Home

Urban Innovation and Policy MPA

London, Bloomsbury

This MPA is designed for professionals aiming to lead urban policy change and understand the innovations reshaping cities as economic, environmental, social and physical systems. You’ll gain practical experience focusing on real-world policy challenges whilst working alongside an external partner organisation, preparing you to graduate with the skills and confidence needed for sought-after roles.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£27,500
£13,750
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Duration
1 calendar year
2 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

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university in a relevant discipline or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Students are encouraged (but are not required) to have work experience prior to enrolling on this programme.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

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

Cities are recognised as critical levers for social, economic, and environmental change. They are home to more than half the world’s population and account for nearly seventy percent of its carbon emissions.

This MPA will help you to develop the skills and expertise required to work in the public, private, or third sectors, helping to find solutions to major urban challenges.

You’ll explore a range of challenges, from climate resilience to inequality and innovations in housing and transport provision. Within each challenge, we will tackle key questions such as how to coordinate the roles of central and local governments, private firms, and NGOs, and how to empower the voices of communities and local leaders to ensure innovations genuinely meet local needs. 

You’ll develop a unique mix of technical and policy expertise, working alongside academics and leading practitioners, to become a future leader capable of tackling complex policy issues.

Who this course is for

This is a professional programme perfect for graduates or professionals with aspirations to lead the transition to more prosperous, just and sustainable cities, whether working in the public, private or third sector. The programme will appeal to students who want to better understand the policy processes that underpin technological change and innovation in cities.

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

What this course will give you

This programme offers the following benefits:

  • The Urban Innovation and Policy programme combines practice-oriented classroom teaching methods with scenario-based learning, enabling you to engage with real-world policy challenges that matter to you personally.
  • You’ll explore a range of disciplines, including urban geography, sociology, urban political ecology, and science and technology studies. Learning through an applied approach, grounding knowledge from these disciplines within the practical challenges of leading change.
  • Gain experience working with real-world clients on policy issues on the nine-month project, previous policy areas include sustainable mobility, the urban night-time economy, climate resilience, and digital innovation in cities. You’ll gain invaluable hands-on experience, preparing you to be an influential policy actor.
  • Develop your skills alongside renowned academics across UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP). UCL is ranked University of the Year 2024 (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme
Making an impact
UCL Portico building with welcome sign between columns.

Case study: Urban Legends

We work with partners like Arup, C40 Cities and UN agencies to grow initiatives impacting city leadership globally.

The foundation of your career

Graduates are suited to work in a range of organisations, including national and local government; government offices of innovation and development; transportation and planning agencies; NGOs; corporate and institutional sustainability offices; and public utilities. 

The professors were also working in the industry in which they taught, which meant they had a lot of knowledge and business connections – we always had speakers coming in.

Paola Cuttitta

MPA Urban Innovation and Policy

Read Paola's story

Employability

By the end of this programme, you’ll have mastered policy tools and analytical methods to implement, evaluate, and revise urban policies and innovations setting you up with the skills and confidence to step into your future career.

You’ll be equipped with key skills, including problem-structuring, policy analysis, and experimentation, and you will be taught how to bridge gaps within government and in the public and private sectors, and how to gather evidence to support decision-making. 

This course is a professional degree that will allow you to build not only the competencies and knowledge but the networks that will be of tremendous value throughout your career. 

Networking

You’ll have access to various networking opportunities including:

  • Participation in relevant STEaPP research clusters;
  • Participation in relevant departmental and faculty seminars;
  • Leveraging our location to facilitate exposure visits to policy and industry organisations;
  • Opportunities for co-publishing with faculty and other cohort members.

Teaching and learning

Content for this programme is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars and workshops. 

You’ll be assessed primarily through a series of problem-oriented projects (with presentational components and submitted materials), complemented by short written assignments, scenarios , and simulations. Your final project will include a longer written report, often for or with a professional partner organisation. 

In First and Second Terms students have on average 12-13 contact hours a week with staff. Modules have either two hours of lectures and one hour of tutorials or three hours of lectures. In addition, there will be independent study and group work. Starting in January, students also undertake a major nine-month group project on a policy challenge with a real-world external partner organisation or they undertake their own independent individual project. In Third term the amount of contact time will be lower as students focus on these final projects, although there will be set times for MPA group project and MPA individual project supervision and support.

Modules

The programme consists of eight modules: three core modules common across the MPA suite of programmes; two route-specific; and three electives available from STEaPP or other departments, as available. Students may choose either an MPA Group Project or an Individual Project as their final module.

You will study four modules in First Term and four in Second Term. Additionally, the MPA Group and Individual Project modules span nine months, commencing in the Second Term and completed during the Third Term and the summer.

The part-time version of the MPA follows the same structure as the full-time, but in Year One, you will study four 15-credit modules: two modules in First Term and two in Second Term.

In Year Two, you will study a further four 15-credit modules (two in each of First and Second Terms) and complete a 60-credit Group Project or Individual Project in Third Term; though you will be encouraged to start conducting initial research on subject areas of interest in your first year.

Compulsory modules







Optional modules







Risk Assessment and Governance







Research Ethics and Regulation


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 MPA in Urban Innovation and Policy.

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.

Where you'll study

Two students walking past UCL Engineering Roberts building smiling

Based in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, STEaPP is committed to mobilising science, technology, engineering and policy expertise to help change the world for the better. The Department brings together policymakers, industry and academia to design innovative solutions to society’s biggest challenges, from sustainable development to health innovation. The Department is located in Bloomsbury, in the heart of London, with some teaching also taking place at the new UCL East campus, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. As a member of our university community, you will also have access to top-tier resources and study spaces, such as UCL’s award-winning Student Centre and 18 specialist libraries.

Find out more

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Where can a UCL Engineering degree take you - Alumni Perspectives

—

Where can a UCL Engineering degree take you? Join us for a panel and Q&A event with UCL Engineering alumni. You'll learn what you can expect from postgraduate study at UCL Engineering and get application advice from previous students! This is an opportunity for all applicants to hear personal experiences of studying with us, but may be most relevant to those applying from the USA, Latin and South America.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £27,500 £13,750
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

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.

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

There are no additional costs associated with the programme.

The costs associated with any exposure visits to policy and industry organisations are covered by the department.

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

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

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 assessing your application, the MPA Admissions Panel are particularly looking to understand

  • why you want to study Urban Innovation and Policy at graduate level
  • what particularly attracts you to the programme at UCL
  • how your academic and professional background and interests meet the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree and how the MPA fits with your career goals

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

Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy
Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy

steapp.admissions@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.