Urban Design and Planning MA

Overview

This course focuses on urban design as part of town planning, giving you the opportunity to develop your understanding of urban design and development issues through working at different scales of the city and engaging with theoretical debates. ‘Planning’ is both a design and public policy profession. It deals with design as a professional and a democratic practice, showing how professional knowledge and deep engagement with communities are both essential if places are to achieve lasting functionality and liveability.

Employability

This course will provide you with specialist expertise in urban design, allowing you to study this discipline within the broader framework of town planning and property development. This will allow you to develop a broad range of skills which will be attractive for urban design, planning and property development employers; architectural practices dealing with master planning, government organisations, local authorities and research institutions are other possible employers.

Professional links

The MA is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute as a 'speciailist degree’. This means that after graduation you can become licentiate members of the RTPI. With two years relevant work experience (in some cases one year) graduates can apply to take the RTPI Assessment of Professional Competence exam and become full members of the RTPI. Our planning school works closely with the RTPI Partnership Board, the body that oversees the professional currency and relevance of the teaching and learning programme. A variety of taught modules include classroom sessions led by expert practitioners, sometimes our alumni. Students are encouraged to engage with real planning issues and organisation for the empirical research for their dissertation. Our one day and week-long residential study visits include presentations with practitioners in London, the UK and beyond. Our planning academics often hold posts within the RTPI and work on various developmental projects. We are often the first port of call when employers are looking to recruit planning post graduate.

Applicants should have at least a UK lower-second first degree (2:2) or overseas equivalent, although priority will be given to applicants with an upper-second or first. All disciplines are acceptable in line with RTPI and LSBU objectives of widening participation. Applicants with a non-cognate degree and several years’ relevant work experience may be offered a place, if they can demonstrate a suitable level of specialist subject knowledge.