Course overview

This intensive course is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and will equip you with the knowledge and skills required for professional practice in town and country planning. It has been designed in response to the national shortage of professional planners - so graduates should be particularly well-placed to find exciting employment opportunities.

Course content focuses on the evolving planning system, the sustainability agenda, skills for planning practice, and the role of planners in the development of space and place. The eastern region offers a fascinating laboratory for new approaches to planning, including sustainable communities, environmental challenges, new house-building provision and proximity to mainland Europe. The exploration and examination of these contemporary issues will help to develop not only your professional knowledge, but also your ability to analyse complex issues, make sound judgements, solve problems and communicate and act autonomously.

This course will:

• equip you for employment through a rigorous course of study
• provide you with a qualification which meets the requirements of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
• enable you to become a reflective town and country planning practitioner
• provide you with a supportive study environment.

Additional course information

It is professionally accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and provides you with the knowledge and skills needed for professional practice in town and country planning. Once you have successfully completed the course and undertaken two years' practical work experience in planning, you will be eligible to apply for membership of the RTPI, which is highly regarded, both in Britain and overseas.

Your organisation can be confident that you have followed a course of study which is recognised by the RTPI for equipping students with the range of specialist professional and generic skills required to work in this challenging, creative and fast-changing profession.

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• understand the different historical, legal, economic, social, political, conceptual and environmental contexts that affect planning activity
• debate underlying current developments in Town Planning
• appreciate the interrelationship between theory and practice in planning decisions
• demonstrate a specialised study area of planning: urban design, housing or environmental planning
• effectively utilise systematic, creative and flexible skills to carry out the totality of planning activity
• collect, critically evaluate and communicate information from a variety of planning resource materials
• demonstrate initiative and originality in developing responses to spatial planning needs
• work effectively both in a group and individually, demonstrating self-direction and autonomy in planning and implementing tasks at professional and postgraduate level.

Module guide

Assessment

Our assessment methods are diverse and are designed to enable you to demonstrate your deepening knowledge and understanding of your subject. They will also enable you to gain confidence and experience in different methods of presentation of planning material. Our assessment methods include coursework and oral presentation, which may be either individually prepared or undertaken through group work or by formal examination.

Special features

If your first degree does not satisfy our entry requirements, you may enrol on a 30-credit bridging course called Introduction to Town Planning Studies to prepare yourself for entry.

Our course covers the core aspects of everyday planning activity, ranging from development control and Local Development Frameworks through to European spatial strategy, development feasibility and urban design. Our Inquiry-based Learning module comprises an in-depth, staged programme of guided independent and group learning activities, making intensive use of interactive learning tools. The module stresses the use of reflection and evaluation as learning tools, and students will keep a log or diary of the learning experiences encountered.

Planning and Society, which provides theoretical insights into how planning fits within the wider social dimension, assesses the impact for different stakeholders in society, and focuses on the skills agenda for planners; Research Design and Methods develops research skills required in a professional planning environment and a robust understanding of the processes of research and applied social research at postgraduate level. The specialist options available are Urban Design, Housing, and Environmental Planning.

Our course culminates in the Major Project, in which you will further develop your understanding of the specialist subject through production of a substantial piece of personal research (Dissertation).

Links with industry and professional recognition

This course is accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Associated careers

This course is designed for those who wish to follow a career in spatial planning or an associated discipline.

Entry Requirements:

A second class honours degree or above in a subject that is cognate to the field of town planning. Examples include Environmental Studies, Architecture, Urban Studies, Geography, Economics, Politics and Surveying. Part-time students will benefit from being in relevant employment. Full-time students will benefit from recent experience in a relevant field of work. Those with the required degree classification in a non-cognate subject may take a `bridging course`, Introduction to Town Planning Studies, in the summer preceding the proposed date of entry to the MSc Town Planning. On successful completion of the bridging course candidates may progress to the MSc Town Planning. Non-Academic Conditions: Interviews

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

We welcome applications from International and EU students. Please select one of the links below for English language and country-specific entry requirement information.

• International students
• EU students
• English language requirements