This course develops your ability to initiate and implement advanced analysis and research in transport policy, planning and management. You will learn the techniques and methodologies you need to take decisions, or to provide the necessary information for others to take policy decisions. The MSc course has been running successfully for many years, and is offered by the Department of Planning and Transport. The course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), and graduates are exempt from the Institute's exams. The Course also forms part of the pathway to the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.
The course will enable you to understand the causes and motivations of personal travel and goods movement; to analyse transport problems and develop, and implement policies and measures for resolving such problems; to evaluate transport projects, plans and policies, taking into account the need for stakeholder participation and recognising the political, social, health, environmental and economic issues involved.
The MSc course balances theoretical and practical applications in the three separate components: core modules, option modules and a research dissertation.
If you are unable to study for a full Masters course, we also offer a Transport Planning and Management Postgraduate Diploma and a Transport Planning and Management Postgraduate Certificate.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
Option modules
The MSc course will give you a full exemption from the examination requirement for membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (MCILT), and also forms part of the pathway to the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.
We work closely with employers and industry to provide graduates with the technical knowledge, expertise and transferable skills they need for a successful career.
Students gain valuable contact with industry through guest lectures, seminars, field trips, group design activities and individual special project (dissertations) as well as employer presentations.
The course has close links with international consultancies and local authorities. We have worked with organisations such as Arup, AECOM, CH2M, Atkins, Alan Baxter & Associates, WSP, Transport for London and GLA.
Transport Planning and Management MSc is the right choice if you see your future work in transport planning as part of the design of sustainable cities.
Graduate students have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment with the following organisations:
Visit the Institute for Transport Studies at our Masters Open Days.
If you are an ambitious social science, engineering or mathematics graduate, the internationally-recognised Transport Planning course will equip you with the tools to help address global challenges such as climate change mitigation and reduction through the development of safe and efficient city transport networks and mass public transport.
97% of our graduates find employment in a professional or managerial role, or continue with further studies.*
This ranges from transport consultancies and operating companies, through to planning departments, international agencies and academic research.
For those already in the profession, this course is seen in the industry as the passport to recognition by professional bodies.
Be taught by academics with an international reputation whose research sets industry standards, on a course that has been designed in close collaboration with industry. This includes policy, travel behaviour, modelling, data analysis, land use planning, and public transport planning and management using research and evidence from around the world.
Use research models and tools developed by our staff that set industry standards around the world.
A degree in Transport Planning will not only provide you with a deeper understanding of these analytical and predictive tools, but also gives you:
Experience what it is like to be part of a project team working across disciplinary boundaries within the transport sector. Through this, gain insights into how planning, economics, environmental science, modelling and engineering can work together to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges. This industry-inspired approach will enable you to apply your knowledge to real-world issues in the field.
Your colleagues will be among the best and brightest from Latin America to the Far East, from Africa to Europe and the UK. Together you will learn planning techniques that will help you develop transport networks that are founded on robust evidence, sustainable and equitable social principles, state-of-the-art modeling, accurate data analysis, and a profound understanding of human psychology.
ITS – the global institute teaching the transport leaders of tomorrow.
*Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2015, http://www.hesa.ac.uk
We have redesigned our suites of courses following close consultation with Industry and academia.
With a strong focus on industry needs, our degrees will prepare you for employment in your chosen field. They will also address the multi-disciplinary nature of transport – enabling you to make effective decisions for clients, employers and society.
And to experience what it’s really like to work in the transport sector, collaborate with a project team of students from our other degrees through our new Transport Integrated Project module.
Research environment
The Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) was established as the UK’s first multi-disciplinary transport department, and we continue to lead the field with our research.
Our reputation allows us to invest in world-class facilities, such as the University of Leeds Driving Simulator – one of the most sophisticated in any university in the world, allowing us to research driver behaviour in controlled lab conditions. We also have access to a variety of specialist software tools including those we’ve developed in-house such as SATURN, PLUTO, DRACULA, MARS and KonSULT.
Other Study Options
This programme is available part time, allowing you to combine study with other commitments. You can work to fund your studies, or gain a new qualification without giving up an existing job. We aim to be flexible in helping you to put together a part-time course structure that meets your academic goals while recognising the constraints on your study time.
You can also study this subject at Postgraduate Diploma level, part time or full time, or at Postgraduate Certificate level with our PGCert in Transport Studies.
This programme is recognised by the major professional bodies in the transport sector. It fulfils the educational requirements for membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and provides a pathway towards the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.
Visit the Institute for Transport Studies at our Masters Open Days.
If you are an ambitious engineering graduate – from a civil, mechanical, computing or electronic engineering background – this course is a smart route to a career in the expanding field of transport consultancy and public policy.
97% of our graduates find employment in a professional or managerial role, or continue with further studies.*
Learn to develop solutions to engineering problems that fit the broader aims of transport and planning policy, from academics with an international reputation whose research sets industry standards. This includes studying the principles of transport engineering and data collection and analysis. Other options include:
Develop an early understanding of four-stage modelling before gaining hands-on experience of SATURN and other Leeds-built models so that you become fluent in their use in live environments.
Deepen your knowledge of:
Experience what it is like to be part of a project team working across disciplinary boundaries within the transport sector. Through this, gain insights into how engineering, planning, economics, environmental science and modelling can work together to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges. This industry-inspired approach will enable you to apply your knowledge to real-world issues in the field.
Your colleagues will be among the best and brightest from Latin America to the Far East, from Africa to Europe and the UK. Together you will learn engineering techniques that will help you develop transport networks that are founded on fundamental principles, robust evidence, sustainable and equitable principles, state-of-the-art modelling, accurate data analysis, and an understanding of human psychology.
This course provides you with a clear pathway to the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification and is accredited by the major professional bodies in the transport sector, including Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) and Chartered Institution of Highways and Transport (CIHT).
ITS – the global institute teaching the transport leaders of tomorrow.
*Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2015, http://www.hesa.ac.uk
We have redesigned our suites of courses following close consultation with Industry and academia.
With a strong focus on industry needs, our degrees will prepare you for employment in your chosen field. They will also address the multi-disciplinary nature of transport – enabling you to make effective decisions for clients, employers and society.
And to experience what it’s really like to work in the transport sector, collaborate with a project team of students from our other degrees through our new Transport Integrated Project module.
Research environment
The Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) was established as the UK’s first multi-disciplinary transport department, and we continue to lead the field with our research.
Our reputation allows us to invest in world-class facilities, such as the University of Leeds Driving Simulator – one of the most sophisticated in any university in the world, allowing us to research driver behaviour in controlled lab conditions. We also have access to a variety of specialist software tools including those we’ve developed in-house such as SATURN, PLUTO, DRACULA, MARS and KonSULT.
Other Study Options
This programme is available part time, allowing you to combine study with other commitments. You can work to fund your studies, or gain a new qualification without giving up an existing job. We aim to be flexible in helping you to put together a part-time course structure that meets your academic goals while recognising the constraints on your study time.
You can also study this subject at Postgraduate Diploma level, part time or full time, or at Postgraduate Certificate level with our PGCert in Transport Studies.
This programme is recognised by the major professional bodies in the transport sector. It fulfils the educational requirements for membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and provides a pathway towards the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.
It is also accredited as meeting the requirements for technical Further Learning for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status for candidates who have already acquired a CEng accredited BEng (Hons). Please see the Joint Board of Moderators website for further information.
This new MSc brings a cross-disciplinary focus to transport and urban planning which is unique, aiming to foster “smart solutions” to the current critical challenges of transitioning to sustainable travel behaviours and sustainable cities in the UK and internationally. The programme draws on the latest thinking and debates in transport, urban planning and mega infrastructure project development.
The aim of the MSc is to enable students to work effectively as transport and planning practitioners, moving beyond the ‘disciplinary silos’ usually found in academia and practice. A key feature of the MSc is its integrative design across disciplines, developing a range of different theories and perspectives, with modules linked by common principles.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of six core modules (90 credits), two optional modules (30 credits) and a dissertation/report (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits, full-time nine months) is offered.
Core modules
Optional modules
Choose two from a list which may include the following:
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation in transport and city planning of 10,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, project work, and site visits. Assessment is through examinations, essays, group/individual projects and presentation, and a dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Transport and City Planning MSc
The programme is attractive to candidates who wish to work across disciplines, and at the strategic policy development levels, with urban planning, geography, transport planning or engineering graduates, or wider specialists, who see their future work in transport planning as part of the design of sustainable cities. Graduate students from The Bartlett School of Planning have been very successful in gaining subsequent employment. At present there is a growing demand for our postgraduates from a wide range of both private and public employers, within the transport planning or urban planning professions, or the nexus of strategy development and implementation.
Employability
This programme will equip students with the skills needed to work effectively as transport and planning practitioners in urban contexts in the public or third sector, for example in consultancy, central government, Transport for London (TfL), Greater London Authority (GLA), metropolitan authorities, local authorities, international investment banks, quangos and lobby groups. Potential employers also include international consultancies; we have close links and have worked with many of these companies such as Halcrow, CH2M and Arup.
The UCL Bartlett is the UK's largest multidisciplinary Faculty of the Built Environment, bringing together scientific and professional specialisms required to research, understand, design, construct and operate the buildings and urban environments of the future.
There is a strong focus on transport and city planning in research activities at the UCL Bartlett. Current activities include: VIBAT (Visioning and Backcasting for Transport), SINTROPHER (innovative public transport options in peripheral regions), SYNAPTIC (the seamless travel journey), the OMEGA centre (the planning and delivery of major infrastructure projects) and we work with various project sponsors such as Transport for London, the Asian Development Bank and European Investment Bank.
The MSc has Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accreditation as a ‘specialist’ four-year programme. Candidates can also apply to become members of the Transport Planning Society (TPS), Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), or related organisations, on subscription.
Visit the Institute for Transport Studies at our Masters Open Days.
If you are a numerate graduate who wants a smart track to employment in a rapidly expanding sector addressing the environmental impacts of transport, or a practitioner who wants insight into best-practice research to accelerate your career, this Masters is for you.
Learn the cutting edge data collection and analytical skills to translate your passion for improving the air quality of our cities and the wellbeing of your fellow citizens into a reality.
97% of our graduates find employment in a professional or managerial role, or continue with further studies.*
Be taught by researchers who are shaping the national and international environmental transport agenda – members of our team advise European and national governments on emissions control.
Study on a course that is designed in collaboration with industry, and covers transport and urban pollution; transport and public health; road safety management; green logistics; traffic network modelling; system dynamics: modelling policy; and global transferability in policy-making. In particular gain:
Experience what it is like to be part of a project team working across disciplinary boundaries within the transport sector. Through this, gain insights into how environmental science, modelling, planning, economics and engineering can work together to design sustainable solutions to global challenges. This industry-inspired approach will enable you to apply your knowledge to real-world issues in the field.
Your colleagues will be among the best and brightest from Latin America to the Far East, from Africa to Europe and the UK. Together you will learn environmental research techniques that will help you develop transport networks that are founded on robust evidence, sustainable and equitable principles, state-of-the-art modeling, accurate data analysis, and a profound understanding of human psychology.
ITS – the global institute teaching the transport leaders of tomorrow.
*Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2015, http://www.hesa.ac.uk
We have redesigned our suites of courses following close consultation with Industry and academia.
With a strong focus on industry needs, our degrees will prepare you for employment in your chosen field. They will also address the multi-disciplinary nature of transport – enabling you to make effective decisions for clients, employers and society.
And to experience what it’s really like to work in the transport sector, collaborate with a project team of students from our other degrees through our new Transport Integrated Project module.
Research environment
The Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) was established as the UK’s first multi-disciplinary transport department, and we continue to lead the field with our research.
Our reputation allows us to invest in world-class facilities, such as the University of Leeds Driving Simulator – one of the most sophisticated in any university in the world, allowing us to research driver behaviour in controlled lab conditions. We also have access to a variety of specialist software tools including those we’ve developed in-house such as SATURN, PLUTO, DRACULA, MARS and KonSULT.
Other Study Options
This programme is available part time, allowing you to combine study with other commitments. You can work to fund your studies, or gain a new qualification without giving up an existing job. We aim to be flexible in helping you to put together a part-time course structure that meets your academic goals while recognising the constraints on your study time.
You can also study this subject at Postgraduate Diploma level, part time or full time, or at Postgraduate Certificate level with our PGCert in Transport Studies.
This programme is recognised by the major professional bodies in the transport sector. It fulfils the educational requirements for membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and provides a pathway towards the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification.
It is also accredited as meeting the requirements for technical Further Learning for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status for candidates who have already acquired a CEng accredited BEng (Hons). Please see the Joint Board of Moderators website for further information.
Modules on this course are taught in blocks of five days at a time to enable international participants to travel efficiently to London several times a year. Students take six taught modules in total (over one year on the full-time course, or two to three years on the block release part-time course) and complete a research dissertation. Email contact and tutorial support is provided between the module blocks along with guest lectures and workshop sessions for full-time students.
The block attendance mode for this course is not compatible with visa restrictions for international students. Therefore, this mode of attendance is not available for international students requiring a visa. The block mode of attendance is still available to UK and EU students. International students can still apply for our full-time course.
This course has been developed to meet the needs of graduates worldwide seeking to gain greater knowledge and experience of the air transport industry, and looking to progress into senior roles in management, operations and commercial planning of airlines, airports, government departments and aviation-related businesses such as aircraft manufacturing, finance and consultancy. It is designed to provide a strong theoretical and analytical basis, coupled with the application of many practical techniques and strategies.
The course builds on the successful series of aviation short courses that have attracted participants from around the globe to the University each year. The Department has a long-established interest in air transport research, consultancy and teaching, having been set up by the renowned aviation academic Professor Rigas Doganis some 40 years ago. The University's association with aviation goes back much further, however, as it was here in the 19th century that Sir George Cayley first demonstrated the principles of flight.
If you are a full-time student without a background in the air transport industry, you will be well placed to take up a junior position in a planning, management and operational role with airlines and airports after completing the course. You will also be well equipped for employment as an analyst with consultancies, government bodies and aircraft manufacturers.
If you have an industry background you should be able to return to your position with new skills and understanding, plus a greater maturity of approach. You will be well placed to move into senior managerial, policy or research functions. The competitive nature of the industry will also provide many new opportunities for suitably qualified personnel.
A strong performance on the MSc can provide you with the opportunity to study further by registering for a research degree in the Department of Planning and Transport.
Graduates will also be equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to participate in the activities of professional bodies such as the Air Transport Research Society, the German Aviation Research Society and AirNeth.
This MSc offers the opportunity to study different aspects of transport; planning, policy, operation and management, as well as links to urban planning and the chance to address real world issues.
Transport touches almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives. This course encourages you to address the challenges ahead for developing the transport systems of tomorrow.
The MSc Transport and Planning is unique in offering you an opportunity to study different aspects of transport including planning, policy, operation and management, as well as other areas of urban planning.
The course will explain and demonstrate the principles and practice of transport scheme appraisal and evaluation and will enable you to understand and use statistical and modelling methods for analysing travel behaviour and a range of transport options.
You will be able to critically appraise a range of transport policies for promoting greater sustainability at national, regional and local levels, and to design transport policies at the local level that respond to the economic, social, health and environmental challenges of the society.
Distinctive features
The MSc Transport and Planning is offered as a one year full-time course.
It is divided into two parts:
How will I be taught?
The modules are ‘M value.’ Acquisition of 120 credits will lead to an award of a Diploma in Transport and Planning. Currently this constitutes part one of the MSc course. Part two of the MSc is a Dissertation.
Passing both parts of the programme entitles you to the award of MSc in Transport and Planning (with Distinction if the appropriate standard attained).
The dissertation constitutes a further 60 credits, and the MSc requirement will be 180 credits at M level (with Distinction assessed according to the University’s rules for modularised Master’s programmes).
How will I be supported?
Student support facilities include:
The course offers the knowledge and expertise for a career in major transport planning and engineering consultancies, local authorities and transport operators.
This programme offers a comprehensive academic approach to a career in one of the most salient and pressing issues in contemporary urban areas; how to provide safe, inclusive, environmentally friendly and efficient transport systems. The degree is designed to ensure that you become familiar with multiple approaches to planning and managing urban transport systems. The programme will provide you with the theory and methods as well as practical knowledge to be employed in governmental organisations and private sector consultancies.
You will take seven core courses and one optional course. Key courses on transport will be followed by lab sessions where practical lessons on the use of highly specialised software will be given in the form of either independent or group projects. This approach will help you to not only acquire theoretical knowledge but also to apply their knowledge to real world problems with actual data. A cross-disciplinary course approach will ensure you learn industry-specific skills in both transport planning and engineering and allows you to focus more heavily on either of the two strands of the programme. You will be expected submit essays and lab reports as part of the their course assessment and a dissertation at the end of the programme.
Career opportunities include positions in government agencies, urban planning organisations, city governments, transport and other private consulting firms, and non-profit organisations. The practical knowledge and hands-on skills taught as a part of the programme are applicable world-wide. You will have the chance to learn about new emerging forms of transport data and analytical skills that will make you strong candidates for jobs. These specialist skills will give you unprecedented advantage in the global and UK job market.
The Master of Transport and Traffic is a response to the growing need for professionals with broad awareness of the characteristics and significance of transport, including its technological, economic and social impact. At the same time, the program outlines the state-of-the-art of transport engineering and planning, as it may be applied to the solution of real problems in the planning, design, management and operation of transport and traffic facilities.
The course is aimed at giving the student a thorough understanding of the nature of transport demand and the role of transport in the modern community, a familiarity with the characteristics of modern transport technology, and the ability to appraise and evaluate solutions to transport and traffic problems. To achieve these aims, the development of appropriate analytical skills and practical knowledge is stressed, together with recognition of the role of other disciplines in tackling transport-related issues.
For these reasons, the course will have particular appeal to people with a few years postgraduate experience in transport or traffic who wish to have formal education in this field. Professionals working with road, traffic or public transport authorities, or in local government and people with an interest in transport planning, traffic engineering or research will find the course to be of benefit.
The course was designed with the assistance of the Institute of Transport Studies Advisory Committee. Through this committee, which includes representatives of government departments, local government, research institutions and private firms with an interest in transport, the institute's academic staff are kept abreast of needs and opportunities related to transport and traffic education.
The course comprises 72 points structured into two parts:
All students complete Part A. Depending upon prior qualifications, you may receive credit for Part B.
Note: Students eligible for credit for prior studies may elect not to receive the credit and complete one of the higher credit-point options.
Part A: Transport and Traffic planning and management
These studies provide you with in-depth understanding of transport planning theory and practice. You will learn about planning for sustainable transport, the collection and analysis of transport data, the use of advanced analytic and quantitative techniques for demand forecasting, transport economics and policy.
Part B: Advanced expertise
The focus of these studies is advanced knowledge that can contribute to a portfolio of professional development. Depending on your background and interests you can deepen your knowledge of transport management by selecting from across a range of specialist electives.
Students admitted to the course with an Engineering, science or applied science qualification, will receive credit for Part B, however, should they wish to complete further studies they can elect not to receive the credit and complete technical electives in transport or from across the university, or a combination of the two.
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:
Ranked in the Top 30 Business Schools globally and No. 1 Business School in Ireland
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