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Urban Design and City Planning MSc

London, Bloomsbury

UCL’s Urban Design and City Planning MSc equips you with a multidisciplinary skill set crucial for careers in urban design, city planning, and related fields. You will learn to use urban design as a creative planning tool, understanding the interplay between urban design and city planning. Combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience, you will be well-prepared for roles in urban planning and design, with opportunities in public authorities, government agencies, urban design practices, consultancy firms, and international organisations focused on sustainable urban development.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£20,500
£10,250
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

An upper second-class honours Bachelor's degree (or higher) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of equivalent standing is required. Where candidates fail to meet the standard requirement (i.e. they hold a degree of a lower classification), the department will take into account professional experience in planning or a related field when considering the application. Applicants who do not hold a good second-class degree may, in exceptional cases, be admitted to the programme if able to demonstrate considerable senior-level professional experience in planning or a related field (but in all cases a minimum of a 2:2 is required).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Urban Design and City Planning MSc equips you with theoretical and practical skills, emphasizing critical, creative, and analytical thinking across various urban scales. The course focuses on urban design as a creative planning tool, integrating urban design, city planning, place-making, real estate, and sustainability. It highlights planning as a positive force and urban design's role in promoting economic, social, and environmental well-being. The curriculum includes spatial planning, place-making, sustainable urban design, and understanding urban design delivery processes, preparing you for diverse roles in planning and urban design both on the public and private sector.

During your degree you will:

  • Engage with critical debates in urban design and its context in city planning. 
  • Learn about the challenges facing city planners at a time of mass urbanisation, globalisation, technological and climate change.
  • Develop the knowledge and skills needed to design and deliver planning proposals involving active community engagement. 
  • Examine the social, cultural, economic, and environmental aspects necessary for creating sustainable future cities. Engage in current debates on making cities more inclusive, resource-efficient, nature-integrated, and responsive to climate change challenges.
  • Take specialist urban design modules covering the foundations of place making; urban design governance; and urban form and density. During these modules you gain hands-on experience with project and design-based work.
  • Gain a Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited degree.

Who this course is for

This degree is designed for individuals with a background in planning, architecture, or related disciplines who seek to complete or expand their professional education. You will specialise in urban design, delving deeply into its purpose and potential, preparing for careers in the urban design, planning, and development sectors in the UK, Europe, or globally. We welcome graduates aiming to advance their professional careers and engage thoroughly with both theoretical debates and practical methodologies in urban design and planning.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

World-class research-led education
Our school has been at the forefront of planning research and teaching for more than 100 years. Our faculty, The Bartlett, is ranked #1 for Built Environment studies in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024). The Bartlett is also where the UK’s most ‘World Leading’ and ‘Internationally Excellent’ built environment research is undertaken (REF 2021).

Access to industry professionals
We have established strong connections with planning and urban design practices. Each year, practitioners are invited to lecture, deliver seminars and workshops for students, and supervise project work as part of various core modules and the final major research project component. We have benefitted from the expertise of renowned organizations such as Urban Initiatives Studio, Arup, AECOM, Foster + Partners, East architecture, landscape urban design, Urban Movement, Arcadis, or Islington Council, among others.

Immerse yourself in London
With our campus located in the heart of London, you are surrounded by unique opportunities to study the complexities of urban design and planning processes through site visits. London is also home to many international planning consultancies and urban design organisations, offering an abundance of networking opportunities. London is also the best city for students in the world (QS Best Student Cities 2025).

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

The Urban Design and City Planning MSc is an opportunity for students seeking to further their professional careers to specialise in urban design and, within that broad arena, to engage deeply with both the theoretical debates and practice methodologies, with research agendas of direct relevance to the future of their professional practice.

94% of our graduates are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-21). Employers of our graduates include Arup, Aecom, Jacobs Engineering, Foster and Partners, Gensler, Gillespies, Scott Brownrigg, 38 Streets, Arcadis, Atkins, Avison Young, Burro Happold,  Deloitte, Greater London Authority, Guangdong architecture and design institute, Land Transport Authority of Signapore, Levvitt Bernstein, Network Rail, Savills, UN-Habitat, Urban Design London, international governments, city and district councils.

Employability

You will gain many transferable skills required to build your career in planning and the built environment. These include:

  • Urban design skills
  • Plan-making skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Working in groups and as part of a team
  • Writing reports on planning and urban design
  • Community engagement skills

Working with dedicated specialists in UCL's Careers Service and our careers specialist in The Bartlett School of Planning you will be supporting in exploring your options, gaining valuable skills and experience, demonstrating your hands-on experience and guiding you through the job application process. 

Networking

You will benefit from our strong connections with planning and urban design practices, with practitioners contributing annually to your learning. UCL has a vibrant alumni network of over 150,000 members. As a graduate of the Urban Design and City Planning MSc, you can join The Bartlett School of Planning's alumni network on LinkedIn, providing opportunities to connect with peers, stay in touch, and attend specially organised events. UCL’s dedicated Careers Network offers tailored events and training, including alumni and industry insight panels, career taster sessions, masterclasses, and careers fairs.

Accreditation

This programme is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Learn more about urban planning degree accreditation ►

Teaching and learning

The course is delivered through a combination of individual and group project work, skills-based practical and IT work, lectures (including some by visiting practitioners), tutorials, student presentations, seminars, field trips and direct practitioner involvement.

Throughout your degree you will be assessed through individual and group work, essays, examinations, project work, other skills-based practical work, and a dissertation or final research project report.

During the first and second terms, you will have approximately 12 contact hours per week, of which 25% will be lectures, and the rest of the time will be seminars and tutorials. The remainder of the time will be independent study, project work, field work and site visits. Outside of lectures full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

Modules

The course is structured around four learning areas:

  1. City Planning, with a focus on spatial planning;
  2. Integrative Thinking, with a focus on place-making (neighbourhood scale masterplanning and open space design) and critical debates, offering you knowledge of forms, practices and theories associated with urban design;
  3. Delivering Quality, which integrates the curricula of urban design, real estate, and sustainability;
  4. Planning for Quality, with a focus on the understanding of the various types of urban design products and the complexity of their delivery processes, as well as the understanding of urban design tools for guidance, incentive and control.

You will undertake eight compulsory taught modules, and a research dissertation or project. The research component gives you an opportunity for supported, independent study focusing on a topic that you wish to explore in greater depth. You can choose to pursue a Dissertation or a Major Research Project that integrates design/project work within academic research. Typically, you will take taught modules in terms one and two, with term three devoted to dissertation/project research, and examinations.

Study is generally completed in two years (i.e. double the length of the corresponding full-time programme), with the student enrolled on all modules and attending lectures and seminars on-site at UCL.

Year 1 - Term 1

  • City Planning
  • Urban Design: Place Making

Year 1 - Term 2

  • Community-engaged Planning Projects
  • Critical Debates in Urban Design and City Planning

Year 2 - Term 1

  • Urban Design: Density and Form
  • Design and Real Estate

Year 2 - Term 2

  • Sustainable Futures by Design
  • Urban Design Governance

Year 2 - Term 3

  • Major Research Project or Dissertation in Planning
  • Design and City Planning (can be taken in either Year 1 or 2)

Study can take a maximum of five years to complete on a module-by-module basis, accumulating credit by selecting which module(s) to complete in any given year. You do not have to take modules every year.

Compulsory modules











Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Urban Design and City Planning.

Fieldwork

The course includes a residential field trip during which students are given the opportunity to explore urban design in situ. This is an opportunity to consider built environment issues in real world settings and network as a course community. 

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £20,500 £10,250
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Some of the submissions are in hard copy and students are expected to print them. Students are given a printing allowance, but they may need to spend around £150 in addition to the printing allowance.

This course includes one field trip. Travel and accommodation (including breakfast) for the trip will be covered by UCL, however students will need to cover the costs for visas, other daily meals and any other personal expenses. The exact costs will depend on the location and prevailing exchange rates; however, it is estimated that students would need to budget between £200 and £300.

During the course we will also attend site visits across London. Students will need to pay for their own transport to sites. Based on visits last year you should expect to budget up to £60 across the year to access sites by public transport. Sites are always within the TFL travel zones, and full-time students should be able to benefit from a student Oyster card for slightly discounted travel rates.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

In our faculty, The Bartlett Promise Scholarship aims to enable students from backgrounds underrepresented in the built environment to pursue master's studies. Please see the UK Master's scholarship and Sub-Saharan Africa Master's scholarship pages for more information on eligibility criteria, selection process and FAQs.

We have given an overview of other funding options you may be eligible for on The Bartlett School of Planning and The Bartlett websites.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Bartlett Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Masters Scholarship

Deadline: 28 March 2025
Value: Fees, stipend and other allowances (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Bartlett Promise UK Master's Scholarship

Deadline: 31 May 2025
Value: Tuition fees plus £15,864 maintenance/yr (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Urban Design and City Planning at graduate level
  • why you want to study Urban Design and City Planning at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the chosen programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

To support you in the application process we’ve written a guide on writing a personal statement for an urban planning degree.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Bartlett School of Planning
Bartlett School of Planning

bsp.pgt@ucl.ac.uk

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