Masters Programmes
The School runs a series of specialist masters courses which provide professional and academic training through a variety of routes. The masters courses are situated within the key policy research areas and research groups in the School and their students form an important part of the life of the Graduate School. The courses are well recognised by both the academic and policy community, with professional and research council support.
The MSc Geography, Policy and Practice offers a unique opportunity to study human geography at postgraduate level in a context intimately connected to current policy developments and debates. The degree is informed by contemporary critical theory, and focuses on a range of scales from the domestic and local, the urban and the regional, the national to the global.
The MSc International Planning and Development tackles the challenges of urbanisation in the 21st century. Since 2008, more than half the world's population has lived in cities. Cities are crucibles of culture, knowledge and innovation, but also harbour poverty and exclusion; globalisation, environmental pollution, and climate change all threaten the well-being of urban residents.
The MSc Planning Practice and Research aims to provide a basis for understanding what kinds of objectives planning might be used to pursue, and what methods of intervention might be effective and appropriate in different social and political contexts. It also aims to develop core planning skills, applicable at a range of spatial scales and develop specialised skills in undertaking, analysing and using research in the planning process.
The MSc Regeneration Studies provides students with an opportunity to examine the range of issues covered by regeneration studies, especially the interplay between economy, state and civil society. It will also furnish students with an opportunity to review debates, investigate substantive issues and acquire problem-solving skills through project-based teamwork, and develop the analytical and social skills which are increasingly being sought in today's regeneration-related professions.
The MSc Sustainability, Planning and Environmental Policy is specifically aimed at those people wishing to gain expertise on contemporary sustainability issues. Students gain insights into the ways in which problems are defined, and the scope for applying cutting-edge policy and planning solutions to the environmental challenges faced by government, business and regulatory bodies.
The MSc Transport and Planning aims to develop in students the capability to make an effective contribution at the highest level to the planning, policy making and management of transport in both the UK and overseas. The course is unique in offering students an opportunity to study different aspects of transport (planning, operation and management) as well as other areas of urban planning in general.
The course uses design practice, theory, development and control practices to inform design processes, and uses studio teaching focused on local development possibilities to develop creative, practical and sustainable solutions to a range of typical urban design problems.