MSc Global Urban Development and Planning

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £12,600
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

An overseas field visit is an optional part of the course.

Please note there is a student contribution towards the cost of the trip depending on the location.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

• Information on university funding, loans, and scholarships are available on the master’s student funding page .

• Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages .

This module gives you the opportunity to study planning, development and regeneration in a international City.  You first learn about the broader institutional setting within a specific country (government structures and funding, policy context and regional development funding etc.) and the country specific context of your fieldtrip location.
The main purpose of the module is a fieldtrip to a specific city – region, including:

• introduction to the local context of planning and development in the chosen country
• academic lectures
• practitioner led talks and presentations
• site visits and study tours

• To explore the nature and purpose of planning, development and regeneration via cross-national comparative perspectives to draw out transferable lessons on planning and development policy and practice.
• To develop the critical skills and logical reasoning to appraise different types of planning and property development procedures.
• To foster creative and credible thinking over responses to meet the challenges to planning and development under different international contexts.
• To review the operation of planning and development processes in another country outside the UK.

Lectures, Group Presentation and Residential Fieldtrip

Have an understanding of how different planning and development systems are shaped by unique spatial contexts, judicial-legal frameworks and socio-cultural traditions; Be familiar with the principles, design and practice of planning and development systems in a different country; Appreciate the value of cross-national learning regarding both its potential and limitations while respecting the diversity of culture, values and ideologies of planning and development.

Have critical thinking and evaluation skills based on visiting a different city.

Have developed the skills of comparative analysis, logical reasoning, and applied evaluation through the fieldtrip and the assignments

Working with professionals in practice. 

Oral presentation on particular aspect of upcoming fieldtrip (10 minute group presentation): 15%

Individual essay based on a critical reflection of issues related to the fieldtrip (2000 words): 85%

Feedback for oral presentation provided immediately after the presentation, followed up during the fieldtrip.

Written feedback on individual essay provided at the end of unit.

Dühr, S., Colomb, C. & Nadin, V. (2010) European Spatial Planning and Territorial Cooperation. London: Routledge.
Healy, P. & Upton, R. (2010) Crossing Borders: International exchange and planning practices. London: Routledge.
Newman, P. & Thornley, A. (1996) Urban Planning in Europe. London: Routledge.
Sanyal, Bishwapria, (ed.), (2005) Comparative Planning Cultures, Routledge, London.
There are many relevant papers in the Journal of European Planning Studies available online @ http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ceps and the Journal of European Real Estate Research available online @ http://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/jerer