Urban Planning - MSc/Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Certificate

The full Master's course comprises 180 credits divided into three 60 credits stages: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and Master's. Students work incrementally through the three stages and must pass all modules at each stage in order to progress to the next.

There are three core modules to the taught element of the course:

• Plan Making (30 credits) - An introduction to the core skills in conceiving, developing and writing plans for a range of spatial scales in a range of sectors.
• Implementation and Design Quality (30 credits) - This gives you a practical and theoretical understanding of approaches to managing development through the mechanisms and system of planning. You will also develop an understanding of the analytical skills needed to make your decisions 'outcome-focused'.
• History and Theory of Urban Planning (30 credits) - A look at some of the main ideas and theories that have shaped urban and rural spatial planning, focusing on the post-world war two era. Against this background, we critically examine the fundamental justification and purposes of town planning.
• Dissertation (60 credits) - A research project supported by training and tutor supervision.

You also choose two 15 credit modules from the following, based on your intended specialism:

• Planning for Conservation
• Healthy Cities
• Grassroots Planning
• Urban Design
• Transport Policy and Finance
• Changing Travel Behaviour

Please also note this structure is for the full-time course delivery only. For part-time delivery, the same modules will be studied. However, the structure will differ.

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we will inform you.

We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, discussions, teamwork, presentations and external visits.

We also have guest lectures from professional practitioners, which give you valuable insights into the latest developments in practice.

For more detail see our glossary of teaching and learning terms.

Full-time: one year

If you study full-time, you will attend classes for two consecutive days a week, with tutoring, reading and cross-department lectures on top. This means you should expect and plan to be occupied with your studies for a full week.

Part-time: two years

If you study part-time, you will attend classes for one day a week over two years, effectively combining work with study. The course is flexible and you can switch your study mode if your circumstances or commitments change.

Full and part-time students attend a two-day induction session at the start of the course and spend the summer term working on their dissertations.

All assessment is by coursework for each module, on a credit basis. This means patterns of study can be flexible. The modules are assessed through a mixture of group and individual presentations, essays, reports, portfolio work and presentation boards.

For more detail, see our full glossary of assessment terms.