MSc Urban Design and International Planning / Course details

MSc Urban Design and International Planning provides a specialist understanding of the relationship between urban design and planning by focusing on issues that are of international significance.

It will provide you with the core knowledge and competencies needed to become a chartered planner specialising in urban design and international planning.

It will also provide you with the technical applied skills and knowledge to practice as a professional urban designer across multiple scales and contexts.

The course is fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and is an Educational Member of the Urban Design Group as part of the Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design pathway.

• Allow you to tailor the course to your professional interests by choosing from numerous optional course units.
• Provide you with the practical skills to deliver comprehensive urban design proposals across multiple scales and within differing international contexts.
• Explore the relationship between urban design and planning within international settings.
• Provide you with an international perspective on overseas fieldwork.

• Benefit from small-group teaching, close staff-student relationships, and guided one-to-one supervision.
• Develop practical skills in project studios with drawing facilities, model-making workshops, and specialist design and spatial analysis software.
• Be an active part of the Manchester Urban Design LAB (MUD-Lab) and benefit from its wide range of resources including bespoke urban design toolkits, tutorials, events, and world-leading research on applied urban design.
• Receive a year-long licence for Adobe Creative Suite software, including illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign for your personal computer to be able to work effectively on projects at any time.
• Have the flexibility to mix discipline units or specialise and choose from a wide range of optional course units.
• Study in Manchester, a city where planning has been taught for more than 50 years, and urban development and environmental impacts are on your doorstep.
• This course has normally included a weeklong overseas field trip. The course fee covers the cost of this overseas field visit. Past locations include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin, Seattle, Toronto, and Vienna.

The course is taught through a mix of practical studio-based learning, small group exercises, one-to-one design crits, and more traditional lecture-based environments, with a dedicated design studio for MSc Urban Design and International Planning students to make use of at any time.

We also have a dedicated urban design technical officer who teaches applied technical skills and software across the year to MSc Urban Design and International Planning students.

Several professional practitioners are engaged in teaching on this course, making for a theoretically informed, practice-orientated approach to teaching and learning.

This course has normally included a field trip. Past locations include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin, Seattle, Toronto, and Vienna.

Fieldwork may be scheduled at any point during the course, and this may include time during University vacations.

Successful applicants are expected to be available to attend.

Part-time students

Part-time students complete the course over 24 months.

There are no evening or weekend course units available; you should, therefore, discuss course requirements with the Programme Director and seek approval from your employer.

Timetabling information is usually available from late August.

You can discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Important notice

The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork. However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority. The School will assess on a regular basis the viability of any travel and fieldwork and communicate any significant changes to our students at the earliest possible opportunity.

The ability of fieldwork and travel to proceed, and whether any changes to proposed fieldwork and travel might be necessary, will remain subject to factors such as the:

• rules and guidance on travel and activities implemented and published by the UK and overseas governments;
• outcome of any risk assessments conducted by the University;
• educational value and student experience of the fieldwork, if significant changes to the proposed fieldwork would be necessary;
• availability of appropriate insurance cover;
• availability of appropriate travel and accommodation and any significant changes to their financial costs.

All fieldwork and travel will be subject to a rigorous risk assessment process and the implementation of any protective measures identified by the risk assessment to ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff.

In some circumstances, it may become necessary to make changes to fieldwork or programme related travel. The University will notify you of those changes at the earliest opportunity. If any fieldwork does not go ahead as planned, then the School's focus will be on seeking to offer a suitable alternative and ensure that the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) of the programme are met.

Please note that Countries may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice. The School cannot guarantee that where visas are required for fieldwork, they will be granted but we will take steps so that if a visa is refused, affected students are not academically disadvantaged.

Assessment methods are largely individual-based but may also involve some elements of group work and submission.

You are continually assessed via a range of methods including essays, portfolios, presentations, and topic papers.

All design focused work is presented at A1 and includes crit presentations, peer-review, design defences, and 3D physical model making.

You will be required to submit a dissertation of approximately 15,000 words that can focus on crucial planning debates in an international context, urban design debates, or a combination.

Alternatively, you may choose to complete a design dissertation which includes a 3000-word Technical Report, eight A1 boards showcasing your design and process, a 3D physical model, and oral design defence.

Find out how our students feel about studying at The University of Manchester by visiting our student spotlights page.

You can develop your practical skills in our project studio, model-making workshop, and computer suites with specialist design and spatial analysis software.

The Manchester Urban Design LAB (MUD-Lab) incorporates a series of bespoke physical resources for student use.

A dedicated design studio equipped with a range of technologies and resources; a 3D model-making workshop with laser-cutter, 3D printer, spray booth, and a wide range of other tools and materials, and an urban design printing room with A0+ plotter and guillotine.

For more information, see  Facilities