Master of Planning MPlan Honours (K400)

Course Details

Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage.

Please be aware that programme modules do change and therefore may differ for your year of entry.

Stage 1 Compulsory modules

• TCP1014 Planning Processes
• TCP1027 Shaping Towns and Cities
• TCP1018 Design Awareness and Communication
• TCP1019 Economics of Development I
• TCP1020 Environment and Sustainability
• TCP1028 Disciplinary and Professional Perspectives on Planning
• TCP1025 Social Worlds
• TCP1026 Understanding Place – Methods and Perspectives

Stage 2 Compulsory modules

• TCP2023 Understanding Sustainable Development
• TCP2025 Researching Local Economies
• TCP2027 Research Skills

Optional modules

You take 60 credits from the following modules:

• TCP2005 Housing Policy
• TCP2006 Design and Neighbourhood
• TCP2028 Understanding Cities
• TCP2030 Urban Poverty: A Global Perspective
• TCP2031 Digital Civics - Participatory Design for New Directions in City Planning
• TCP2032 Erasmus Exchange for Stage 2

Stage 3 Compulsory modules

• TCP3054 Planning Theory and Politics
• TCP3049 Skills for Planning Strategies
• TCP3053 Development Management
• TCP3052 Strategies into Action
• TCP3099 Dissertation

You may choose to leave the programme at the end of Stage 3 and will be awarded a degree in Urban Planning BA Honours.

If you wish to continue on the MPlan route, you have the opportunity to gain the Certificate in Planning Practice between Stages 3 and 4 of this degree. The Certificate consists of a professional practice placement, lasting one year full time. See the Course Overview for details.

After completing the Certificate, you return to the University for Stage 4 of the MPlan degree.

Stage 4

MPlan students can choose to specialise in Urban Regeneration or Environmental Planning by taking one of the four combinations of modules below.

Planning and Regeneration

• TCP8025 Linked Research Project
• TCP8024 Consultancy Project
• TCP8942 The Reflexive Practitioner (MPlan Version)
• TCP8917 Regenerating Places
• TCP8940 Delivering Regeneration
• TCP7023 Economics of Development
• TCP8950 Measurement and Valuation

Environmental Planning

• TCP8025 Linked Research Project
• LAW8147 Introduction to Planning Law
• TCP8024 Consultancy Project
• TCP8942 The Reflexive Practitioner (MPlan Version)
• TCP8941 Planning Practice and Climate Change
• LAW8555 Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Practice
• TCP8950 Measurement and Valuation

Urban Regeneration with Erasmus exchange

• TCP8024 Consultancy Project
• TCP8917 Regenerating Places
• TCP7026 European Research Project
• TCP8089 European Placement Preparation
• TCP8942 The Reflexive Practitioner (MPlan Version)

Environmental Planning with Erasmus exchange

• TCP8024 Consultancy Project
• LAW8147 Introduction to Planning Law and EIA
• TCP7026 European Research Project
• TCP8089 European Placement Preparation
• TCP8942 The Reflexive Practitioner (MPlan Version)

For all combinations - Further modules to a value of 10 credits must be selected, with the consent of the Degree Programme Director, from a list of options specified in the MPlan Programme Handbook.

Careers Planning careers

Our graduates do exceptionally well in the job market, both regionally and nationally. Almost all of our Planning graduates choose to pursue accredited Town Planner status and our unique focus on employability and the option to take the year-out with a Certificate in Planning Practice means our graduates are highly sought by employers.

Graduate town planners are employed by local authorities and by private planning consultancies that advise organisations and individuals on specific planning schemes.

Major companies also employ their own teams of planners to find appropriate areas for expansion and to oversee the planning and design of new premises. Such companies include utility companies, large retail businesses and transport organisations such as airports. In addition, many of our graduates gain employment in the charity and NGO (non-governmental organisation) sectors working with environmental and conservation organisations.

A planning-related degree will not prevent you from entering most careers; in fact many employers welcome the broad range of study experienced by our graduates.

It is, for example, possible to enter one of the graduate professions on the basis of your skills in problem solving, teamwork and IT, and your background in social and environmental issues, economics and law. Such careers include:

• management and administration
• accountancy
• law
• marketing
• tourism and leisure
• economic development
• work with environmental groups, property developers and housing agencies

In recent years, graduates of our programmes have gone on to become teachers, accountants, solicitors, academics, business managers and officers in the armed forces. It is also possible to take a Master’s course, such as our MA in Urban Design, to qualify in another profession.

Find out more about the career options for graduates from Prospects: The UK's Official Careers Website.