Town Planning

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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.

Our 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
* enable you to become a reflective town and country planning practitioner
* provide you with a supportive study environment.

Additional course information
Our course 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 MSc and undertaken two years' practical working 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 as equipping students with the range of specialist professional and generic skills required to work in this challenging, creative and fast-changing profession.

Core modules

* Plan Making and Policy (30 credits)
* Planning Implementation (30 credits)
* Planning and Society (30 credits)
* Research Design and Methods (15 credits).
* A Specialist Module of Your Choice (15 credits)
* Major Project (60 credits)

Optional modules

* Planning and Housing
* Urban Design for Planning
* Environmental Planning

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.

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).

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.

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 English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 600 TOEFL iBT® test: 100 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.