Urban and Regional Planning MA

University of Westminster, London

The Urban and Regional Planning MA will give you the skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to practise professionally as a spatial planner in a variety of private, public and third sector/ community contexts. Building on the University of Westminster's experience of delivering postgraduate courses in town planning for more than 80 years, it examines planning across diverse contexts and scales, but focuses in particular on planning in, and for, towns, cities, and urban regions in the UK. You'll be taught by qualified and dedicated staff who possess vast industry, research and teaching experience and moreover you'll benefit from studying in a genuinely interdisciplinary academic environment with excellent industry links in the heart of one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

The course is professionally accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and covers both the ‘spatial’ and ‘specialist’ elements of the RTPI’s requirements for initial planning education. It is designed to accommodate busy schedules and offered for full-time or part-time study at our modern Marylebone campus in central London. The course's main objective is to create critical-minded, well-rounded, and highly employable graduates who can excel in a variety of career environments and possess the skills and competencies necessary for addressing the manifold challenges and opportunities associated with contemporary spatial development and planning.

In addition to the MA qualification, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate options are also available, enabling you to access the course at a point that is relevant to your circumstances, achieve credits and leave at a point that specifically meets your needs.

Professional accreditation

The Urban and Regional Planning MA is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as a combined degree programme. On successful completion of the MA course, students can become licentiates of the RTPI. After two years’ experience in practice, they may make a submission for their Assessment of Professional Competence and, if successful, are then entitled to full RTPI membership, leading to better career – and salary – prospects. The Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate on its own do not meet RTPI requirements for Initial Planning Education but can be used as an element for accreditation eligibility.

Careers

Whatever your career plans, or even if you have no plans at present, a degree in planning provides you with particularly good job prospects. Planning is widely considered a highly employable degree due to the mixture of skills and competencies students acquire, offering great career prospects domestically as well as internationally. Students completing the Urban and Regional Planning MA have an excellent record of gaining employment or progressing their careers in planning and related fields, working for local governments, quasi-public and non-profit organisations, as well as private planning consultants.