning and development, where you may be required to shape and consider development proposals and devise or interpret plans and policies, negotiate and regulate development schemes, undertake community consultations, develop evidence and present reports to clients and decision makers. In line with our academic strengths in planning and development and real estate markets and investment, this Master’s programme will develop your specialist knowledge and skills in planning and development and equip you for a career in the private or public sector. The MSc Spatial Planning and Development is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The programme focuses on planning as it engages with economic and property development processes at all levels, from the site, neighbourhood, local, national and international. You will be able to concentrate on particular aspects of development planning to suit your interests and career aspirations (e.g. strategic, economic, environment, regeneration or countryside) and you will have the opportunity to undertake in-depth study, within a framework that emphasises integration, as well as apply your learning to another country through the European field study.
Programme
The MSc Spatial Planning and Development is recognised in the UK and more widely, to be one of the foremost planning programmes which develops both spatial planning competencies but also market aware planners who are well prepared for the orchestration and negotiation of development schemes. The programme has strong appeal for future employers in the private and public sectors because of the blend of analytical rigour and practical application. Many graduates of this programme, and its forerunners, have progressed to senior positions in the real estate and planning sector.
Real Estate & Planning
Our School is the largest in the UK for teaching and research in real estate and planning. Established in 1968 at the University of Reading, we are the only major UK real estate and planning centre to be located within a business school. Being part of the Henley Business School reflects our close and longstanding collaborative relationship with industry.
We enjoy a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research and we are consistently highly ranked in all major league tables. We undertake internationally recognised, leading edge research into real estate, planning and land and we offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, all of which are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Our planning courses are also fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Our programmes are held in high regard by leading employers, many of whom come to us each year to recruit our graduates. We are proud of our outstanding employment record, with more than 95% of our students entering graduate level jobs within 6 months of leaving us.
Henley Business School:
Module descriptions are correct for modules taught in the academic year 2017/18. Optional module listings are indicative, and may be subject to change.
Compulsory Modules
Optional modules
from a range which may include:
Our graduates tell us that the programme has led to excellent and prestigious employment opportunities, helped in part by developing their commercial awareness as well as other key skills.
The MSc Spatial Planning and Development programme is a leader of its type and students benefit from its strong connections to industry and across the profession generally. Many successful graduates have been highly sought after by both private and public sector employers, including planning consultancies, development companies, local planning authorities and large multidisciplinary property firms.
Reading has an excellent reputation with the planning profession in both the private and public sectors. Our postgraduates tend to be sought after by employers and many find employment before graduating.
Our alumni association, The Reading Real Estate Foundation, organise career development and recruitment events for our students throughout the year. These include an evening lectures series with key industry speakers, an annual Careers Fair and our highly successful Mentoring Programme which pairs students with professionals in the industry.
We have a professional Careers Development Advisor, [email protected], who helps our students with every aspect of the career development process, including identifying work placement, internships and permanent career opportunities.
In the public sector there are varied options at the local, regional and national levels: government offices and departments, regional agencies and local planning authorities. The range and diversity of jobs and careers offered under the mantle of 'planning' is really very wide and stimulating. We will be happy to advise you in finding work experience and talk to you about your employment options during your time with us.
The MSc Spatial Planning and Development is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
This MA course will give you the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to practise professionally as a spatial planner. It is designed to meet the growing employer needs for staff who can investigate changes in the natural and built environments, manage the challenges of climate change through sustainable development, and debate and critically reflect upon the knowledge and values underpinning current approaches to land use development. Completion of the MA course is the first step to become a full member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
The course will support your personal and professional development. You will be able to work in the interdisciplinary and cross-sector environment of urban and regional development, in a variety of private, public and community contexts, and apply your knowledge to practise in specialist areas of planning. The course builds on the University's experience of delivering postgraduate courses in town planning for more than 60 years.
The course explores the current context and content of spatial planning. It does so from a UK and European perspective, and also investigates underlying theoretical debates.
If you want to gain a greater understanding of spatial planning, but do not want to study for a full Masters course, we also offer an Urban and Regional Planning Postgraduate Diploma and an Urban and Regional Planning Postgraduate Certificate. Scroll to the bottom of this page to find out more about these courses.
For the award of the MA students need to pass modules totalling 180 credits. MA students take all core modules and choose one specialist option module.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
Optional modules
On successful completion of the MA course students can become licentiates of the RTPI. After two years' experience in practice, they may make a submission for their Assessment of Professional Competence and, if successful, are then entitled to full RTPI membership.
Visiting lectures are given by a wide range of external practitioners. The teaching team has extensive links with planning institutions including the RTPI and the Town and Country Planning Association. The course includes part-time students working in planning-related positions in private and public sectors.
Most of the students on the course are already in planning or planning-related posts. Full-time students graduating from the course as qualified planners will normally be offered planning positions in the public or private sector on graduation.
Examples of companies that have recruited our graduates include:
This course is aimed at built environment professionals and others with a relevant background who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of planning and sustainable development, whether to improve career prospects in their country or enter international practice. Through the course you will examine the growing problems of sustainable development facing cities, regions and communities in a rapidly urbanising world, subject to growing climate change and other environmental, economic and social pressures and risks.
Based in London, you will have access to internationally recognised experience of spatial planning for sustainable development, and explore contemporary theories, public policy thinking and good practice in planning in both the developed and developing worlds. The University of Westminster is the UK's first Habitat Partner University. We work with UN-HABITAT and like-minded institutions to promote the socially and environmentally sustainable development of towns, cities and regions, in accordance with the UN Millennium Development Goals.
This course addresses the growing problems of sustainable development facing cities and communities in a rapidly urbanising world. It explores contemporary theories, public policy thinking and good practice in planning that spans both developed and developing world contexts, and offers you the opportunity to explore one area of specialism in a related field in some depth.
There are two Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)-accredited pathways through the course. The Spatial Planning Pathway has a strong urban design component and an emphasis on the development planning process. The Urban Resilience Pathway provides a sustainable development-focused route with a core emphasis on climate change mitigation and adaptation planning. Both pathways cover all these aspects to some degree.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course. Other modules with course-related learning outcomes may be taken subject to timetabling constraints and the agreement of the Course and Module Leaders.
Core modules – both pathways
Core module for Spatial Planning Pathway
Core module for Urban Resilience Pathway
Optional modules
The course is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a "combined planning programme".
Students on the course are most likely to be working in a relevant built environment or sustainable development-related profession. Overseas students may be receiving a government bursary. Graduates from the course may secure promotion within their existing or a new related area of work, or move onto more responsible positions within 18 months of completing their studies. This may include management posts or the responsibility for project or policy development. It is expected that graduates will enhance their potential to be considered for development positions outside their home country.
Graduates from this course can expect to find employment as planners or urban designers, urban regeneration or environmental management specialists in private consultancy, local and national government, and non-governmental sectors in their own country or internationally, including international development agencies.
This professionally accredited postgraduate programme has been carefully designed as a 'fast-track' conversion course for graduates of any discipline who wish to make a career in planning or in related fields. It aims to broaden students' appreciation of planning and urban theory whilst providing them with the necessary skills to engage in critical and creative problem-solving.
Students analyse the definition of, and solutions to, urban and regional planning problems and the nature of existing planning systems and practices. Emphasis is placed on the importance of a spatial and comparative perspective to planning and the need for integrated solutions to planning problems and the achievement of sustainable development.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of five core modules (90 credits), one specialism with two modules (30 credits), and a research dissertation (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma, five core modules (90 credits), two optional modules from the list of possible specialisms available (30 credits), full-time nine months, is offered.
Core modules
Optional modules
Students choose two linked modules from the following to form a specialist study area:
Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an independent research project, closely related to the specialist option chosen and linked to UK spatial planning. The project culminates in a dissertation of 10,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through individual and group project work, skills-based practical and IT work, lectures, tutorials and seminars. A short field course based in a European city outside the UK will take place in the second term. Assessment is through individual and group work, essays, examination, skills-based practical work, and the dissertation.
Fieldwork
Students undertake two field trips (if studying on a part-time basis, both in the first year); one two-day trip in November to a British city and one five-day trip in February to a continental European city to learn about planning policies and issues in different contexts.
The cost of the field trip (flights and accommodation) is included in the programme fee.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Spatial Planning MSc
There are a number of sources of funding available specifically for students in The Bartlett School of Planning.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Graduates have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment, including core public and private sector planning careers (such as local government and local, national and international consultancies), as well as the housing and transport sectors; planning, urban regeneration and environmental agencies; public and private utility companies; think tanks and public policy organisations; environmental campaign groups; and teaching and research.
Employability
The programme equips graduates with a wide range of skills beneficial to employability including planning specific skills (an appreciation of policy-making and implementation, of spatial analysis, basic principles of urban design, social research and plan-making and decision-making processes) as well as more generic skills (group work, independent research, communication skills including presentation and writing, and problem solving skills).
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL's Bartlett School of Planning (BSP) has a strong history of teaching and research. It has been at the forefront of planning research and teaching for 100 years and is one of the foremost planning schools in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation. Based in the heart of London there is much for students to learn from being at the cutting-edge of policy-relevant critical debate, empirical study and research-led teaching. The staff profile is multidisciplinary and teaching staff are actively involved in shaping the theories and debates covered in their teaching. Our annual public lectures attract pre-eminent speakers from around the world and our student body has a broad, international profile.
Although situated within global and European contexts, the focus for the programme is primarily the UK, and particularly London. London is a complex setting that provides the natural and most accessible laboratory for BSP students. An emphasis on understanding the social and physical world will lead to a greater appreciation of how action or intervention shapes place. But at the same time, there is a concern with ethical issues as a framework for planned intervention.
This MSc programme is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Accreditation:
The programme is fully accredited by both the RTPI and RICS. Students successfully completing the MSc in Spatial Planning are eligible for licentiate membership of either or both bodies, regardless of the subject focus of their undergraduate degree.
The International Planning MSc provides a strong international and comparative focus on planning, urban theory and practice. The scope of the programme primarily encompasses Europe, North America, Australia, South Africa and the Far East, and increasingly China and South-East Asia.
Students develop an appreciation of planning approaches and systems, alongside an understanding of planning as a culturally specific, context-dependent activity taking different forms in different countries and regions. The programme aims to provide students with a broad range of skills and knowledge in planning and urban theory in a global context while offering them the opportunity to develop a specialisation.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of six core modules (90 credits), one specialism with two modules (30 credits), a research dissertation (60 credits), and a field trip (not credit bearing).
A Postgraduate Diploma, six core modules (90 credits), two optional modules from the list of possible specialisms available (30 credits), full-time nine months, is offered.
Core modules
Optional modules
Students choose two linked modules from the following to form a specialist study area:
Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 10,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of individual and group project work, skills-based practical and IT work, traditional lectures, tutorials and seminars, field trips and direct practitioner involvement. Student performance is assessed through individual and group work, essays, examination, and skills-based practical work.
Fieldwork
There is a field study trip in Reading Week in term two (which is part of assessed module BENVGPLG. (View the video of 2015/16 cohort's trip to Barcelona.)
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: International Planning MSc
International Planning graduates have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment in various sectors. At present, there is a growing demand for our graduates from a wide range of both public and private employers in the UK and abroad. They are employed in both local and central government internationally, in global planning-related consultancies, as well as in a wide range of other related sectors, such as housing, transport and urban regeneration, as well as in public and private utility companies, teaching and research.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
Recent graduates of the MSc in International Planning have gone on to work in a variety of international contexts and roles including leading London-based planning, design and architecture consultancies; UK-based local authorities and government offices; overseas government offices and ministries; overseas private sector consultancies in planning, design, construction and development; non-for-profit organisations and charities worldwide; academic research and teaching.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL's Bartlett School of Planning has a strong history of teaching and research. The school has been at the forefront of planning research and teaching for nearly 100 years and is one of the foremost planning schools in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation.
This MSc programme is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Based in the heart of London there is much for students to learn from being at the forefront of policy-relevant critical debate, empirical study and research-led teaching. The staff profile is multidisciplinary and teaching staff are actively involved in shaping the theories and debates covered in their teaching. Our annual public lectures attract pre-eminent speakers from around the world and our student body has a broad, international profile.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Bartlett School of Planning
81% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
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